THE CASE OF THE EX

"What, you are going to leave our daughter with him, and you can't leave her with me?" Gregory heard Mark say in protest. He made abstraction of the remark and looked at the little girl who now stood sobbing in Xenia's living room.

Gregory knelt to Sia's level, "are you sad?"

The little girl nodded,

"Don't be, your mom will take care of everything, and I'm with you, is there something you want to do?"

The little girl just stared at him.

"How about a drawing? Don't you want to make a nice drawing to cheer up your mom?"

Sia nodded, but she still harbored a worried stare.

Gregory opened his case, he only had the bold pen, Mont Blanc, and a few Stabilos, but they were enough. He gave Sia some paper, and she started to doodle.

After settling Sia, Gregory approached the window where he saw Xenia and Mark argue. He could hear and see Xenia shrieking with her arms moving in the air as though she regulated traffic.

"You are crazy."

"Crazy, who did this to me, who made me crazy? You made me, Mark," Xenia said, pointing her index at him. "I don't give me shit about your success. I gave it to you; you owe me. Give me my money, give me my fifteen thousand euros. How dare you come here with your gifts showing off as your a damn business tycoon."

The man surrendered with a warning, "you'll be hearing from me."

"Bring it on," Xenia yelled as Mark walked away.

XY XYY

Mark out a sight, Xenia collapsed. She crumbled to the pavement and cried under Gregory's. Since the man met her, Xenia displayed self-confidence; seeing her like this made the man uneasy. Watching a woman cry was always ugly; a sentiment of irritation with a hint of empathy overwhelmed the man.

"Don't cry," Gregory whispered as he drew the curtain to focus on the little girl in his care.

Xenia came up a few minutes later.

"Are youㅡ."

"Sorry about that, Gregory," Xenia said, "tada, welcome to Xenia's drama land, see I'm all the things you said the other day and more. Please believe me when I say not all French women are like me. Oh, my goodness, please spare me your opinions about how shallow I am," she wiped the remaining tears with her fingers. "Anyway, sorry again."

Sia tugged on Gregory's leg; she gave him a drawing.

"Is this for me?"

The little girl nodded.

"Thank you, Sia; I'm flattered."

"Wow, Sia doesn't like strangers. It's a first."

Gregory gathered the pens he lent Sia on Xenia's living room coffee table, "Eh, I better get going."

Sia clung to his leg, "Stay."

"ㅡEh, I don't thinkㅡ."

"Have you eaten, Gregory? I was in the middle of making dinner. I've caused you much hassle. Can I make it up to you with a meal?"

It was the most unpredictable of situations; Gregory narrowed his eyes in the reflection.

"I'm not going to poison you if that's what you're thinking. I would understand if you decline. I mean, I would decline if a crazy woman like myself asked me to stay for dinner," Xenia replied in anticipation with a light smile, which sealed Gregory's choice.

"Okay, I'll stay."

A huge grin appeared on Sia's face. Gregory had gained her trust during the few minutes Xenia was absent. The little girl liked the man who made her mother play hide and seek in the building as she tried to avoid him.

Fifteen minutes later, Xenia was back to her perky self. As Gregory watched her cut her daughter's meat, he realized he faced Xenia without the masks.

Xenia showed him so many faces that left him perplexed, but he had no defined opinion about them. The one he saw that night was new; he didn't appreciate it. It was not because she yelled like a crazy woman, but it was the expression of despair, weakness, and the man disliked seeing her shedding tears.

After dinner, Sia brought her books.

"You want a bedtime story? Come, I'll read you one," Xenia said, but the little girl went and dumped her books on Gregory's lap.

"Sia no, Gregory is busy, heㅡ."

"It's okay, I can read her a story or two," Gregory picked up the books on his lap and looked at their title.

The man got up and followed Sia to her bedroom, which was initially an office structured for single employees. Luckily, the wallpaper was a light shade of blue. Like a lot of little girls, her bedspread displayed Disney princesses.

Sia got in her bed in her Elena d'Avalor pajamas.

"You truly like Elena?"

The little girl nodded. Xenia stood in the doorway and watched silently a scene in which Sia never lived. Gregory was the first man to enter her house after the building's janitor and her sister's husband.

Gregory read, stumbling on a few French pronunciations, but he continued till the little girl was fast asleep. Xenia came and tucked Sia in properly. Gregory then followed Xenia to the living room, where she picked up the parcels Mark bought. Jacadi, Bellerose, Billiblish, Dior, everything was for Sia and in the right size. Sophia must have helped him, Xenia thought.

"I'm really sorry about tonight."

Xenia hated the position she was in front of this man who knew her naked truth and would probably look down and stamp on her.

A frown of concern appeared on Gregory's face, "It's okay, are you okay?"

"I'll be fine; he appears from time to time. Luckily enough, Sia is rarely here when Mark comes."

"Whatㅡ," Gregory stopped.

Xenia sighed, "you want to know?"

"I'm sorry, it's none of my business."

In front of the man's resignation, Xenia decided to deliver her tale, she couldn't sink further anyway, and she doubted her words would sway Gregory.

"It's okay; it's not a state affair; it's your basic melodrama. Mark and I met in Uni; we fell in love and spent almost ten years together. He wanted to start a business, so I helped him financially, and then I got pregnant, and he left me. Six months after Sia's birth, I discovered he was with my best friend. No, big deal, right, it's life, except it wasn't new. He was with her when he was with me on and off.

"I let him see Sia on weekends, but he likes bothering and making me look like a lunatic bringing expensive gifts. Like who dresses a 4-year-old in Dior? Kids stain themselves and stuff, but Mark prefers doing that instead of giving me something to feed Sia or pay for school activities. There you have it; I'm the triple idiot. Wow, I must have hit rock bottom to be telling you of all people."

"ㅡEh, listen, Xenia, like I said this morning, I think we started on the wrong foot. I would appreciate it if we could just," the man scratched his forehead and sighed before saying, "if we begin again."

The woman's facial expression made Gregory wonder if he had said the right thing.

Was he messing things up more?

Xenia opened her mouth to say something, but Gregory stopped her.

"This isn't pitying. I don't pity you, Xenia. I just think we could maybe, I don't know," Gregory put one hand on his hip and the other on his forehead as he searched for words. The words remained constipated in his mouth; he had difficulty trusting his intentions "let's start again" was all that he found to say.

Xenia advanced and stretched out her hand, "Hi, I'm Xenia N'Diayé," she said in a soft, subtle voice, which made it hard to believe she could scream like a fire truck siren. Once again, the woman's reaction was unexpected.

Gregory stared straight in her eye; all he saw was sincerity. He stretched out his hand, "Hi, I'm Gregory Carlton. Nice to meet you."

For Gregory, the moment became their first encounter. The man saw the exit under the layers of misinterpretations. Together with Xenia, they pressed on the reset button or truce on the battlefield behind the door.