Faith was wide awake, though she shouldn't have been. She had taken an evening flight, so her plane had landed right at midnight. While all the other passengers were yawning and dragging their feet, she was wired and received strange looks from the porter who was helping to carry her guitar and her hockey bag and stick.
As she passed through the Arrivals gate, she heard a familiar voice and smiled. Scanning the small crowd hovering around the gate, she caught sight of Aunt Beth waving and calling. Dropping her bags, she ran into her aunt's arms for a hug.
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
Beth clung to her pseudo-niece tightly. Since Neil and her had spent so much time together, and their relationship began to develop, Faith was the one that kept their secret the longest of all. 'Are you okay?' Beth whispered in to Faith's hair as she stroked her back. She'd already received a heads up from Sylvia from Toronto that Faith had not taken the news to her new baby brother or sister very well.
ReplyDeleteShe picked up Faith's bags and whispered, 'Your uncle will meet us soon... we thought you might want to have a bite to eat before heading straight to the Beach House...' Beth led Faith through the crowds of people, out to her Ashton Martini, lifting the boot and popped Faith's bags, guitar and hockey stuff in it. Beth and Faith shared a giggle as Beth struggled to get the stuff in, but finally managed to close the boot.
Beth opened the door for Faith and then walked around to her own side and hopped in, putting in the key and revving the engine. She looked at Faith and grinned, 'I love this car, your Uncle has fabulous taste...' she pulled out from the curb and squealed the tears. 'You happy to be home?' Beth asked as she drove into the direction of their favourite place to eat.
"I'm fine, Aunt Beth," she said a little too curtly, then bit her lip the moment the angry words popped out of her mouth. She hadn't meant to snap at her aunt. "I just don't want to talk about it, okay?" she said a little more calmly.
ReplyDeleteAs they headed for Beth's car, Faith chattered away, talking about her flight, her stay in Toronto and the various games of pick-up hockey she played while in the city.
"That's what I miss about Canada," she explained. "I could always find a rink or arena somewhere, no matter what time of year, where I can play. It's harder in other places." She added with a frown, "They also don't mind so much that I'm a girl. I had to pretend to be a boy a couple of times while I was travelling with Ma, just so I'd be able to play."
Watching her aunt pack the trunk of her sportscar was hilarious. Faith would have sworn they were defying physics with the amount of stuff that was crammed into the small space. Beth had to sit on the lid of the trunk to get it to shut properly.
As the Ashton Martini pulled away from the curb, the girl laughed as the tires squealed and the acceleration pulled her into her seat. "This is an awesome ride, Aunt Beth," she grinned, "but I like Uncle's Lamborghini. Do you think he'll get me one for my birthday?"
Settling into her seat, Faith cracked open the window to feel the speed in the wind. She smiled contentedly, as she watched the tropical landscape rush past against the midnight sky.
"Yeah, Aunt Beth. I'm glad to be home."
Beth laughed when Faith spoke of Neil's Lamborghini. 'Maybe... I am sure your Mom would love it if your Uncle got that for you...' She knew that Sylvia would have a small heart attack by how fast the car went, if Neil did that, she also knew that's something exactly her boyfriend would do. She snickered to herself as she pulled into their favourite place to eat. She saw Neil's car parked out the front, and it was late, but he'd managed to bribe the restaurant owner to keep the place open just for them.
ReplyDeleteBeth slid out of the car and waited for Faith to do the same. She walked side-by-side with Faith, inside and saw Neil sitting at table waiting patiently. She stepped forward and gave him a kiss hello, with a smile and steps aside for him to greet Faith. They'd missed having Faith around the house and Max whimpered around the house asking for 'Faif'.
They sat down on either side of Neil and picked up a menu, the restaurant was so familiar to them anyway, they each knew what they would have. Beth finally looked over her menu and at Faith, 'So how is your Mom feeling?' Beth wasn't sure if she should ask the question, but she wanted Faith to get talking and about her feelings on the matter. Things were going to happen, whether Faith liked it or not.