Chapter 3- Influence #2
“Among other things,” he said softly. “Alita has forfeited her teen years to protect me and be my friend so I don't come across as a freak. She deserves a new wardrobe whether she decides to go home or attend Uni with me. I think I want to treat her to a bit of what is the word... ah si, the pamper party.”
“Perhaps...no, never mind,” Eduardo answered.
“It is in my thoughts as well, Papa,” Micah said. “He could also give us both a bit of style, show her how to apply basic make-up, and how to make a few simple dishes. Do you think three or four days will be enough?”
“Yes. However, call first, mijo, and ask; all he can say is no,” Eduardo stated, appreciating the nuance of the request. “You want to pamper Alita; that is a nice gesture on your part. Please tell me your intentions are altruistic versus softening her up.”
“What means this soften up?”
“To make her your woman.”
“No, I would never do that, Papa. If she wants more with me, again, it will be up to her to make the move. I cannot, and will not, cross that line, unless it is her request, her desire, her move,” he said.
“Is it what you want?”
“Oh, hell yeah,” Micah said. “To be her first and only would be an honor, but I would only do so if I can offer her matrimony at the end of our journey.”
Micah’s honesty shocked Eduardo. Andres, his second born, was calculating, and the conversations with that young man required the use of both sides of Eduardo's brain to decipher what was not being said versus what came out of Andres' mouth.
Yunior, on the other hand, was calculative on a level which impressed and frightened Eduardo at the same time.
Although, he and his eldest son had stimulating conversations since Yunior better understood the life of a Czar, it all paled in comparison to the open-faced honesty of Micah.
He stated plainly for his son to respond honestly, “The cooking lessons and living together, that has not been discussed,” Eduardo commented.
“Papa, I am not doing communal living with nasty teens in a dorm,” he said.
“Those people are filthy. To share a public bathroom, when half of those young men do not wash their hands after using the facilities and to eat off a buffet in a dining hall? Do you not know the chances and opportunities for me to be poisoned or get a bacterial intestinal infection? I think not! We will have a three-bedroom flat, one each for sleeping, her own bathroom, and a third room for studying.”
“Or if you attend locally, you can stay here at home.”
“The commute time for lab assignments would be too much,” he told him. “It would be easier to stay closer to campus and perhaps come home on the weekends if time permits, but it is too soon. I have a month or so to decide.”
“And the clothing?”
He pulled the reins on his horse, slowing it to a walk.
“Seeing her with Bria and Ayanna, doing girl things, polishing her toenails, and them playing with her hair...styling it seems like such a small gesture, but it meant a lot to her. Papa, she only wears her hair down when it is time to call it an evening. I want to see her wear it down and embrace her beauty with the same confidence she has when she wields her knives.”
He looked at his father and gave a crooked grin. “She has nice feet.”
Micah burst into laughter, kicked the sides of the horse, and took off at a gallop.
As the day waned, he asked Alita to pack for four days.
He didn't say where they were going or what they were going to do.
The jet landed in Ohio as a car service drove them to a home, she was familiar with seeing and had visited once before. She wasn't sure why they were back.
Micah., his back straight, led the way to the front up walkway, climbed the stairs, and looked at the space. Bruised, calloused knuckles rapped at the wooden screen door as a head appeared in the glass panes of the heavy oaken door. The door swung wide, and they faced a huge grin.
“Well smack my ass and call me Lucy Pearl; come on here in, kiddos,” Tim Johnson squelched. “It blew my mind when you called. Man, am I glad to see you and how is the family?”
“All is well, but I am here for her,” Micah said to Alita's shocked face.
“Me?” She looked at her boss, confused.
“We have a wedding to attend for my uncle, a betrothal for Andres, the annual nonsense with my grandmother in Argentina, and college,” Micah said.
“We are going to need to look like regular teens. I need a makeover and so does she. Our clothing for the wedding, and Andres and mi Abuelo’s gathering, we shall need to coordinate in my color of emerald green, so dresses and dinner jackets.
Same for the wedding and betrothal. She will still need to be able to carry her knives, so the undergarments must be suitable. ”
“Okay, hair and makeup?” Tim asked, not the least bit surprised at the request since Micah had pretty much covered it all in the phone call.
Micah looked at Alita. “Her skin is flawless. Nothing heavy, but please teach her how to accentuate, a tad bit of lip color or whatever she is comfortable with, and the hair is up to her, but if I had a preference, the length is ideal. Perhaps some easy styles with clips or the little cutesy things young ladies use?”
“Oh, okay,” Tim said, giving Micah a once over. “Anything else?”
“We will not live on campus,” he said. “We will need to learn to make meals, simple to prepare with variety. I am willing to learn to make these meals as well. We do not know how to shop for food or make the groceries.”
“Well, shit, how much time do we have to learn all of this?”
“I have allocated four days,” Micah said. “Would it be an imposition to stay with you during this time? I can book a hotel room, but for safety purposes for us both, being with an adult in a controlled environment eases the mental stress on me.”
“Say less, I got you,” Tim said, looking at the young man. He knew Yunior was fully tattooed, and since Micah was 18, he should have been as well. He asked, “Oh, do you have all of your ink?”
“I do,” Micah said.
“Then, I will need to see it, measure you, and her as well,” Tim said.
“She can go first,” Micah commented. “Please stay where I can hear as you measure her; however, I will not look.”
He rolled the suitcase out of the pathway of the entry and took his laptop from his satchel. Micah took a seat at the table as Alita tried desperately to hide her tears. She was happy that he saw her as a woman and not just as his guard and companion.
“Oh, and Tim,” he said, sliding over a bag of cash, “she will need a few nice pieces of jewelry as well. Take your fee from the bag, for clothing, room and board, and the lessons.”
Tim opened the bag of cash and saw stacks on stacks. “Damn, I like you people. Let's get to work. Come on honey; let me get you measured. Also, let down your hair.”
Alita pulled the pins from her hair, allowing it to cascade down her back. Tim gasped as he ran his hands through it. He began to shimmy his shoulders.
“This is going to be fun!!!”