| Subject: À la Vie! - Chapter 47 (language) |
Author:
Diane
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Date Posted: Monday, November 08, 08:39:50pm
In reply to:
Diane
's message, "À la Vie! - Chapter 41+" on Friday, November 05, 11:09:31pm
Adam loved his new home. The indoor pool had a waterslide, and Adam would have played on it all day had Michael not grown exhausted from treading water. He and Adam took a bath together in the Jacuzzi tub, and Adam was delighted when Michael obligingly turned up the jets full force. He was so busy playing he didn’t even realize that Michael had washed his hair, something he absolutely hated. He was holding his collection of superballs against one of the jets, letting them go one by one and watching them ‘ping’ across the room. He shouted with glee.
Nikita heard Michael and Adam from the bedroom. She loved being a part of this family tableau—she just wished that she and Michael could make it legal. She wished they could settle down somewhere, even in Marseilles, in a real house with a real garden for Adam. Maybe even a picket fence and a cocker spaniel named Winston. She, of course would have a cat. Nikita was a cat person, and was always bringing home strays as a child. Naturally, Roberta threw them out as soon as she found them—food was too scarce to share with some “goddamned flea infested animal,” Even as an adult, Nikita always left a bowl of water and a plate full of cat kibble on her back porch as a welcoming gesture. She didn’t own a cat because she traveled so much, but this way she could pretend she did.
* * *
Roberta agreed to help them out, as long as her monthly allowance stayed at $15,000. Nikita started to protest, but Michael had cut her off. He would do whatever it took to keep her and Adam safe. Roberta was friendly with the night desk clerk, Hillinger, and was able to persuade him not to book anyone to suite 412, but to make it appear to be occupied in the computer. Hillinger had no problem with this. He just figured Roberta had a boyfriend, and wanted a nicer place than her house to have fun in. He warned her about Memorial Day weekend, though. He may not be able to let her keep the suite. Roberta shrugged and told him she would deal with it when the time came.
* * *
Suba had finally traced Michael and Nikita to a Motel 6 in Corpus Christi, Texas. They had been registered as Sage and Peter Philo, and had a little dark-haired boy and a red-headed nanny with them. This was back in January, though, and their trail had grown cold again. Suba’s face twisted into a cruel smile. Now that he had a name, the game was on. They only had a three month lead on him. He would bring home his quarry. He always did.
* * *.
Two whole months in the same suite of rooms. “It was heaven,” thought Nikita. She hadn’t complained, but she was growing desperately tired of constantly being on the move. She asked, and received permission, to give Madeline Frayne a call. It really wasn’t fair what Nikita had done to her and to l'Éclat by disappearing so suddenly. Madeline did not sound thrilled to hear her voice, but she did agree to meet with Nikita at l'Éclat. Donning a dark wig and sunglasses, Nikita took a taxi to her old office.
Madeline was not unsympathetic to Nikita’s plight, but business was business. Nikita agreed to pay whatever damages she had incurred by breaking her contract, and let Madeline know that she would be more than willing to return to l'Éclat as soon as the opportunity presented itself. Madeline had her sign a non-compete agreement to that effect, and was in happier mood when Nikita left than she had been when Nikita had first called.
* * *
Adam’s third birthday, by necessity, was celebrated quietly in their hotel suite. Michael let him order whatever he wanted from the children’s room service menu, and they all feasted on hot dogs and macaroni and cheese. Michael and Nikita had taken him to a toy store earlier in the day, and given him 30 minutes to pick out all the toys he wanted. He started running up and down the aisles, pushing his little plastic shopping cart in front of him. He finally ended up with six new cartridges for his computer, Tickle Me Elmo, a set of Hot Wheels cars, and some construction paper and colored pencils. It was these last items that made Michael tear up a bit. He was thrilled that Adam wanted to draw, and he promised he would teach him everything he could without interfering with his natural style.
Well, at least Adam had a good sense of color, Michael consoled himself. Adam’s drawing of him and Nikita were the work of a typical three-year old, with balloon bodies, shrunken heads, and sticks for arms and legs. He supposed Adam couldn’t be a prodigy at everything. Nikita bought some fridge magnets and proudly hung Adam’s drawing on the mini-bar. He had painstakingly written “MOM AND DADDY’ at the top of the page, and Nikita couldn’t have been more proud.
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