Broken Walls ✔

ch 4

Liam Moonhovan

"Papa, Papa, Papa" I sighed and looked over at Alexis at the door of my home office.

 "What is it love?" I asked, tilting my computer screen to offer her my undivided attention. 

"I'm going to be late for my playdate with James and Will," she crossed her arms. I looked at the time , swearing under my breath. It had absolutely escaped my mind. 

"I'm very sorry, sweetheart. Let's get going "I rushed up, pocketing my phone and following her as she went to retrieve something from her room. "What's up with the bag?" I inquired as I shut the door. 

"It's my toys, you always bring toys to playdates" she replied as she skipped down the front stairs as I just slowly nodded.

When we arrived at the quaint baby blue house, we noticed another car parked in the driveway. "Papa. Will is already here "Alexis reprimanded me as I assisted her in getting out of the car. 

"I know. I'm sorry," I said feeling bad for forgetting after I'd promised her I wouldn't. I knocked on the door, and a small kid I knew as James from their last playdate cheerfully answered the door to meet us.

 I let them run around after seeing another boy, Will, arrive around the door with toys, and the three of them soon vanished somewhere playing. I entered the living room, greeted both of their mothers and thanked James' mother for having Alexis over.

"Please take a seat, and join us for a cup of tea," she said, motioning to a chair. 

"Oh no, I really shouldn't," I argued, not wanting to be in this uncomfortable environment.

"I am adamant. Given that our children are such wonderful friends, we should at the very least be acquainted "Will's mother stated as she looked up at me from her seat. 

"Alright, but I'll have to leave for work shortly," I remarked as she offered me a cup of tea. At first we were simply talking about the school and our kids, when they exchanged a look and one of them cleared her throat.

 "It must be difficult for you to raise Alexis on your own."

I suppressed the impulse to scoff and roll my eyes. I despised the school soccer moms and their gossip clubs with a burning passion, but hearing Alexis laugh joyfully from the next room, I couldn't ruin her friendships for her. I knew they'd be talking about it with the other moms because the new young single dad with a  daughter appeared so intriguing to them.

"Yeah, it is, but I manage," I said, taking a sip of tea with a fake smile. The sooner I finish it, the sooner I can leave. 

"That's incredible," one of them murmured, feigning amusement.

 "Does the attractive lady who picked her up the last time happen to be someone you're seeing?"

These people had no shame, and it was entertaining to witness how much they disgrace themselves by poking their noses into other people's lives. 

"No. She's a close friend of mine. More like a sister "I cringed at the prospect of dating Zaria.

"Alexis appears to be only friends with boys. Isn't that bothering you?"

 I was on the edge of popping a vain, but I laid the empty cup down standing up. "No, not at all. She can befriend anybody she wants. After all, they're all only kids "I gave a courteous grin. as they nodded and murmured in agreement, as if I were a pastor preaching "I have to hurry or I'll be late for my meeting. I'll be back at 5 p.m. to pick her up "I checked my watch, pretended to be late, and hurriedly left before they could answer. These exchanges were exhausting, but I suppose they were worthwhile for her

I got into my car and drove away. Zach had gone overseas for a month to represent both of us in various meetings. I don't generally go to out-of-town meetings because they force me to leave Alexis behind, especially if Zaria isn't in town to keep an eye on her. Which she isn't mostly in her profession as a flight attendant. It also helped that one of us was still in town to manage things at head office .

It had been almost a month after the event at the club, but I couldn't seem to get that guy's idiotic face out of my head, along with the memories of our night together. Part of me wanted to drive back to the club in the hopes of seeing him again, but my more reasonable side told me that was a bad idea. So I haven't gone back, despite the fact that it's only a ten-minute walk from my house.

I had the day free because it was a Saturday, but with Zach and Zaria on the other side of the world and Alexis on a playdate, I had no one to spend out with. It was just 11 a.m., so I had plenty of time to kill. So I went grocery shopping to stock up on Alexis' favorite snack and other necessities. To my chagrin, it only took me an hour. With nothing else to do, I decided to wander over to a local café and get ahead on my work. It was a short, leisurely stroll there, and I found a small table in the corner by the window.

As I opened my computer, I reflected on how if Alexis, Zach, or Zaria were present, they would have chastised me for working so much, but in my defense, I had nothing better to do. The café was barely three minutes away, so I sat inside, ordered some coffee, and began working on stuff that wouldn't even be needed for the next three weeks.

"Hey, I spotted you sitting here all alone, and it would only be right for me to come say hello," I groaned and peeked over the computer screen, preparing to strike the person with a nasty comment to get them to leave me alone, but when I met a familiar pair of brown eyes, I panicked before quickly regaining my calm. 

" Oh the dude from the bar a few months back.' I said looking at him with a dull expression "I assumed you would have slept with so many others by now that you wouldn't recognize me "I stated, reclining back in my seat, glancing up at him He was dressed simply in grey sweatpants and a navy blue shirt that some would claim was too small because it gripped his every muscle. My eyes trailed up to his face and I noticed a smirk, probably from having caught me staring.

"Oh, I never did introduce myself, did I?"