❝ because

i could watch you

for a single minute

and find

a thousand things

that i love

about you❞

Evelyn

"Owen!" I threw my arms around the adorable kid, picking him up in my arms. "I missed you."

"It was just one day, Mommy." He let out a soft laugh.

"Didn't feel like one. You wanna eat something?"

"You won't cook, Evelyn!" Felix popped up out of nowhere, shocking the living daylights out of me.

"Stop yelling, I won't." Without any reply, he went into the kitchen.

"I had breakfast at Grandma's." He rolled his eyes. Oh God, these people will spoil the kid so bad, he's learnt how to roll his eyes.

"You shouldn't roll your eyes, dear." I tried the soft step-mother thingy parenting websites had taught to me. "That's rude."

"Oh..." He craned his neck up to look at me. "But Gandma does it all the time."

"Boom!" I heard Felix yell from the kitchen.

"Which Grandma, Owen?"

"Dad's Mom."

"Boom!" I yelled back to my dear husband.

"Breakfast is ready, Evelyn. If you want to eat, that is."

He walked out of the kitchen wearing an apron around the shirt, looking so much like a family man. Breakfast went by in pretty much silence, with me feeding Owen bits of my pancakes and not letting him refuse while Felix rolled his eyes.

After breakfast, Felix decided to answer some e-mails and to complete some other business related stuff. I don't have any work to do at present, neither am I interested in doing it. So, I decided to spend my time with my most favourite person in the entire universe.

And in Owen's presence, I forgot all the worries from the past. All that mattered was his toothy grin and his laughing at my lame jokes. I know life might be shit, but there are a few people who make it worth living. Owen is one of them. His presence makes me alive.

"Mommy?" He mumbled after a round of Scrabble which he won.

"Yes, sweetie?" I rubbed his curly brown hair, the ones he has inherited from his mother.

"Do you love Daddy?"

"I-of course I do, Owen. Why would you ask that?" I picked him from his side and onto my lap, brushing a strands of hair his forehead.

"Because of Mom." His face scrunched up at the word, and I instantly knew that I was not the Mom he was talking about.

"Why's that?" My eyes furrowed in confusion as I gently ran a hand through his hair.

"Because she did not love Daddy..." He bowed his head low, not meeting my eye.

"Who told you that, dear?"

I held his chin, making him look up. That's when I noticed his eyes had turned glassy with tears. I fought back my own tears as I saw him hide his, all because of a woman who did not even care about him.

"Th-they were talking about her...during breakfast. They said she never loved Daddy and she loved his money. They called her a driller or something."

Gold digger.

"Oh sweetie, please don't cry...it's okay, you're okay." I held his head close to my chest, rocking him back and forth till the tears subsided and he gulped. "You want to talk?"

"Why doesn't she love me? Why did she leave us?"

"Baby...don't say that. Daddy has always loved you, hasn't he?"

"Before you came," He sniffed. "Daddy used to tell me that my Mom hates me. And I would never have a Mom. I-I hate her."

What have you done, Felix?

"You can't hate her, Owen. She's your mother."

"No! You're my mother." His eyes bore into mine.

"I know, baby. I'm your Mommy now. But she gave birth to you. She-she kept you in her tummy. I know that she hasn't been good to you. But maybe God wanted that. Dear, maybe he wanted me to be your Mommy. But she has the right to be your Mom...you can't hate her."

"O-okay." He gulped. "I will not hate her." I wiped his tears with my fingers while making faces, causing him to giggle. After the upset mood had subsided, I hugged him close again, gently rocking him.

"Mommy, I wish I was in your tummy instead."

"Oh dear...I wish so too, I wish so too."

After a few seconds or maybe minutes of silence, we were brought back to the world by the sound of a cough-Felix. Owen jumped out of the lap and walked towards his father who stood at the door with his arms crossed.

"Owen, I got you some candy. It's on the kitchen table, go get it."

At his command, Owen ran to the kitchen instantly, all his sadness long forgotten. Wiping a stray tear from my cheek, I stood up from the bed and walked to him, bracing myself for some argument.

"H-how long have you been here?"

"Long enough to listen."

"Felix, hear me out. I don't know if it was good or...but he was crying and-"

"Shh..." He cut me off, placing an index finger on my lips. "Thank you."

The simple gesture made my thoughts drift off to the past.

Flashback

"I'm sorry, I'm late. It was the traffic and the rain-you know how New York is-" She wiped a crease off her damp skirt, blabbering nonsensically.

"Oh it's alright...Ms. Ainsworth?"

The statement came off as a random sentence but turned into a surprised question. As she finally looked up at the owner of the familiar voice, his blue eyes seemed surprisingly familiar too.

"Evelyn Ainsworth, daughter of Robert Ainsworth..." He muttered thoughtfully, his brain roaming elsewhere.

"Yes, I am." She shrugged and walked into the office. "I'm sorry if I drip a few drops, the rain was so heavy and-"

"Trinity High School?" His eyebrows shot up, waiting for the answer as he bit his full lips in anticipation.

"Yeah? That's where I went to."

"Jesus...Evelyn Ainsworth! How do you not know me? I'm Felix Anderson! We went to the same school and grade."

"Oh." Realisation hit as she recalled his face. "I'm sorry, we didn't have a class together and we never talked so-"

"I know, it's alright." He waved a hand. "Let's talk about business now, shall we?"

She had done a course in designing after graduation and worked for her father. However, she had lost interest in a few days and decided to quit. That's when his father came up with this. He said she deserved a last client. So, he recommended a recent friend's son. And...here she was.

In half an hour, they were with done discussing the designs. They now sat with their respective cups of coffee in a comfortable sort of silence, engulfed by their own thoughts.

"Can I ask you something?" They blurted out in unison.

"Y-you go first." Evelyn whispered.

"No, ladies first." He shrugged, tilting his head towards her.

"Oh come on!" She tried to change his decision through expressions, but it didn't seem to work. She decided to go for it instead, she had waited long enough. "Okay, I'll do it."

She brushed a strand of red hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. She had been waiting for years, to know who the person behind that voice was. But now, was enough.

"So-well, there was this guy."

"Wow, the first time we meet and we're discussing relationships." He chuckled, but then gulped. All his actions seemed calculated, as if he was waiting to speak up something too.

"It's nothing relationship-y. I just wish to talk to him once."

"Never mind. Say it, who's it?"

"I-I don't know..."

"You don't know?" He wanted to laugh out at how similar his case was...and how he too was looking for a girl he didn't know the name of, all he remembered was that timid voice.

"Y-yes. Oh God, I don't want to talk about it right now. Tell me what you wanted to say." She threw her arms up in surrender. He tried not to let his gaze drift to the red lace bra under the peach shirt, visible because of the rain.

"Well, I'm looking for a girl from high school too." He chuckled. "And I don't know her name as well."

"Oh. How did you meet?" She muttered looking down, lost in her own thoughts.

"In the janitor's storage room."

At that moment, air left her lungs as her legs involuntarily helped her up and out of her seat, heart thudding loudly in her chest. She gasped as she tried to meet his soul through those piercing blue eyes. It took him no less to register the situation judging her reaction. Standing up from his seat, he walked to where she stood opposite the oak table.

"Oh my-are you-were you the girl...did we?"

"Y-yes Felix. She whispered. "I'm afraid I'm the one."

"Shit." He flopped down on the chair close to the one she'd say and again stood up instantly, shocked, scared.

"I know! We have been told to keep everything professional. How can we...when we know all that? All the secrets we shared and-"

"Shh..." He cut her off, placing an index finger on her lips. "Thank you."

~