The Lamborghnini streaked down the empty highway, weaving from lane to lane.
"OhmygodohmygodohmyGOD! I am soooo grounded!" Faith laughed nervously. She was breathing heavily and could feel her heart racing in her chest. Her knuckles were turning white from how tightly she was holding the steering wheel. Having never driven before, she was afraid to end up in a car wreck or worse.
"So did you really mean it about buying me a car, Uncle Neil? Or did you just say that to bug my ma?" Not that the girl minded if it had just been a joke. The look on her mother's face was priceless.
[Continued in Comments]
Bassline
-
Syl smiled as she entered the beach house. The rumble of the bass guitar
welcomed her home, and the house keeper Rita came to greet her in the front
hall. ...
14 years ago
He didn't know who was more scared, Syl, Faith or himself. He figured he should win, Syl wasn't riding in the car, Faith was only scared of her Mom, he was scared of dying. Yep, he should win.
ReplyDeleteHe reached out to steady the wheel as he worked the stick, coaching her through the motions as they whipped down the highway. After a couple of miles, he motioned to a rest stop, "Not bad for your first lesson, pull over before it gets too busy and I'll get us into the city."
As they exchanged places at the rest stop, Neil grinned, "I was serious Faith." he pauses before putting the car into gear and turns to face her. "Your Mom is great, but she is stubborn as a mule." he grins, "If you ever need anything, call me. Oh and you will have to pick the colour, I ain't treading that minefield again." he laughs, slamming down the gas and dropping the clutch, letting the tires spin and the car fishtail out of the rest stop parking lot.
Syl was gonna be pissed, but he had warned her. If she wasn't going wallow in self pity, he would make sure Faith saw the good side, or at least a different side of life. "So, you be interested in hanging with me for a while? Give your Mom some time to her herself?"
"Sure," Faith grinned as she felt herself pulled into her seat by the sudden acceleration. It was easier to enjoy the ride without the fear of crashing her uncle's sportscar. "Do you think we'll find an ice cream parlour open this late in the city?"
ReplyDeleteSinking comfortably into the seat, she sighed contentedly and looked out the window at the scenery flying by. Then she noticed the sky.
She hit the button to lower the window and leaned out as far as she could while still belted in to look up at the endless array of stars above them. The city lights were still too far away to mute their brightness, and the stars didn't seem to move, like they were standing guard, while the rest of the world rushed by them as they drove along in the Lam.
"Wow", she whispered under her breath, as she settled back into her seat. She kept the window open so she could still feel the speed in the wind.
After a few moments, she turned to her uncle. "Hey, Uncle Neil? Do you know what's wrong with my Ma? It's like she's sick without actually being really sick." She wasn't sure that made any sense, but that was the best she could phrase it. Then she fidgeted a bit, wondering if she should be talking to him about this at all. "It's like I always have to be careful what I say or do all the time, like she's going to fall apart if I do something wrong."
She sighed and shook her head. "Like this fight I got into with some kid who tried to steal my wallet a few weeks ago. When Ma found out, she was ready to start bawling on me."
"You should have seen it though, Uncle," She chuckled, and couldn't help adding with a bit of pride. "I broke his nose in one clean shot." She put up her fists as if in a defensive stance and jabbed the air for emphasis. "Pow! Just like that. It was awesome." It also felt nice to actually be able to brag about it to someone.
Sinking into her seat, she let the excitement pass and glanced out the window, wondering for a moment what kind of punishment she would have to deal with when she got back. "I don't know. I guess it just feels like she's trapped in her own tiny bubble, and I'm trapped along with her, and I'm really tired of it. Does that make me bad or something?"
He takes a hand off the wheel long enough to high five her when she tells him about popping the punk, "That's my girl." he laughs, "It is always a good idea to know how to defend yourself, I’m proud of ya."
ReplyDeleteThe car slows down as they move into the city and he downshifts, his eyes scanning the streets as he listens to her and nods, "We should be able to score some ice cream." he points to a place off to the side and pulls in. He gets out, walking around to let her out of the car and offers her his hand as he escorts her inside.
After they sit down with their two orders of triple scoops, he answers her other questions. "People deal with stuff differently. Your mom puts her heart into everything, including you, which is a good thing. It means she is passionate about what she does and she cares. Unfortunately.." he laughs as he winks at her, "it also means when things don't go well, she tries to shoulder the blame and worse, she takes the failures and words to heart." He leans back, looking at her for a moment.
"Are you a bad person?" he shakes his head, "No, you are just different from your Mom is all. Your Mom won't fall apart, she is a lot tougher than she looks. But, like I said, she shoulders the blame and takes the failure to heart right?" He sighs, "That means every failure, even your Dad and Cab. Hell she apologized to me for not selling enough records." He rolls his eyes and laughs as he continues to eat his ice cream.
"So, here’s the deal. First, you will not be getting in trouble for this or anything we do." he grins, "I kinda got carte blanche for a bit with you so, anytime you wanna a break, or are feeling trapped, call me. We can go out. I can teach you how to drive, smoke cigars and gamble, all the stuff that will drive your Mom insane." He grins, "And if that doesn't straighten her out..." he winks at her, "I'll take for you for a spin on my bike and teach you how to ride that." He promises with an evil grin as he finishes off his ice cream.
Faith sat silently, listening, as she carefully ate the top scoop of her ice cream cone. She didn't want to lose to gravity the mound of chocolate that sat on top of her scoops of chocolate-chip and chocolate-chocolate-chip.
ReplyDeleteWhen her uncle finished speaking, she still sat silently, thinking. She didn't speak until she made it to her second scoop.
"Do you really think Ma will get better? She's been like this for a long time." She still remembered when she was younger watching her mother pace around and yell into her phone. This was actually how she learned how to swear despite her Uncle Gareth's best efforts.
Actually, seeing her mother behind closed doors, she had trouble believing her mother was tough at all.
She pouted behind her cone, mumbling into the chocolate-chip. "I want to be stronger than my Ma. I don't want to get hurt like she does."
The girl's thoughts then turned to all the things she could do with her uncle. "I already know how to play poker and blackjack," she confessed. A smile began to curl as she licked some ice cream off her lips. "A couple of Ma's roadies taught me when I was like 5, but we only bet with M&M's."
She paused a moment to chuckle, then went on. "Hey, do you know how to skate, Uncle Neil?" she asked hopefully. "I want to learn how to play hockey."
He laughed, winking at her. "I'll have to get some M&M's then." he leans back in his chair, looking around and then glancing back at her, his eyebrows raising and a smirk crossing his face as she asks about hockey. "Hockey?" he pauses, thinking just how livid Syl would get over seeing her daughter play hockey. That was the deciding factor.
ReplyDeleteHe leans forward and nods, "Finish up Faith, we will pick you up some gear and find a rink."
When the ice cream was all gone, they headed off for the local sporting good store. That in itself was an experiance as he simply walked in, found the store manager and tucked his credit card into the man's shirt pocket with the explanation, "She wants to play hockey and I need a stick, I broke my last one." The store manager's eyes light up and both of them are quickly surrounded by staff trying to cater to their every whim.
Looking at the bags, he knew there wasn't a hope all this gear would fit in the car, so much as he hated to do it, Neil called a limo service and as they left the store, hockey bag and sticks in hand, he directed Faith towards the waiting stretch limo. The driver's eyes widened, but he smartly didn't say a word as he quickly opened the trunk for the gear then opened the door for them both. Inside, Neil tossed her a pop as he leaned back for the ride. "Having fun yet?" he asked with a smile.
It was all the result of a good PA, there was nothing else that could be said. One call to his PA and he didn't know how many calls or how much money, that was really why he had the PA, for those moments when making a young girl feel like rock star mattered. The limo stopped outside the local rink and Neil climbed out and grabbed the gear. Sticks in hand, the headed in to hit the ice and have some fun.
She smiled as she sat on the bench and laced up her brand new skates. Actually, she had had the smile since they walked into the sports store and were waited on hand and foot. When she asked her uncle to teach her how to play hockey, she definitely hadn't expected him to teach her *right now*, much less to spare no expense.
ReplyDeleteShe stood up and wobbled uncertainly on her blades as she made her way to the ice where her uncle was waiting. Grinning at him, she stepped onto the surface...
... and immediately fell heavily on her rear. She was thankful hockey pants had padding.
Laughing, she got up unsteadily, using her hockey stick for support. The kids that always played at the outdoor rink down the street from her old home always made it look so easy.
She wondered for a moment if there was an ice rink near her new home in Rio.
"I guess I have to learn how to skate first, Uncle," she chuckled to hide her embarrassment.
She listened carefully as he instructed her how to skate properly and tried to mimic his movements the best she could as he glided gracefully across the ice. When she finally managed to skate across the ice with minimal falling (yet still somewhat unsteadily), they moved on to more hocky-specific lessons.
When her uncle pulled out a puck and dropped it onto the ice, she was giddy with excitement and it showed in her smile.
After two hours on the ice, his legs were burning something fierce. He hadn’t skated since the hockey tourney and he would pay for this later that was for sure, unless? As they sat on the bench and he undid her skates he thought about it a little more and decided that he couldn’t see why not. How much more trouble could he get in after all. “Tired?” he asked with a grin and when she nodded, he asked, “Sore?” He smiled when she nodded again. “Come on kid, time for another treat.”
ReplyDeleteIt took another call to his PA to set it up, but after they were both changed and back in the limo, he directed the driver towards their next stop. Exiting the limo, he looped his arm around her as he led her into the spa. “This is what you need after a night on skates.”
While he settled for the simple massage, he made sure she got the full treatment and was royally pampered. While a beautiful young woman eased his sore muscles, he found himself amused as Faith was treated to a pedicure, manicure, facial and massage.
It was after midnight when the limo pulled into the hotel where Syl was staying. He had been smart, having his PA call her PA to find out where she was staying, he didn’t want to give her a chance to yell at him over the phone. Hockey bag over his shoulder, he took Faith up to her Mom’s room and knocked on the door. “Yo Sis, we’re home.”
Faith had enjoyed her night out with her uncle and not just because he had showered her with a string of surprises. She had enjoyed his company and the conversation. It felt good to talk things out and spend time with someone who was not emotionally weighed down like her mother.
ReplyDeleteShe held back a yawn with her newly manicured hand. Even though she was tired, she didn't really want the night to end.
Standing in front of her mother's hotel room door, she *really* didn't want the night to end.
Nervous, she unconsciously gripped her uncle's arm as he knocked and stepped behind him as if to hide from her mother's coming wrath.
"Yo, Sis! We're home!" he called.
Syl opened the door and crossed her arms, leaning against the doorway to glare at them with a key card in hand.
Apprehensive, Faith squeezed her uncle's arm. Neil, unsurprisingly, stood tall ready to take whatever her mother had to dish out. Syl noticed the hockey bag slung over his shoulder, but said nothing, assuming the equipment belonged to Neil.
Fingering the key card, Syl looked at her daughter coldly before holding it out to her. "Your room is next door," she said in a stern voice, without a word of greeting. "I'll talk to you after."
Sighing, the girl took a deep breath and looked her mother in the eye. Even though her uncle had promised she wouldn't get punished for this, she was certain she would anyway. She had made a conscious decision to defy her mother and get into his car after all.
Stepping out from behind her uncle, she came forward and took the card, trying to be as indifferent about her mother's attitude as possible. Whatever happened next would happen next. Turning to leave, her uncle threw her a wink and a reassuring smile, which she couldn't help returning, as she passed him and walked down the hall.
At the door of her room, Faith slipped the card in and out of the electronic lock, then had a thought and glanced back down the hallway. Her mother still stood in her own room's doorway and couldn't see her. Grabbing the door knob, the girl turned it roughly so it clicked loudly when she opened the door. Then she slammed the door without entering to give the impression to anyone in earshot that she actually did. Leaning as close to the wall as possible to stay out of view, she tried to listen without being seen.
Syl was silent for long moment, struggling with what to say. She was more sober than she was earlier, so her mind, instead of working too slow, was working too fast.
ReplyDeleteShe opened her mouth intending to ask him sarcastically who had died and made him her daughter's father, but quickly closed it, feeling like she was setting herself up. Cabot had died. Faith's father had abandoned them. Gareth had a shorter attention span than a ferret. Everyone else was too busy to invest time in an aimless, lonely teenager. At least Neil took the time to care. About both of them.
Still, he could have been less of a jerk about it.
"What's the fucking deal here?" she snapped, glaring as she took a step towards him.
Down the hall, Faith held her breath when she saw her mother step out into the hallway. Slowly, she tired to inch away along the wall, hoping her mother wouldn't catch her movement and see her.
"Should I just get a lawyer to write up custody papers to hand Faith over to you? So I'm not the best fucking parent in the world. I don't doubt you're probably better at it then I am. But undermining me like you did tonight does *not* make this easier for me. You didn't even let me say 'yes'! You just assumed I'd disapprove and took off with her!" She was shaking with anger, her fists clenched as if she was ready to hit him.
"Fuck. I know I'm fucked up. You know I'm fucked up. Hell, Faith isn't stupid. She probably knows I'm fucked up. But how the fuck am I supposed to work through this shit if you start pulling stunts like this?"
Syl looked as if she was about ready to kill him. If Neil so much as flinched the wrong way, she swore she was going to slug him.
After winking at Faith and watching her scurry away, he turned his attention back to the ‘mama bear’ in front of him. He had an amused smile on his face, to be honest, he was thrilled, but he was trying hard not to show it. She cared, he had found something to use, a button to push to get her off her ass and get her passionate about something. He had found something she was willing to fight for.
ReplyDeleteHe laughs softly. “Hell Syl, I ain’t half the parent you are.” He shakes his head, his gaze dropping to the ground, “Course, my example was a drunken slob whose idea of a good time was to beat my mother to a pulp and then come after me with a belt or a stick or whatever else he could find.” He shrugs, “funny, as I got bigger, his choice of instruments got bigger; he never wanted to take the chance I’d win one.” He sighs and looking back at her. “My goal as a Dad has been simple, never raise a hand to em, it may not be the best parenting and I am sure at times they may have needed it, but I just refused to be him.” He smiles at her, “So, I’m probably not the best role model you could pick for your daughter.”
He laughs softly again and takes a deep breath. “So two things…” he passes her the hockey bag. “This is Faith’s hockey gear, she’s not bad, needs to hit the ice a little more, there is a set of roller blades in there too, they will help her legs build up the strength, she had a blast and it was fun.” He smiles at her, putting the bag in her hand and smiling when the weight of it pulls her forward off balance and away from the door as the bag hits the floor between them.
“Second.” He leans over and kisses her cheek, his voice lowering “You are a good Mom, you got a great girl and you’re right, she knows how fucked up you are and every now and then she is gonna need a break from you. So, it can either be me spoiling her and letting her blow off some steam, or it can be some other guy she meets and in nine months, we can all call you grandma?” He steps around her, pushing the door open and walking into her room. “The bags heavy so be careful.” He says as he moves towards the mini bar and grabs himself a beer.
Popping the top, he settles in on the arm of the couch, watching her for a moment as she drags the bag in and then turns towards him. “So, tonight, we both know you would have said no, it would have been too dangerous and she is yours, I get that, you get that… she gets that Syl.” He takes a sip of the beer. “The problem is, she is growing up, she is gonna be hers before you know it and she either gets exposed to the rest of life with someone you trust, or she will find it all herself, so tonight, she got to be a rebel and she loved it. This was my fault, so if you give her any shit about it and my next trip with her will involve bikinis and a beach instead of a hockey rink.” He laughs and takes another long pull on the bottle of beer.
Watching from out of sight farther down the hall, Faith didn't think much of the kiss on the cheek Uncle Neil gave her mother. They were good friends; it wasn't odd for good friends to exchange simple gestures of affection like that. Nothing overtly romantic about it.
ReplyDeleteNothing seemed odd to her when her uncle lowered his voice either. The girl couldn't hear what he was saying from where she was hiding, but she didn't have any reason to imagine it was anything suspicious.
Then to her surprise, she watched her uncle walk into her mother's hotel room. Faith frowned in concern. She had only expected them to talk out in the hallway. And in conjunction with what had occurred between the two adults previously, the action looked particularly suspicious.
"Hockey? Faith took up hockey?" Syl called after him in disbelief and tried to lift the hockey bag. It barely got off the floor before it thudded back down again. Syl settled for dragging it along as she re-entered her room instead. "Good to know chivalry is dead, bro," she added just before she closed the door behind her.
When she heard the door click shut, Faith hurried over and pressed her ear against the door. The wood was thick, muffling most of the sound. Her uncle was saying something, but she couldn't make out the words.
Her mother must have still been standing next to the door, however, since Faith could still make out what she was saying if she strained a bit.
"What is it with you always coming into my room uninvited anyway?" her mother said with a laugh. "If I didn't enjoy your company so much, I'd throw you out. Isn't there wild, hot, passionate sex with your wife waiting for you in another hotel?"
Faith couldn't make out anything else. Her mother must have stepped away from the door. There seemed to be a conversation going on now. She couldn't make out what was being said anymore, but decided to try to keep listening in case she managed to hear something more discernible.
Inside the hotel room, Syl approached the mini-bar and inspected the contents herself, mulled over her options and settled for a bottle of water.
ReplyDelete"Compared to you, I guess I got lucky. I didn't know my dad at all," she said as she sat on the opposite end of the couch from Neil, perching herself on top of the arm rest instead of actually sitting on the seat. "My mom would never talk about him, so I got to make up whatever kind of dad I wanted. Growing up, I'd sometimes think maybe he was a cop or a firefighter or something. Someone who died doing something heroic, ya know? To explain to myself why he wasn't around."
With a twist of her hand, she cracked open the cap of her bottle as she continued. "When I got older, I used to hunt around for information about him. Not knowing felt like I was missing a part of myself and I wanted to find it. Like I was incomplete without my dad, even though I had no idea who he was."
Sighing, she shook her head. "Mom didn't tell me until I was pregnant with Faith that my dad was just a deadbeat who cheated on his wife just so he could have a one-night stand with my celebrity mom. He doesn't even know I exist, if he's even still alive. Mom never found him after that."
"I don't really want Faith to go through that. But with the way her father cut us off, I don't think it can be helped if she does end up feeling that way."
She paused to take a sip before replacing the cap and going on. "My girl will pick her own role models though. She doesn't need me for that." She chuckled and gestured towards him with the bottle, "But don't be surprised if she picks you anyway. You keep selling yourself short, Cowboy. Why do you think I always call you my 'big brother'? I look up to you, Neil." Grinning, she slid off her seat on the arm rest and onto the seat cushion, then reached out and jokingly patted him on the head like he was a small boy or a puppy. "Why do you think I 'adopted' you?" She laughed with a mischievous smile.
"Besides, you're a better role model than her father could ever be. I mean, bar fights, street brawls..." Syl trailed off as a memory she had hoped would stay forgotten rushed at her suddenly. She visibly shuttered and looked away. Abandoning her bottle of water on a nearby coffee table, she headed for the mini-bar again and this time grabbed a beer without a second thought. She was certain she was going to need to down several of these to get a good night's sleep or else the nightmares would come back. Leaning against the counter, she popped the top and chugged half the bottle before continuing as if she had never stopped, "...anger issues, possessiveness, sex anywhere and anyhow he can get it... Actually, I miss that last one." She laughed at the look on Neil's face when she made that last statement. "Sorry, bro. Didn't mean to make you visualize your 'little sister' in the sac there."
He watched her, his eyes darting to the door as he sees shadows underneath and he smiles as he just sits and listens until he sees her go for the beer. He crossed the room in a hurry, snagging her wrist as she just finished her first swig and with his eyes on hers, he pried the bottle from her hand and set it upside down in the sink.
ReplyDelete“Take a lesson from someone you respect then, if you can’t deal with it without the bottle, the bottle won’t make it better.” He shakes his head, “Fuck Sis, I mean I ain’t perfect and yeah, I have tied a couple on and been known to drink my share, kay, but it doesn’t chase the shit away. Trust me.”
He slides up onto the bar stool and leans on the bar top. “I know what dark dreams can do Syl, for years I would wake up seeing him coming at me with a bat, a piece of lumber and once a piece of pipe.” He shudders, the pipe had been the worst, he had been sleeping too soundly then, a mistake he never made again. “It still fucks up a sleep, every now and then, but this..” he waves the beer bottle, “only makes it worse”
He reaches for her hand and gives it a tug, “Come on, sit down.” He sighs, continuing to talk as she moves over to the couch and sits down. . “Look, your ex was and is an ass, no arguments from me, so what?” He asks, “I mean, Katie was a two timing whore, not that I tell the boys that, but it doesn’t mean you are bad cause you made a bad choice Syl. You deal with it, I mean I could have just closed my eyes, pretended it never happened, but instead, I dealt with it. Faith is happy and good, you are the only one still beating yourself up over it, unless you go into details about the sex again, then I’ll smother you with a pillow.” He shudders and shakes his head, taking a seat on the arm of the couch.
“So, what are we gonna do about you?” He asked with a smile, suddenly raising his voice. “Faith and I are very worried about you.” He looks to the door, “Knock once if you agree with me Faith.” He yells, smirking as he looks back at Syl. His voice lowers so that only she can hear him “Believe it or not, having or not having a good father won’t matter shit in her life, but you will, you can make a huge difference, so what are we gonna do?”
Faith gave a start when she heard her uncle address her through the door, surprised she had been discovered. Sighing, she knocked on the door once to signify her agreement like him asked. No point in hiding anymore.
ReplyDeleteOn the other side, Syl thought Neil was bluffing until she heard her daughter knock on the door. She looked at the door in surprise, then glanced at Neil and his smug look. She wondered for a moment how his wife put up with that smug look.
"You enjoy being right, don't you," she sighed. with a rather bemused grin, glancing at the empty beer bottle he had left on the bar counter across the room. He was right, of course; she knew he was. She knew better; she had always known better. She just didn't want to care anymore. She was tired of being the 'good girl'. It just didn't feel worth it.
Because doing the right thing always meant she had to lose.
Neil was just being a conscience with a sledgehammer, to kick her ass back to following her own moral compass.
And the teenage girl on the other side of the door told Syl the chance to be a 'bad girl' was long gone. Apparently, the opportunity to throw away all perception of right and wrong died the day Faith was conceived.
"God, I hate it when you're right. Ya know that?"
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and remembered what Neil had said to her on their last run.
"If you need a rock, you can lean on me, Sis... You have always been able to lean on me when you need to."
This was probably one of those times where she should trust her 'rock'.
Opening her eyes, she stood up and stretched. "So, what do you mean by 'What are we gonna do?'" she asked, as she turned to him with a reluctant, amused grin. "What are me and you gonna do about Faith? Or what you and Faith going to do about me?" She guessed he meant both. She wasn't sure exactly when Neil decided to take an active role in their little family, but she welcomed it.
"I'm thinking we should probably open the door and let my girl in, so she doesn't spend the entire night out in the hallway." She said as she headed for the door. "Then, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get any sleep tonight. So I might as well do something useful and spend time with Faith." She chuckled, "I can't let you monopolize *all* of her time."
Faith was nervous when her mother opened the door, expecting to be in trouble for trying to snoop. She was surprised when her mother hugged her instead.
"Hey, love." Syl said softly. "I'm not mad anymore, and you're not in trouble. Just don't do any stupid stunts like that with your uncle ever again, okay?"
The girl, still dumbfounded, nodded silently as her mother let her into the room. She looked with confusion over to her uncle who, with a grin, was perched on the arm of the couch. Faith guessed whatever he said worked since she wasn't in trouble after all.
"Grab the remote, love, and see if there's a movie on that you wanna watch. I'm gonna see if we can get room service to make us popcorn." Syl nodded to the room's TV as she went over to the hotel phone. "You gonna join us, Cowboy?" she asked Neil. "It's getting pretty late. If you haven't already checked in with Pasca, she's probably wondering where the hell you are."
She hesitated a bit, then added, "Um... Ya know, if she's still up she can, ya know, probably join us. If she wants to, that is. Maybe."
He smiled, "Good idea." He got to his feet and walked over to the pair of them, kissing Faith on the head and winking at Syl.
ReplyDelete"I think I should get while the getting is good." He smirks, "I mean, definitely want out of here before you," he pokes Faith with a grin, "go into the details of the full spa session." he laughs, looking back at Syl, "Next time, maybe you can join us."
He ducks quickly out of the way and then looks back at Faith, "Call me, you know, if she becomes a pain in the ass again or if you want someone to buy you a six-pack." He takes a quick step to the door, "Later ladies." he says, ducking out before he gets things thrown at him.
Syl folded her arms, as she watched Neil make his farewells and quickly duck out of the room. Shaking her head, she couldn't help but smile as she rolled her eyes. "Neil's such a dork. You'd think I was going to throw something at him by the way he exited," she said as she turned her attention back to calling room service. She dialed the numbers into the hotel phone and waited.
ReplyDelete"Well, you do have a temper, Ma," Faith grinned, as she settled on the couch and picked up the remote.
Syl laughed, "So do you, love."
"I do not, Ma," Faith laughed back before turning her attention back to the remote. The TV flicked on at the touch of a button, and she began to browse through the movie options on the hotel's pay-per-view.
Syl glanced at her daughter as she listened to the ringing on the line. The sincerity in Faith's voice surprised her. The girl really believed she didn't have a temper, and Syl wondered for a moment if Faith had really forgotten the night she had found out about her father. Admittedly, the girl hadn't lost her temper even remotely like that since then, but it hadn't been that long ago either, only 4 or 5 years.
For Syl, it was a night she wished she could forget as easily. The screaming from the 9-year-old child had sounded almost inhuman, and Faith had managed to trash half the apartment in a blind rage before Syl had finally succeeded in grabbing her. Calming her down had been a separate challenge all its own. No words seemed to get through to her, as the girl bit, clawed and hit her mother as she held her close. The only thing that had seemed to get through to Faith were the tears...
Syl was shaken out of the memory by the voice of the hotel worker who picked up the phone. Silently thankful, she ordered the popcorn from room service and quietly hung up.
Sitting on the couch beside her daughter, Syl watched her click the remote and scan the menus on the TV. She couldn't help wondering if Faith was really okay. Neil thought so, but then Neil hadn't been there that night when Faith was more like a rampaging animal than a little girl.
Faith caught her mother staring, turned to her and smiled. "What's up, Ma?"
"Nothing, love. Just thinking." Syl shoved the ugly memory out of her mind. Faith just had a fun night with her uncle, and Syl herself had a reassuring heart-to-heart with her brother. She needed to stop letting the past interrupt the present. "Did you find a movie you want to watch?" she said with a small smile.
"Yep!" Faith beamed excitedly, and pointed to the selection highlighted on the TV screen.
Syl looked to the TV, then back at her daughter. "A hockey movie?"
She was unsure of what surprised her more: the choice of movie or the coincidence that made it available that particular night.