17 - Matthew

Matthew

Jessica ordered burritos. Turns out, choosing which wrapping paper was perfect for Miles' gift took almost an hour. It would've been easier had she not brought fifty different wrapping papers. He and Miles had to vote which was more fitting (they voted yes in every single one, by the way) but she voted no on all forty-nine of them. He's starting to feel they should've let her choose herself. And he couldn't help but notice the look she gave him when he ordered a vegetable burrito while she and Miles ordered beef.

As he unwraps the tinfoil and took a careful bite, he stares at her who has Miles on her lap while they eat messily. He thought if he stared enough on her forehead, he might know what she was thinking. He wanted to say there was salsa on her cheek, but as a payback for giving him "that look" earlier when he only preferred vegetable burrito, he didn't.

She eats like a kindergartener.

His phone rings.

He took it out of his pocket and froze. The Spanish rice turned stale in his tongue. He stared at the name across his cellphone screen. His heart dribbled in his chest. He knew this was coming. She'll find out he's in town eventually. And every time that he was, she'll insist they grab coffee or dinner to catch up. Every millisecond is an innocent reunion on her part, and it was torture on his.

She sits across from him, all perfect smiles and hearty laughs, making him believe that it still wasn't too late. And then she'd tuck a hair behind her ear and then the ring on her finger will sparkle sharply.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" Jessica stirred him out of his thoughts.

The phone stopped ringing. He didn't waste another second and turned the silent mode on. He will call her back. Maybe when he had his rambled thoughts sorted out.

"It's okay. It just went to voicemail."

She nods then proceed to take a large bite of her burrito. She still hasn't figured she has salsa on her cheek.

"You have a," he hesitated.

Jessica stopped chewing, her cheeks bulging a little trying to contain all that food. "Hmm?"

"Salsa. You have a little salsa on your cheek."

Miles lifted himself off her lap to examine her face.

Her eyes widened, still looking like a chipmunk. She tries to swipe a hand over her cheeks, missing the spot.

Matthew sighs. He grabbed a napkin on the coffee table and leaned all the way. "Hold still." He wipes the salsa off the spot she kept missing.

He meets her eyes.

They were grass green.

There were little freckles on her cheeks.

He hadn't noticed them before.

Matthew sat back down the sofa. She covered her mouth with the back of her hand and chewed. She raised her other hand and did a thumbs up.

Well, at least she doesn't talk when her mouth is full.

Miles walks around the coffee table and to the sofa where they kept the birthday gift from potential burrito ruin. He traced a finger over the bow.

"Don't worry, buddy. She'll like it." Matthew pats him on the shoulder.

"Yeah. Those ballet shoes are every girl's dream." Jessica was finally able to speak.

"Do you like them?"

"Of course."

"What were your birthdays like?"

"Well, I celebrate it with your mommy and your aunts." She shrugged.

"No. Back when you were my age. Did your parents threw you big parties too?"

Jessica looked down to her burrito. "Not really." She took a large bite as if to dodge any other prodding. When she looked back up, she probably noticed Miles was still waiting for her to continue. She gulped nervously and covered it up with a smile. "But my grandma has always made it special."

"Your mommy and daddy weren't there with you?" Miles' voice raises to a sympathetic octave.

Something flits past her face. So briefly that he nearly hadn't caught it. It would've been nostalgia like most adults would have when they remember their childhood. But Matthew was sure it wasn't just a nostalgic pause. It was... loneliness.

She grinned brightly. "They're kill-joys anyways. Besides, I had way more fun with my grandma."

"But what about your mommy and daddy?" Miles pouted at her.

Jessica shrugged. "They had to work."

Matthew felt a little pinch on his chest. He's been to dozens of orphanages and met kids to know loneliness and longing when he sees one.

Jessica Kieth was, no doubt, a lonely child. A little girl who longs for her parents.

He had a feeling she still does.

What do you know?

She has something more going on other than the mess she leaves in her wake.

"We still have one burrito. We can split it if you want," Jessica offered, her green eyes glinting with the mention of food.

"I'm good, Aunt Jess."

"Matthew?"

"Still have to finish mine," he replies, gesturing to his half-eaten burrito.

She beamed. "Okay. More for me then. You guys want dessert?"

Oh, God. This woman's appetite is gigantic.

"We're good." He smiles.

Miles hops off the sofa, spotting the shopping bags Jessica brought with her that remained untouched. He peeked in one of them before dipping a hand inside. "What are these for?"

Jessica looks over to him and did a double take. She propped a hand to her side and started hurriedly crawling her way to the left side of the coffee table. "No, baby. Don't," her sentence ended with a loud gasp as it was too late to stop Miles.

"What's this?" He asks, holding a black, lacy garment in his tiny hand.

Matthew took one glance and immediately wished he hadn't.

It was a lingerie.

Jessica grabbed the garment from Miles along with the paper bags and shoved them protectively to her chest. Her eyes were as large as saucer. And when their gazes met, her face turned beet root red.

He couldn't tell if she saw horror in his face or if he was bright red as she was. He is pretty sure of the latter.

Miles' eyes drifted back and forth between their faces, clueless of what was going on.

She clears her throat and forces a smile. "You know what? I'm just gonna put these in my room, 'kay?" She ran out of the room, almost tripping but she made it.

"Uncle Matty, why is your face red?" He looks up to him, head tilted on the other side.

Matthew shakes his head, hoping to scratch the sight of the thing off his head. "It's from the spicy Mayo."

"Oh. What was in the shopping bag?"

"Just women stuff, buddy," he answers.

He nods.

Thank heavens, he doesn't have anymore question.

Darn it. Things are going to get awkward again. They finally had a little development, and this happened.

Great!

One step forward, two steps back.

The last sentence indicates how much I've been listening to the SOUR album. What's your favorite song off the album? I liked traitor. I'm still trying to figure out why I love songs about heartbreak and misery so much. lol. Happy reading, lovelies! It's a Saturday and it's a rainy day. The best day for me. Love you!