No Ordinary Love, Part 3, chapter 224
224
“Guys, we need to talk,” Massa asked for family meeting. Of course we have assembled in the living room but none of us was really wondering what she has to stay. We already suspected it. Not to mention that Berta has called and pretty much told us everything already.
Basically, Massa was in love, and that love was back at Berta’s place. She was already spending every weekend there. It was just way too obvious what’s coming. That Mark guy, well he came over few times as well. Yeah, few times and that was only for few hours during the day. From what I gathered he’s a good kid. One, head, two ears, two eyes, two arms, two legs… you know nothing special. From that little time I spent with him he seemed very ordinary boy. Probably that’s what attracted Massa so much in the first place. Plus the fact that he was older than her. That’s something little girls always dig.
Kai… well, compared to Mark he’s far better catch, but even I know that looks and brains aren’t all. Sometimes, you just can’t make someone like you. But basically he was holding on pretty well. Like a true gentlemen. He let Mark and Massa have their fun in her room. He was either with me in the basement playing, or with his mom reading. On two occasions he asked me to go for a walk with him. I took him to the docks, showed him where our little family history had begun and he was willing to listen to stories about the days Sweetie and I spent together around this town in days before Kai was born. It seemed that it was a good distraction for him.
“It’s good thing, Massa and I never been to any of these places,” he commented with a little grin. “This way I can fully appreciate them.”
“Why do you say appreciate?”
“Because they partly contributed to my arrival, right?” he returned. “And I’m very grateful you two got me,” he smirked. “Tell me, have you ever took any of your previous girlfriends to any of the places where you went with mom?”
“No, not with mom,” I assured him. “I knew she was special and I guess I wanted places that I can fully appreciate, too.”
“And before mom?”
“Before I didn’t think it’s so important. I was different,” I shrugged then lit myself a cigarette.
“You always talk like you were very different than you are now, before you met mom,” he noticed and made me smile a little.
“I was,” I nodded. “You wouldn’t think I’m the coolest dad if you knew me from that pre-mom period.”
“You were crazier on the stage,” he giggled. “It’s fucking embarrassing.”
“Yeah, kind of,” I confirmed. It’s not that I regret being that active and trying to pretend I’m… I don’t know who I was trying to be. I was just simply hyper, making fool of myself because everybody was telling me I need to work the stage. “It just took me a while to figure out that’s not really my thing.”
“Yeah, you’re more for swaying hips like a lady,” he teased.
“At least I’m doing that good,” I pointed out.
“It’s funny how you and mom aren’t really good at working the stage, but you’re both such great performers. Only in mom’s case, since she’s such a lady and has such great voice no one even notices she’s so still during the performance.”
“Yeah, “ I nodded. I remembered how after her first live performance with the band no one told her she needs to move or dance or anything. Everybody was blown off with her singing that it just was enough. Though much like me she feels best with just acoustic guitar, sitting on the bar stool and singing. “You know, none of us pretty much for big venues and crowds. I know I prefer smaller clubs, people being near us.”
“Well, maybe when you start new tour you should only perform in such places,” he suggested. “I know I don’t want anything big like Wembley like you guys had.”
“Well, kiddo sometimes you got to do that, too. It’s kind of proof that people like you enough that they want to see you perform in such big venue. And it’s a good experience. You shouldn’t miss that if you get a chance.”
“I just enjoy what we do right now,” he sighed. “But we’ll now need a new keyboard player.”
“Massa said she’s leaving the band?”
“No, but I’m cutting her off, anyway,” he returned then looked me in the eyes. “I already talked about it to everybody else and we all agree we’re not going to sit and wait for her to be available for practice or gig. She’s already been slacking a lot ever since she met this jerk off Mark.”
That kind of attribute made me chuckle and irritated Kai.
“What? You think he’s a good guy?”
“He seemes nice,” I said with half-appologetic face.
“Well, that’s the thing he ‘seems’ that’s different from ‘is’,” he pointed out.
“What is about him that makes you think he’s not ok?”
“Everything,” he frowned. “But Massa’s too stupid to figure it out. And since she doesn’t want to listen, well, fuck her. Let him screw her over. If that’s what she wants, fine.”
“Will you be her shoulder to cry on when that happens?”
“I won’t turn my back on her, but I certainly won’t sit and wait and then act like nothing happened.”
“You know,” I began with little sympathetic tone. “Technically nothing did happen between her and you.”
“Yeah, BUT,” he pointed out, “she said we’re BOTH too young to be anything more than friends. Then few months later she suddenly grew up and I didn’t,” he was sarcastic. “So technically, she either was making fool of me or she was lying. There’s no third option. And before you say it’s still nothing in technical terms, let me remind you that I kissed her and she said that one day we’ll both be ready for something like that and that there’s no one else she’d like to be with when that day comes. Sorry if you disagree but for me that’s not nothing.”
Disagreeing wasn’t an option, since he explained it all in such terms. He had his point but then again I’m sure Massa didn’t have plans to meet Mark, either.
“You still haven’t told me why you dislike the guy. What happened on that party, anyway?”
“What didn’t?” he snorted. “You know that party was kids only? No parents?”
Now that wasn’t something I knew of.
“Well, we didn’t know either till we got there. Someone forgot to tell us,” he was again irritated and sarcastic. “I told Massa we should leave, she thought otherwise because Mark was there. Now, tell me something what good guy steals drinks from his parents and slips them in girl’s cups?”
“You saw Mark doing that?”
“Yeah,” he nodded looking me in the eyes. “I saw one of his friend pour something in Massa’s juice, but I snatched the cup from her before she drank any,” he paused. “You’re not going to ask me if I had drank?”
“It’s pretty obvious you hadn’t. Plus we made a deal about such things, right?”
“Yeah,” he nodded smiling contently. “Thanks.”
This was one of things I was extremely proud of with Kai. It was so easy to trust him because once you make a deal with him, or he promises something you can sleep well at night knowing that no matter what temptation he’s faced with he’ll never go behind your back. He’s just too much of an old school where honour is the most appreciated thing.
“Have you told Massa about that?”
“She didn’t let me,” his angry face returned. “I tried but the idiot called me jealous. Then I was pissed and didn’t want to talk to her. Mark and his crew are nothing but bunch of idiots showing off. They’re just trying too hard to be so cool so they do bunch of stupid things. He’ll just hurt her.”
“I think you should find a way to tell her the truth about him. For her good.”
That night he tried but Massa didn’t want to listen. She insisted he just hates Mark and doesn’t want her happy. Kai of course got seriously pissed and disappointed in her and they got into fight. She called him jealous, he called her naïve and stupid and added how when Mark fuckes her over he’s not going to be there to stitch her up because she asked for it.
On the other hand, Sweetie and I like two adults, had nothing but Kai’s word as a solid argument to try talk to her. All we could do is call Berta, tell her to be careful and pay special attention. Berta also thought Mark is cool. So, what will happen we’ll see. Maybe mark is cool but his friends aren’t. Maybe none of them is cool but it certainly wasn’t our problem any more. We couldn’t interefere, that much we understood and were very sure of.
“You know, maybe this is a good thing for Kai,” Sweetie shared my thoughts on the matter of Massa’s leaving.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “He’ll get chance to socialize more with others, right? Meet new people, new girls…”
“Yeah, and also Berta will finally have her daughter living with her as she always wanted.”
So as always, parental decision on this subject was easily made, even before Massa finally decided to tell us she’s moving out. It’s funny how at the very beginning of our parental journey I was never sure what’s the right thing to do. For me back then, it was easier to let Sweetie make all the decisions. But now, all these years later, we don’t really have to talk much about it. It’s like our brains finally got synchronized on one matter at least.
“I hope you guys will understand,” she began. “You were always supportive and I adore you but…”
“It’s ok darling,” Sweetie decided to make it all easier for her. “We support you on this one, too.”
“Thank you,” Massa threw herself to embrace Sweetie. “I hoped you won’t think it’s because of you…”
“Oh, we know it’s not because of us,” I assured her with little grin then she hugged me, too.
“I still stay part of the family, right?” she asked with eyes that wouldn’t take the rejection.
“Always,” Sweetie assured her with heartedly smile.
With the corner of my eye I caught Kai twitching his lips in sarcasm. For him the moment she decided to leave us because of some bloke she had just met was enough of an excuse to cancel her membership in this family.
“I mean, maybe I return soon. I’m still not sure if this is forever,” she paused a little. “I mean I’ll be coming over for the band practice…”
“Yeah, about that,” Kai interrupted her casually. “You don’t have to bother. We’ll find someone to replace you.”
Massa’s shocked face made it clear she wasn’t thinking about that. Taking Sweetie for a hand I gave her sympathethic look and we quickly went to the kitchen. The war is about to break off and it’s not our battle.
“Get ready for the fight,” Sweetie shrugged giving Ari to me as she moved to make her something to eat.
Turning around I put Ari on top of the table and she began swaying her hips instantly making me smile. As Ari was doing her little show from the living room we could clearly hear Kai’s cold voice informing Massa of all the reasons why she’s being kicked out of the band and Massa’s angry questions and bitching complaints.
If someone asked me, in this situation, with everything taken into account, I was on Kai’s side. True Massa was good, but she’s moving way too far away to be present on all the practice sessions. At best she could come for weekends. And when a girl like Massa falls in love it won’t be every weekend, because band comes second. Kai’s bend was one of the rare kids bands that was taking themselves seriously and was working really hard. They weren’t really in mood to have someone in band that isn’t able to commit like the rest of them. Even when you have a band made out of adults, when one member is living some place far away it’s either bound to fail or that member moves some place closer to everyone else. Not the other way round. And with musicians like Massa who are aware of their talents and skills it’s a huge blow to their egos. Also, Kai wasn’t really his sensitive self while delivering the news.
“Once she leaves, it’ll be ages before she comes for even short visit,” I said to Sweetie as I put Ari to her stool to eat.
“It’ll all be good,” Sweetie agreed.
“Fine! Fuck you and your band!” I heard Massa yell from the living room then her angry stomping out of the living room and up the stairs.
Few moments later Kai was sitting at the table next to his sister, asking his mother to let him feed Ari.
“Fuck you!” Ari shouted at him and froze all of our brains, then her lips pulled into the proudest grin ever. She thought she said something wonderful and smart.
“Will do, sis, now open your mouth,” Kai laughed and showed a spoon in Ari’s mouth as Sweetie and I glanced at each other and laughed watching them. Ari was trying to take the spoon from Kai’s hands, when he successfully avoided each of her attempts she did the only logical thing, shoved both of her hands into plate set in front of her with such force that her jelly kind of food splashed everywhere around her.
“Ari,” Kai frowned taking food off of his face while Ari, Sweetie and I laughed at the mess. Realizing, she has finally made her brother pissed and her parents laugh at the same time Ari turned her little face to the plate and dived her head in it.
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