Secret Smiles and Three Little Words

Chapter 61

Opening the door brought a smile to Alex's face.

"Good morning!" Madelyn smiled.

"Good morning!" Alex returned as Madelyn hugged her. Alex then moved to the side and let the woman in and watched her look around.

"I thought it was about time to come and take a look at your new home!" Madelyn smiled as she looked upon the auburn haired beauty.

"Thank you, Mistress," Alex bowed her head.

"How are you guys getting along out here in the burbs?" Madelyn smiled hooking her arm into Alex's.

"Good," Alex sighed and guided Madelyn to the living room. "Nora is happier now, has a friend right next door who plays with her daily. They are almost inseparable now!"

"That's fantastic!" Madelyn beamed as she sat on the sofa and Alex joined her. "I was worried about her after Gavin told me about no other kids there in the condo!"

"Yeah," Alex nodded. "I don't know if Gavin was ready to move out here, but he initiated everything. I hope he was ready." She smiled weakly.

"One thing I know about Gavin," Madelyn patted her hand. "If he wasn't ready, he wouldn't have moved!"

"I hope so," Alex shrugged.

"What's wrong?" Madelyn asked her.

Alex shook her head, she forgot that Madelyn was as adept at reading people as Gavin was, so hiding anything from her would be impossible. How does she tell this woman who is as close to Gavin as she was? Perhaps even more, Madelyn, without a doubt, had taken the position of mother to Gavin. Madelyn was also protective of him as well.

"Gavin has had his life flipped upside down now," Alex admitted wringing her hands a bit. Something Madelyn didn't miss as she put her hands on Alex's to keep her from doing it.

"I'm afraid, my coming into his life isn't what he expected, or wanted," Alex continued. "I mean, going from bachelor and Dom, a life that was perfectly orderly, to a life with a demanding sub whose family rears its ugly head to show just how horrible they can be."

Alex got up and went to the bay window and looked out towards the neighborhood.

"I mean, what kind of family attacks its own to the point of suicide?" Alex asked. Her voice shaking a bit as she thought of Livy. "Then to have his life destroyed by having a child brought into his orderly world. Going from happy bachelor to father figure overnight."

"Moving way out here, amongst the 'Joneses' with their mini vans and soccer practice," Alex continued. "How much upheaval can he take? I know my Sir likes order, but ever since I came into his life...I have brought nothing but chaos!"

Alex stood there, the silence filling the large living room as she waited for Madelyn to respond. The warm sun filing in through the bay window couldn't stop the cold shiver that ran through her when she heard Madelyn take in a deep breath and sigh noisily.

"Are you through feeling sorry for yourself?" Madelyn asked her. This caused Alex to look over her shoulder at the elderly woman.

"Let's clear up a few things, shall we?" Madelyn asked her patting the seat next to her in a not so subtle command for Alex to return.

"First," Madelyn smiled after Alex returned as order. "You aren't giving him what he wants." Madelyn let that hang in the air for what seemed like an eternity and Alex's heart flopped and she nearly vomited on the new couch.

"You are giving him what he

needs

," Madelyn finally told her. "In life, we don't have to get what we

want

...but we have to get what we

need

." Alex tilted her head and looked at Madelyn.

"Make no mistake, my beautiful Alexandria," Madelyn smiled. "I know him better than anyone, and that includes you. You are

exactly

what he needs."

"You are pushing him into waters he never dreamed of," Madelyn smiled. "Marriage? Kids? No, I'm telling you not since Carla has he thought of those things. I wondered if there was anyone who could push her from his mind."

Alex sat there thinking of that, surely Madelyn was speaking the truth. She had no problem speaking it, no matter the repercussion. She also wasn't one to withhold her opinion to save feelings either.

"I knew that first night," Madelyn smiled. "You were going to destroy his empty, unfulfilling, albeit orderly life."

"And in the most fantastic, loving way," Madelyn smiled. "No, my dear Alexandria, you have turned his world into chaos...but that is what love is. Chaos, it swirls around us, tips us off balance and makes us reevaluate everything we

thought

we wanted."

Alex took Madelyn into her arms and hugged her.

"Thank you," she whispered as the single tear rolled down her nose.

"Oh, sweetie, no need to thank me," Madelyn assured her. "It is I who should be thanking you, for saving my Gavin!"

"I don't feel like I've saved him as much as he rescued me!" Alex smiled pulling back.

"Then you both have the right frame of mind," Madelyn nodded. "If you both think you aren't good enough for the other, then you will continue to strive to please one another, to prove your worthiness." Alex nodded that she agreed as she wiped the tear free from her eye.

"Now," Madelyn exhaled. "I talked to your father last night, he sounded stronger."

"Yeah," Alex nodded. "He is feeling...wait...you talked to my father?"

"Yes," Madelyn said in a tone of 'duh, of course I have'.

"Why would you be speaking to my father?" Alex asked her.

"I believe we are waiting on him to recover to walk you down the aisle!" Madelyn told her. "We have a wedding to get to." Alex laughed.

"With all that we have been going through," Alex shrugged. "I guess the wedding became secondary. I don't need the man to marry me, I'm happy enough just being in his life!"

"No, no, no," Madelyn shook her head. "Neither of you need to be married to each other...I need you to be married. Call me selfish, but I want to see my son married before I'm dead. I was beginning to wonder...now I know it's going to happen."

"Want or need?" Alex teased.

"Need," Madelyn said firmly. "I need to make sure Gavin has the right woman in his life to make him truly happy. You do that." Alex beamed.

"Now," Madelyn continued. "Al seems to think he is ready now, Gavin says it could be a few months. What do you think?"

"I know my dad," Alex frowned. "He would put himself in jeopardy for me...so when Gavin says he is ready, I will believe he is ready."

"Ok," Madelyn frowned. "So, we wait until next spring?"

"Spring?"

"Dearie," Madelyn laughed. "Spring is the best time to marry, the blooms will be stunning at my house then!"

"Yes ma'am," Alex laughed with her. "It seems so long!"

"It is," Madelyn agreed. "But according to Gavin, Al won't be fully ready until the end of the summer. That leaves the fall, but an outdoor wedding in the fall? In northern Illinois? Not in your dress!"

"My dress?" Alex asked. Madelyn nodded. "You've seen my dress?" Madelyn nodded again.

"What does it look like?" Alex blurted excitedly.

"Stunningly elegant," Madelyn said with a dreamy sigh. "But sexy."

"When can I see it?" Alex asked her.

"As soon as you fly to New York," Madelyn shrugged. "That's where I saw it. It is sitting in Carolina's office."

"She has it in her office?" Alex repeated. Madelyn nodded.

"I think she is still tinkering with it," Madelyn shrugged.

"Is it going to be super expensive?" Alex carefully asked.

"Define expensive?" Madelyn asked.

"Like more than a couple thousand?" Alex asked.

"We obviously have different ideas of what 'expensive' means," laughed Madelyn.

"You are not going to tell me, are you?" Alex asked her when Madelyn sat staring at her with a smug grin.

"No," Madelyn said bluntly. "It's not any of your business since it's my gift to you. And it's rude to ask the price of a gift. I won't discuss it!"

"It's my wedding," Alex pointed out.

"Which I'm paying for," Madelyn countered. "Therefore, costs are my concern, not yours."

"But,"

"I'm not quarreling with you again over this," Madelyn cut her off sharply. "That is done!"

"Yes Mistress," Alex said shaking her head.

"Now," Madelyn smiled picking up her hand. "How about a tour of your new home?"

"Of course," Alex agreed with a forced smile.

***

"Good afternoon Maole!" Alex called out as she entered the back room where he was directing a hanging of one of Alex's paintings.

"Oh, thank God!" Maole called out as he saw her. "I have been trying to get a hold of you all day!"

"Sorry," Alex smiled as he hugged her. "I was with Madelyn all afternoon."

"Madelyn," Maole shook his head. "And this must be the beautiful Princess Nora!" Maole smiled looking down at her. Nora stuck out her hand and nodded. Maole laughed as he enclosed his long black fingers around her tiny hand.

"What do you ladies think?" Maole asked them sweeping his arm around the room.

"I can't believe you are giving me a whole room!" Alex gasped again in disbelief.

"Oh, sweetheart," Maole said shaking his head. "You should see the responses I have received since I sent out the invitations!"

"Anybody and everybody is coming! I have professional athletes, Congressmen, actors, directors...owners of multi-billion dollar companies and heads of state coming! Including the ambassador of Japan!"

"Jesus!" Alex gasped.

"I know!" Maole agreed. "This place is going to be packed!"

"That is just incredible!" Alex told him in a near whisper.

"I hope you have been working?" Maole asked her carefully. "I know you have been going through a lot, but I don't think I have enough art!"

"I haven't been," Alex admitted. "There has been so much going on!" Maole frowned. "How much more do you need?"

"As much as you can paint!" Maole gasped. "I'm thinking there will be just over four hundred people here...they will be tripping over themselves to buy!"

Alex rubbed her forehead, she hadn't painted since Livy's death. She hadn't even picked up a brush!

"I'm sorry," Alex finally shrugged. "I haven't any desire to paint."

"I understand," Maole said with a gentle hand to her shoulder. "What we have will be fine, but it just means I might have to auction them off instead of just selling them outright. It will mean more money for you!"

"No, no auctions," Alex told him. "Just take names of those who don't get something, I will get back to work and they can have first dibs."

"Ok," Maole shrugged.

Walking out of the art gallery Alex stopped and looked around at the city.

"Aunt Alex?" Nora called from below.

"Yes baby?" Alex said still deep in thought.

"Why haven't you been painting?"

"No time," Alex smiled.

"Am I taking up all your time?" Nora asked her. Alex squatted down to her.

"No," Alex shook her head. "We have been busy, with the move, the packing, the new school...everything!"

Alex watched the little girl drop her head and Alex tilted it up with a finger.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked her.

"I don't want to be a problem," Nora told her.

"You," Alex said holding her face. "Are not a problem! You have made Gavin and I so happy! We love you, we love that you are with us...you are never a problem! You are a blessing!" Nora nodded and Alex pulled the girl into her arms.

***

The next day, Nora was playing on the swings with some classmates when a group of children walked over.

"Hey new girl!" one of the boys called out. Nora turned and recognized him as one of the boys who had been calling her names in the hallway.

"What?" Nora said to him scanning the others that had come along.

"I heard you were adopted?" the boy laughed. Nora's face burned with embarrassment as the other kids laughed. "I bet you were, you are ugly enough!"

"Leave me alone," Nora demanded.

"Or what?" the boy asked her as he took a step closer to her.

"Leave me alone!" Nora demanded again.

The boy gave her a little push and she glared at him.

"Yeah," the boy laughed. "I'm guessing that a girl as ugly and stupid as you would have to be put up for adoption. No mother or father would want a piece of shit like you!"

"Don't say that," said a girl coming to Nora's defense.

"Shut up," the boy barked at her. "Your parents are hired help here, that's the only reason you can afford to go to this school!" The girl dropped her head.

"So, did your mom and dad just dump you on the doorstep of an orphanage or what?" the boy continued to taunt. Nora turned away and tried to escape the laughter.

"I heard her mother is dead," came a voice from behind the boy. Nora stopped.

"Is that it?" the boy asked. "Did Mommy die? After seeing you, I bet she killed herself because she felt guilty that she brought a piece of shit like you into the world!" This got the group laughing.

The boy turned his head to look to his compatriots as they laughed with him. When he turned Nora was already in mid-swing as she punched the boy squarely in the nose, causing it to explode with blood.

This got the group to gasp in disbelief, but Nora didn't stop there. She straddled the fallen boy as he held is nose and she began to pummel his face, screaming in anger the entire time as tears raced down her face.

"Hey stop it!" one of the boy's friends called out to her. "You're hurting him!"

Nora didn't stop, instead she let out a string of obscenities as she pounded on the cowering boy with her tiny balled up fists. The boy was doing his best to defend himself but the hands were coming too fast.

***

"Hello, this is Dr. Steward," Gavin said into his phone as he didn't recognize the number that showed up on his ID screen.

"Dr. Steward," the voice greeted. "This is Father Andor at St. Timothy."

"Father," Gavin said turning from his patient. "Is Nora ok?"

"Um, yes, sort of," Andor told him. "She is not harmed, but there was an incident...we have been trying to get in touch with Miss Lasko, but have so far been unable."

"What happened?" Gavin asked.

"It seems Nora got into a fight, on the playground," Andor told him.

"Is she alright?" Gavin gasped.

"Yes, she is fine," Andor assured him. "A little shaken up, quite angry, it's the boy who was injured a great deal."

"I'm on my way," Gavin told him. "Keep trying to get a hold of Alex!"

Gavin made his apologies to his patient who waved him off and sent him on his way. Gavin raced through town getting to St. Timothy in record time. His tires squealed to a stop in the parking lot. Barely waiting for the car to come to a complete halt he jumped out and ran into the school.

Turning into the office he saw Nora sitting just outside of the Dean's office, her head down as she picked at her uniform.

"Hey baby," Gavin called out to her. Nora instantly began to bawl and wrapped her tiny arms around Gavin's neck and clutched tightly.

"That's ok baby," Gavin cooed. "It's ok, you're fine."

Nora couldn't talk, instead she just held him and cried, flooding his collar with tears. Gavin held her tightly knowing she needed only to be held right now. The trembling in his arms told him she was scared of what was going to happen to her. Probably scared because she had hurt someone. Scared of what her new parents were going to say to her.

Gavin finally pulled away from her when she let loose her arms around his neck. He pulled the handkerchief from his suit jacket and wiped her face.

"Are you ok?" he asked her as he did a cursory search of her, looking for injuries from the fight. He found only her hands swollen and red from where she hit the boy. There was some blood on her shirt, but he didn't know if that was from Nora or the boy.

"I'm sorry Uncle Gavin!" Nora finally gasped.

The school secretary brought Nora a cup of water. Her hands shook as she took it from the woman and Gavin held his around hers to steady them.

"It's ok, do you want to tell me what happened?" Gavin asked her. Nora dropped her head again after taking a drink. "Go slow."

Nora told Gavin what had happened. What the awful boy had said to her. What she had done.

"I couldn't stop!" Nora whispered at the end. "I just couldn't stop!" She began to cry again and Gavin pulled her into his lap and held her.

The secretaries in the office smile comfortingly at him as he kissed her head. Father Andor came into the office and looked at them.

"Dr. Steward," Andor said quietly. "How is she?"

"Shaken up," Gavin told him. "How is the boy?"

"A lot worse off!" Andor grimaced.

"Do you want me to take a look?" Gavin offered.

"No, the school nurse is capable of taking care of him," Andor shrugged. "Why don't we step into my office?" Andor suggested and led the way. Gavin set her down and held her hand as they followed.

"We are waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Papin," Andor told him. "They are the boy's parents." Gavin nodded as he stroked Nora's hair.

***

Alex's Mercedes came to stop and she jumped out and ran into the building in a full sprint. She had been out in her new studio working, she was so wrapped up in it she hadn't heard the phone. When she saw her light flashing on her cell phone she realized she hadn't taken it off the sleep mode from the overnight.

She only heard a little about a fight at school with Nora involved. After that she was running to her car and speeding through the neighborhood to get to St. Timothy. She saw Gavin's car and that made her feel a little better. Gavin was here at least.

Running into the office the look of panic caused the secretary to hold up her hands.

"She's fine!" the woman told her immediately. "She is with Dr. Steward and Dean Andor in his office." The woman waved her back and Alex took a deep breath before knocking and then entering the Dean's office.

"I'm sorry Aunt Alex," Nora blurted out as she began crying again. Alex scooped the small girl from her seat and held her in her arms as she sat next to Gavin. Gavin was holding Nora's hand.

"It's ok baby," Alex assured her. "Whatever it is, we will work through it." Nora nodded into Alex's coveralls.

"Please tell me that isn't wet paint?" Andor teased as Alex looked to him, then her paint covered overalls.

"No!" she laughed. "I mean, it should be dry by now!" Alex laughed uncomfortably but the look on Andor's face told her he was joking.

"We are waiting for the boy's parents," Gavin told her.

"What happened?" she asked him.

"Nora and the boy got into a fight," Gavin explained softly as he stroked the small girl's hair. "Guess she beat him up pretty good."

"Oh my God!!" Alex gasped. She looked to Nora who couldn't look her in the eyes.

The door opened up and the boy's parents walked in.

"There is the little brat!" Mr. Papin barked upon letting his eyes fire up seeing Nora. Alex was about to say something when Gavin stood up quickly.

"Brat? If your boy hadn't been an asshole, my little Nora wouldn't have had to kick his ass!" Gavin barked suddenly causing the man to take a step backward. "How dare you! Come in here with your attitude and insult my little girl? You had better watch your step and your mouth or your boy won't be the only one getting an ass kicking!"

"Enough!" Andor barked causing both men to quiet. "This is not good for Nora."

Alex sat there stunned that the normally calm and reserved Gavin appeared on the verge of getting into a fist fight. Flashes of Royce and Gavin's brief fight at Madelyn's that first night came to her. It also appeared that Mr. Papin wasn't expecting it either as he had moved away and sat at the far seat away from them.

"Dr. Steward?" Andor said to Gavin who was still staring down the boy's father. "Doctor?" Gavin shifted his eyes to the Dean. "Please?" Andor asked pointing to Gavin's chair. Gavin sat down and let out a deep exhale.

"Miss Nora," Andor shifted his tone to one of soft and comforting. "I need to talk to your parents and the Papin's." Nora nodded. "Do you feel up to sitting outside by yourself? If not, I can have Ms. Davies come down and sit with you."