Page 17 of Down the Aisle
Please… Just one chance.
I would kneel at her feet and kiss them while begging her forever if it meant she would give me asinglechance.
I wanted to ease the burden off her shoulders, give her more time to enjoy life and spend time with Asher. Even if she took Asher everywhere with her, it wasn't quality time she spent with him because she couldn't give him any attention while she cleaned the houses. Sitting down to play with him was impossible when she had to focus on driving around to deliver food.
She yearned for more when it came to Asher, and I wanted to give her a chance to do all she wanted. I'd seen how sad hereyes got every time she settled for the night and looked down at her sleeping son in her arms. All the tears she'd shed over him never escaped me as I would watch her through the screen of my phone while I laid in bed at night and watched her through the monitors we’d set up and connected to my phone. Every single apology she’d given Asher about how she couldn't give him more, felt like a nail in my aching heart.
Taking in a trembling breath, I begged one last time with a cracked voice, "Please, just one."
Hope filled her eyes for a split second before she withdrew from me. Her mouth opened slightly, but no words came out as she shook her head slowly at me while she pushed my hands away from her body. "I don't know if I can do it…" At least she didn't outright reject me. "Can I have some time to think about it?"
Unable to help myself, I eagerly grinned and nodded my head in response. "Of course, take all the time you need." As long as it ended in a 'yes' or some form of agreement, then she could take forever.
Well, preferably not forever because it'd defeat the point, but I was more than willing to wait that long. Okay, maybe that would be stretching the truth too much. If she dragged it on for longer than six months, then I'd find ways to force her hand. Some vandalism here and there, maybe a few threats to chase her into my arms, and eventually, I'd get her into my house and life permanently.
I sat there on the ground with her in my lap for a peaceful moment, watching Asher waddle around and pluck at whatever his chubby hands grasped. We probably could've stayed like that forever, if it weren't for the sound of Eliza's stomach coming to life. I felt a little bad for chuckling at the sound of her stomach rumbling with hunger, but it slipped before I could stop it.
Then, as if on some cue, Asher ran over to us and flopped his body into us. "Mama mum mum?" The toddler looked up eagerly at his mother while tugging at her shirt.
Standing up with a light groan, I lifted Eliza to her feet before bending down and picking Asher up as he held his arms up to me. "Let's go get you two fed," I decided with an insistent grin at Eliza, who deadpanned at me.
Going over to the stroller, I settled the protestant toddler in before facing my Eliza. "Come on. We're already out, and there's a lovely place not far from here," I told her, nudging at her hand playfully with my finger. “They're kid-friendly, too, so Asher will have plenty to eat."
Sighing, Eliza rolled her eyes and crossed her arms stubbornly. "Adam, I told you I need time."
Holding my hands up in defense, I shrunk my body a little. "Technically, I'm not asking you out on a date," I retorted with a sheepish smile. "Just a friend taking another friend out for some food," I continued to play around with the situation a little in hopes of convincing her. "Besides, it's closer than your place, and the little guy is hungry. It's best to get food in him sooner rather than later." Okay, that might have been a cheap blow to her motherly nature and whatnot, but I was a slightly desperate man.
Relenting with an unamused frown, she narrowed her eyes at me as she sighed, "Fine, but only because Asher needs to eat."
The urge to fist bump the air in victory was hard to resist, but I kept the itch at bay. Instead of making a fool of myself, I channeled the energy into throwing my arm around Eliza's waist and pulling her close. "You're going to love Gia's, promise."
"I love all food regardless," Eliza remarked with a weak chuckle as she let me drag her along. "Unless it has mint in it and raw tomatoes."
Intrigued, I quirked a quizzical brow at her as I continued to lead the way. "Oh? Why? Don't like them?" Not like she ate anything besides fucking packaged ramen, frozen foods, and canned food for me to pick apart her eating habits.
Answering me with an unsure bob of her head, she shrugged her shoulders. "The tomatoes, kinda, but it's more like I avoid them because they make me nauseous." Her words kind of dragged awkwardly, as if she struggled to put her answer into actual words.
She regained her footing quickly before moving on to the other part of her answer. "I'm allergic to mint, though." That time, there was no fumbling as she stated the fact.
"Oh? Interesting." Honestly, it was, because that was nowhere in her file. "Anything else you're allergic to? Before I accidentally send you into a medical crisis?" Well, now I had to question everything in the damn file because there was no way a food allergy went amiss in medical records.
Chuckling and waving her hand dismissively, she gave me a flash of a reassuring smile. "Well, I'm not like deathly allergic to mint. It just kind of makes my throat itchy and mouth numb, for now," she said so casually, like a lactose intolerant person waving off the fact they are while eating a bowl of ice cream. "Other than that, no other allergies I'm aware of, so don't worry about killing me with food."
Well, that was good to hear and know. It barely changed the fact I didn't know her as I thought I did. Honestly, what else in the file was false, inaccurate, or missing? Was it all false? Was that why her life seemed so perfect? Could I believe anything from the file?
"Do you ever miss Salem?" I prodded with an overly curious voice as I continued to push the stroller with one hand.
"Hm?" Her confused face looked up at me for a second before a blank smile smeared across her face. "Oh, no, not really. Imuch prefer the coast, and the smaller city feel here compared to Salem." A fair reason, but her lack of emotion made me doubt her.
The answer didn't sound organic; it seemed crafted with how blank her eyes were when she spoke, along with the lack of warmth in her voice. I couldn't really call her out on it, though. What if she just didn't like Salem, or found it boring? Home or not, if she had no affinity with it, then of course there wouldn't be any affection in her voice while speaking about it.
On the other hand, that shouldn't matter because there was always some kind of nostalgia in a person's eyes whenever they spoke about where they came from, even if they hated it. So, time to prod. "Oh, come on, there has to be something you miss there, like a restaurant or store or place?" Unless she spent her whole life locked in a basement, there had to besomethingabout the place she enjoyed.
Another fake smile as she shook her head in response. "No, I didn't really go out much there, and my ex kind of ruined a lot of it for me. So, I don't have much of a fondness for the place or anything there." If there was more firmness behind her voice then I'd be inclined to somewhat believe her, but again, everything was empty.
Deciding not to press her further because of how she was shying herself away, I changed the subject. "You planning on staying here for a long while then? Or forever?" The future was what really mattered.
Sure, knowing her past was probably important, but the past was the past. That could all be dug up some other time. For now, knowing where she saw herself years from now was where my curiosity led me. I also needed to know for my plans. If she planned to stay in Seaside for the long run, that would be great; if not, then I needed to come up with a way to trap her with me.
