Chapter 30
“Did you get that, Uncle Myles? Did you???” Sienna all but screeched.
I sighed as I lowered her phone. “Yes, you insufferable migraine of a human,” I grumbled.
She clicked her tongue and sashayed over to me. “You shouldn’t frown like that. You look like Grandpa when you do.”
I placed a hand on my hip. “I do not.”
“Do too,” she countered. “Let’s go there,” she pointed at the fountain on the far left. “I think the lighting there is just perfect.” Her floral dress went crazy with the wind as she began running, and, because I had no other choice, I stomped-followed her.
We were at the Millennium Park. It was Sunday, so me and the crew were off work, which meant that I was free, and also a very open prey for my niece to snatch onto for her weekly Instagram photoshoot session.
I’ve been a victim of it several times, which is why I try my best to avoid her calls on Sundays, but because Tori had fallen ill and Taron was busy looking after her, I was the only one remaining on Sienna’s hit-list.
I had, of course, asked her why she’d picked me instead of her friends for something like this, to which she’d simply turned to me and said, “Because you take the best damn photos of me. You’ve got a talent, Uncle Myles, and you should be thankful I discovered it before you lost all the hair on your head and teeth in your gums. You could be a legend, all because of me! ”
I wasn’t sure how I could respond to that, so I’d kept my mouth shut and agreed to do her bidding.
The weather was pretty nice for a Chicago winter morning, and as I looked around me, I saw several people enjoying it as well, by either taking pictures, or simply walking around with relaxed smiles on their faces.
“Uncle Myles!” Sienna called.
I turned my attention to her. “Yes, demon?”
She rolled her eyes, flipped her long black hair over her shoulders, and then struck a pose in front of the fountain – something very similar to the ones I’d seen those fashion models doing on luxe clothing store banners.
“Snap,” she all but ordered.
I scowled as I clicked a few shots of her from different angles, then handed her the phone so she could check them.
“OMG, Uncle Myles! These came out so good!” she said. And yes, she literally voiced ‘OMG’ instead of saying ‘oh my God’.
“I’m glad you like them,” I told her.
She shoved her phone in my hands again. “Okay, now I need you to take a few more…” She glanced around for an aesthetically pleasing backdrop, then gasped and pointed at the lush-with-flowers section of the park. “Here!”
I followed her, of course, and raised my brows while taking her pictures because…the poses she was doing here seemed more, I don’t know, delicate and candid.
I never had a doubt that my niece was beautiful, but with each click, I realized that these photos were not like the others, but something of a more…special nature.
I immediately stopped snapping and gave her a stern look. “What’s up with these poses?” I asked. “Why are they not as flashy as the others?”
Sienna straightened and crossed her arms over her chest. “Because these aren’t for Instagram; these are for my boyfriend.”
I’m sorry, WHAT?
Boy…boyfriend?
Oh God, Taron was going to skin me alive and wear me as a winter garment if he learnt what I was helping Sienna do.
I swallowed and cleared my throat. “Your…who? What?”
She rolled her eyes again. “My boyfriend, Uncle Myles. His name’s Jeremiah and we have the same classes. You do realize that I’m almost sixteen, and it’s only natural for me to have a boyfriend, right?”
Natural? I didn’t know about that. But this sure would lead to my brutal execution if I didn’t tell Taron about it, stat.
But wait, what if he knew about it already?
“Are your parents aware of this… Jeremiah person?”
“I mean, they know who he is, but they don’t know we’re dating,” Sienna said.
Queue crying baby sound effect.
I was so dead.
“And you haven’t told them because…?”
Sienna sighed. “You’ve met my parents, Uncle Myles; you know how they are, especially my dad.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Oh yeah, I know. Your mom’s manageable, but your dad?” I made an abort gesture.
She laughed. “You won’t tell them, though, right?” she asked, then looked at me with plea in her grey eyes.
“Do you think skinned and bleeding-all-over-the-place will be a good look on me?”
She grimaced. “Ewwwww, why would you say that?”
It was my turn to roll my eyes. “Because if Taron finds out that I know about your dating situation and didn’t tell him about it, he’ll turn me into a ready-to-eat chicken.”
“But he won’t know anything if you don’t tell him.”
I shook my head. “He could find out on accident, or from one of your friends, Si.”
Sienna grabbed my hands. “He won’t. My friends know not to say anything, and Jeremiah and I are always careful about things.” She let go of a breath, and in that moment, I realized how her situation was so in sync with mine and Rina’s.
“If anyone can understand what I’m going through, Uncle Myles,” she told me, “it’s you.
You know what it’s like having to live under restraint, when all you wanna do is scream your lungs out and tell the world how badly you wanna be with this person.
I promise I’ll tell Mom and Dad about Jer and I, but just not now.
Can you please not say anything to them for the time being? ”
I worked my jaw as I looked at her, and because everything she’d just told me felt so honest, especially with the way her eyes lit up every time she said the guy’s name out loud, I sighed and relented. “Fine, but only because I know exactly how you feel.”
She squealed and began jumping up and down. “Thank you, Uncle Myles!” She hugged me. “Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!”
I laughed and hugged her back. “Alright, alright.” I pulled away and placed my hands on her shoulders. “But be careful, Si. And, if this guy ever breaks your heart or hurts you, you come to me, okay? I’m here for you.”
She nodded, then showed me a selfie she’d taken of the two of them.
I had to admit: they looked adorable together. And, if Sienna really had found happiness with someone she knew well enough, then who was I to get in their way?
“Hey.” She tapped my arm. “Let’s go to the café and get some Frappuccino. I’m tired and hungry.”
It took us fifteen minutes to get to the café. On a weekday, it’d take us twice as long, but because the traffic was minimum and the streets were clear, I could protect myself from getting an ear bleed against Sienna’s K-pop marathon.
I parked my van outside the café and faced her. “You stay here,” I told her. “And if you need anything else other than a Frap, just gimme a call.”
“Okay,” she said, and then began playing some BTS song on her phone.
I groaned and got out of the van.
As I pushed open the café’s door and stepped inside, the welcoming smell of coffee and bread hit my nose, making me sigh.
I realized there was a line in front of the order counter, so I slid my hands into my coat pockets before standing behind a guy ahead of me.
“I don’t understand, ma’am,” I heard Suman, the order lady, say to someone.
There was some commotion up front that I couldn’t hear clearly, so I rose on my toes to see if I could make out what was going on, but it was a pretty crowded line, so I couldn’t see anything.
“Ma’am, please; I cannot understand,” Suman said, this time in clear frustration.
More unclear commotion.
Some customers started fidgeting and began murmuring to each other.
Fuck this.
I got out of the line and made my way to the front, but around halfway through, a guy grabbed my arm in order to stop me.
“Whoa, hey. Where do you think you’re going, dude?”
He was still in his PJs, and his breath smelt all but rotten as he gave me a once over.
I jerked my arm out of his hold. “To see what the fuss is about,” I told him.
“Because clearly, you or the others don’t give two shits about it.
” I took a step forward, but stopped and faced him again.
“Also, the next time you plan on getting out of the house, make sure to at least brush your teeth, dude. It’ll save lives, trust me.
” I didn’t wait for him to reply; I marched straight up to the order counter.
“What’s wrong, Suman?” I asked the barista.
She relaxed when she saw me. “Myles, hey.” She then gestured in front of her. “I’ve been telling this lady that I have no idea what she’s saying, but she won’t budge, so it’s put a hold on the rest of the line. And, it seems like she’s alone, so that’s made things harder.”
I looked to my right, and saw an old lady glancing between me and Suman. When she saw me looking at her, she walked up to me and began signing furiously.
“See?” Suman said. “That’s all she’s been doing for the last few minutes.”
I ignored her and gave my complete attention to the lady.
Hi, I signed. I’m Myles. Are you here by yourself?
She beamed up at me, and the relief on her face made me smile.
I’m Annabeth, she signed. The woman behind the counter has been driving me crazy. My son is out running an errand, but he should join me soon.
I chuckled. “That’s okay. You can tell me what you’d like to order.”
Annabeth tapped both of her ears, and then shook her head with a frown on her face.
Ah, so she couldn’t hear me.
I’m sorry, I signed. Can you tell me what you would like to order? I can convey your message.
She nodded, then told me exactly what she wanted: two cream coffees, no sugar.
Anything else? I asked her.
She pursed her lips and looked at the long display case in front of us. Then, with a gleam in her eyes, she flattened a hand, palm up, and shaped her other one as an upside-down C before touching it to the open palm in a sign to say, Cupcake.
I grinned. You got it, I told her, and then turned to Suman. “Two coffees, no sugar, and two chocolate cupcakes.”
She nodded, her eyes wide.
“Do you have sugar free cupcakes?”
She nodded again.
“Perfect.” I faced Annabeth. Your order will be ready soon, I signed.
She smiled. Thank you.
“What’s your order, Reyes?” Suman asked me.
“Uh…” I glanced at the growing line. “I–”
“Listen up, everyone!” Suman hollered at the customers. “This man just helped someone in this line, so he gets his order first as compensation. If any of you have a problem with that, then you can go find yourself another café.”
A couple of baristas working the coffee stations laughed, and the customers mumbled briefly before going back to waiting patiently.
I looked at Suman. “Thanks,” I told her. “I’ll take a chocolate Frap with extra drizzle, and a hazelnut coffee, one sugar. Both to-go, please.”
“You got it.” She passed on both Annabeth and I’s orders to the baristas. “Wait period: six minutes.”
“Gotcha.” I looked at Annabeth. Can I get you a table?
She nodded, and let me walk her to an empty table-for-two near a closed window on the left.
As she settled down, she gestured for me to take a seat opposite her.
I obeyed.
You are very handsome, she signed. Are you married?
I chuckled. Thank you. No, not married yet.
She briefly placed an elegant hand under her chin, then moved her right thumb down her cheek once, followed by clasping the index fingers of both her hands together in one direction, and repeated the motion again, but in the opposite direction to say, Girlfriend.
I grinned. Yes, I signed, then slowly spelled out Rina’s name. I was still learning to shape the alphabets properly, so it usually took me a while to even think of their forms before I could actually Sign them.
That is a lovely name, Annabeth signed.
I smiled effortlessly. Yes.
Photo? she asked.
I nodded, and unlocked my phone before showing her my homescreen. It was a selfie of Rina and I. The sides of our heads were touching, and we were smiling at the camera like complete idiots because we were just so damn happy.
It wasn’t specifically a unique photo or anything; just one of the many we’d clicked together. But I simply loved this one because it was unfiltered and warm, and it made my heart thud a little faster when I looked at it.
Annabeth placed a hand on the center of her chest, and her eyes crinkled at the sides as she glanced at my phone first, and then at me.
You two are beautiful together, she signed.
Thank you, I told her.
She handed my phone back to me. Bless you both.
You are very kind, I said to her.
“Excuse me?”
I turned, and found a man standing behind me. He was maybe in his mid-forties, with grey hair and stubble, and bright blue eyes.
When I stood up, he looked at Annabeth, then smiled at me.
“You must be Myles,” he said. “I’m Stephen. The counter person told me you’re the one who helped my mom with her order.”
“Hey, yeah.” I offered him a hand, which he shook. “It was no problem, really. Your mother is absolutely lovely.”
He chuckled. “That she is.”
“One order for Annabeth. One order for M. Reyes. Collection counter is No. 3.”
“Umm, I should go,” I told Stephen. “My order’s here, and I’m pretty sure if I leave my niece alone any longer, she’s going to trash my van as a punishment for keeping her waiting.”
He laughed good-naturedly. “I get it. And hey, thanks again for the assist with my mom. I appreciate it.”
“You got it.” I turned to Annabeth. I have to go, but it was nice to meet you, I signed to her.
She got to her feet, and Stephen and I helped her walk around the table. She smiled at her son, then at me, and took my face in her hands before placing a gentle kiss on my forehead.
Thank you again, she signed.
I squeezed her hand once, and then waved at her and Stephen before making my way over to counter 3.
As I grabbed my order and left the café, I couldn’t help but notice a bounce in my steps.
Man, I couldn’t wait to tell Rina about this.