Page 40 of Constantine: Britain's Story: Part 2
“Great, I’ll come with you.”
I nod, “Okay,” then give him a half smile. Niko drops our drinks into each of our hands and leaves without a word, just staring off at something in the distance.
“Thanks, Niko,” I say to his back as he walks off in a rush.Okay. Matthias takes the drink from my hand and sets it down on the table next to his.
Slipping my hand in his, he leads us towards the makeshift market set up inside the Greek Orthodox Church. As we walk, I notice the crowd is growing thicker. The line for food is starting to wind down and out of the tent, and the band is starting to prep on the stage. There’s little kids running around with balloons, and faces painted with butterflies, kittens, and dogs, and I smile listening to their happy squeals.
Matthias notices me watching and says, “I can’t wait till this little one is out there running around,” then reaches down to gently press a palm to the side of my belly. The combination of statement and touch feels like an intensely intimate display forthispublic of a place, and I fidget slightly under the pressure I’m suddenly feeling. Matthias doesn’t think twice about it and drops his hand a moment later as we continue making our way into the, thankfully, air-conditioned building.
Tables line the perimeter of the space, leaving the middle section open for people to gather. There’s a couple tables selling baked goods that instantly catch my eye, but I gravitate towards the brightly colored and hand-painted ceramics, first. Matthias trails behind me, never relinquishing his hold on my hand.
As I peruse the selection, I get a tingling awareness and look up to notice a middle-aged woman with long black hair andmatching long black nails staring at me oddly. I give her a polite smile and her expression changes. It darkens, confusing me. I actually take a quick look behind me to make sure her glare was actually intended for me, but there’s no one else. She begins moving towards us, so I tug on Mats’ hand to pull his attention. He looks up at me, and I motion with my head in the direction of the quickly approaching she-wolf. When he sees her, a look of familiarity takes over his features.
He pulls me in close to him, tightly, lacing his arm around my midsection in the same possessive stance he had earlier, then leans over and whispers into my ear, “Don’t worry, bug. I’ve got you.”Okay, I like ‘bug’ even less than I like ‘bubs.’
Elvira moves in, standing in front of us, but doesn’t speak at first. She’s just mad dogging me and pretending like Matthias isn’t even here. I’m just about to turn and walk away when she finally says something.
“So it’s true then?” She asks, but looks at Matthias for the answer.
“Yes,” that’s all he says. The woman just nods her head slowly, but retains her cruel expression.
“So you’reBritain?” She says ‘Britain’ like it’s a dirty word. I’m not liking a single thing about this, but I’m even more perturbed that Matthias is letting this person speak to me like this when he clearly knows her.
“Yes, I’m Britain Palomino-Scott.” I extend my hand for a shake, but she doesn’t take it.Rude much?I drop my hand down, angering more and more with each passing second. If there’s only one thing I’ve learned about being an adult, it’s that you don’tactuallyhave to take people’s crap anymore. “Matthias, let’s go.” I thread my fingers into the hand wrapped around my midsection, turning us to leave when she stops me.
“He doesn’tlikebeing calledMatthias.” Her scolding sends a chill down my spine. Almost like a reflex, I go to apologize, but Matthias intervenes before I have a chance.
“No, I just don’t like it when anyone besideshercalls me Matthias.”Oh.Matthias says it firmly while keeping the grip on my hand tender but strong, giving me a gentle squeeze. I get a warmth in my abdomen, appreciative that he is sticking up for me, but also, that I’m the only one who calls him that. That nickname thing is starting to make a bit more sense now. He wants something that’s onlyhis.
The woman scoffs, “I didn’t raise my son to speak to me like that.”Oh. Ohhhh.
Matthias responds cooly, “And I’d argue you hardly raised me at all.” He says it like it’s just a matter of fact. There’s no bark behind his biting words.Julie Fucking Scala.
FOURTEEN
Britain
So this is Julie Scala. All I can think is,she really is a bitch.I could understand her disliking Georgia. I mean, after all, Constantine was going to leave Julie for my mom. But her blatant rudeness towards me is a bit uncalled for. What the fuck did I ever do to her?
Julie looks genuinely shocked by Matthias’ comment and is silent for more than a couple seconds. I notice her noticing my bump and her expression morphs. In a barely audible voice she gestures down to my protruding stomach and says to Matthias, “Does your father know aboutthis?” Her eyes begin to line with tears, but I don’t fully understand why.
“Not yet,” Matthias says, then gives a tight-lipped smile, “but he will.” For some reason, the way it comes out sounds like a threat. Julie just nods, then turns around and walks away like none of this ever happened.
“So, um, that’s your mom?” I ask Mats, quietly.
“Yep, that’s Julie.” I’m looking at him, trying to get a read on where he’s at, but his line of sight is still zoned out to where Julieis slowly disappearing through the crowd. Eventually he snaps out of it.
“I’m sorry she was so rude to you.”
“Yeah, me too…” is all I say. I guess they can’t all be winners like Sandy. Mentally I add Julie to the cons side of my pro/con list for continuing to date Matthias.
“Hey,” Matthias turns towards me, using his thumb and finger to direct my face towards his, “I know what will make it all better.” I rest a hand on his forearm before replying.
“What’s that?” I ask. He leans in, giving me a gentle, but sensual kiss. I can’t help how turned on I suddenly become.
He pulls back, lingering close to my lips, “Baklava and ice cream.” Not where I thought that was going, but that’s probably the more appropriate solution.
“You’re absolutely right.” I give him a smile. “But first, I want to buy some olive oil and like 15 things of cookies for the girls.”
