10.

Layla

Do re mi fa so la...

Do re mi fa so la...

I could feel the excitement in his voice as his little fingers tapped on the keyboard.

"That's right buddy!" Henry ruffled his hair.

A broad smile crept up my cheeks, Nathan had made me smile. His eyes were gleaming with happiness as he felt fulfilled to have successfully played a basic on the keyboard.

"Mommy?" He caught sight of me and leaped to his feet.

"Oh, my boy," I scooped him up in my arms.

"You were wonderful." I kissed him on the cheek.

He giggled.

Henry began to walk towards us.

"He's getting better every day." He said, stopping in front of us and shoving his hands into his pocket.

"I think he has a flair for music." I pinched him affectionately on the cheek.

He chuckled.

"Wanna have a snack?"

"Hmm-hmm." He nodded and then I put him down. He disappeared into the kitchen.

"You know, it's about time I enrolled him in an elementary school," I began.

"What's stopping you?" Henry took his seat on the sofa. I joined him.

"I'm scared, Henry..."

"Ethan." He frowned.

"Yes, Ethan...I'm afraid he might come to find him at school and..."

"It's not going to happen, Layla," Henry assured.

"There's a high possibility."

"But Nathan has to be enrolled sooner or later."

"I know, I have been thinking about everything, how to keep him away from Ethan while he's at school, but there appears to be no solution." I was disturbed.

"Of course there is. We'll talk to the school authorities about it after his enrollment. It's not possible they'd allow a stranger to see one of their wards," Henry reasoned.

I agreed, yet my mind was still unsettled. Nathan was my whole life, I couldn't live without him.

Leo

"Dad, I--" I paused in both my speech and movement.

I sighed.

I walked in on them again. I could see my mother writhing with pleasure before me. Why did they always have to bang everywhere in the house?

"Mum? Dad?"

"Hmm." She managed to reply with kisses, frantically tugging at my father's shirt.

"Would you guys stop already? I'm here!"

"Iliana, Iliana..." My father tried to disentangle himself from her, but she didn't leave him.

"Mum? That's enough. You can continue when I'm done speaking with him." I was starting to get irritated.

"Oh, Leonardo." She finally let go of my father and smoothed down her skirt. Her hair was totally disheveled, and her tits were literally hanging out. I have seen this quite several times before.

"What is it, son?" My father wiped his lips and brushed back his hair, but I could still see lipstick stains on the side of his lips and his white shirt.

It was hard to believe that, after about thirty-six years of marriage, my parents were still mad at each other. Their sex life was as torrid as it had been in the early years of their relationship. I wondered if other parents out there were like mine.

I often wondered if I would take after my parents. As I waited for her, I only wished she was doing the same. I could only wish she wanted to have me as much as I did.

"Leo?" My father slightly tapped my shoulder. I jolted out of my thoughts.

"What's the matter?" My mother came closer and touched my face.

"Are you worried about something?" She pouted.

"I...I want to talk to Dad about the company."

"I'm all ears." My dad crossed his arms.

"I'll see you later, Steve." My mother kissed him on the lips, lingering for a moment, before my father broke their contact.

"Leo." She kissed me on my forehead, and then she walked out of the study room.

"What's it, Leo? Having any problems?"

"There's this particular client. He's hard to satisfy. I'll need you to attend our next meeting and see if you could help..."

"I'll check my schedule, all right? I'll let you know." My father assured me.

"Yeah, one more thing...I want to know your opinion on something. I'm thinking of cutting down the number of recruits for next year because, despite the large number of employees, there's little to show for it. Likewise, I'm thinking of increasing the qualifications..."

"It's not a bad decision to make. Go ahead with it, it's in the total interest of the company. Our charity has to stop eventually." He responded.

I agreed.

COOPER CORP. Was one of the biggest corporations in the world, offering a wide variety of things. It had started as my grandfather's petty hustle.

"Sure."

"Nana spoke to me about you and Ariadne..."

"We are not having that conversation, Dad."

"I'm not forcing you to. I know Nana is being hard on you..." He said.

"You know I don't love Ariadne?"

"Yes, I do know that, but Nana won't stop..."

"She could continue to ship us forever. I'd never love Ariadne."

"She said you are seeing someone." He spoke curiously.

I sighed. Nana wouldn't stop bothering me, would she?

"Is that true? Is there a woman you love?" My father moved to his desk and sat on his swivel chair.

"Yes. But--"

"But what Leo? Why haven't we made acquaintance with her?"

"She is--" I stammered. "She's not in the States."

"Where is she? Is your relationship even serious? Do you plan to spend the rest of your life with her or as a bachelor, Leo? Tell me, I want to know." He said in one breath.

"There's something I haven't told you, Dad," I began, wondering if he'd believe what I intended to say next.

"What is it? You are not impotent, are you?" He was staring questioningly at me.

"That's not it."

"What then is it?" He sounded impatient.

"The woman I love," I hesitated for a moment.

Should I trust him with this?

"She's...I don't know her."

"Sorry, what?"

"Oh, Dad..."

As I had expected, he burst into uncontrollable laughter. I was truly being made fun of by my father. Great!

"Are you serious?" He coughed.

I nodded. Then his expression gradually transformed into a grave look.

"Leo? What are you talking about?"

"I... don't know her. We met at a bar and spent the night together, and she was gone the next morning..."

"So boy, you are telling me you are in love with a woman you had a one-night stand with? An anonymous woman, Leo?"

I gasped. He was most probably thinking I was out of my mind. Ah! Yeah, I was. I must admit that I truly was.

"Shit!" He silently cursed and then stared at me for a while.

"What?" I whispered.

"It's insane. You are insane, Leo. How could you possibly let that happen? He queried, reclining his arms on the table.

"I don't know. It's just..."

"Just what? Are you going to keep on loving a woman whose identity you have no idea about? Does she even know you?"

His questions throbbed in my heart. I wanted him to stop. I was feeling pathetic.

"It doesn't matter..."

"It fucking does! You can't say that it doesn't!"

I began to feel stupid for letting it all out in the first place. I should have known he wouldn't understand, just like everyone else. It was all complicated. Yes, I knew, but what did that matter? I couldn't just stop myself from falling.

"It's fine." I turned to leave. There was nothing else to talk about.

"Ariande..." He ground out.

"Enough about her Dad. I'm leaving."

Layla

Hardly had I left the bathroom when Nathan dashed and dragged me to his nursery.

"Come, come..." His little feet hurried along the long hall. I clutched the towel around my body, my hair profusely dripping.

"Come and see what we made!" He chirruped, sliding into the nursery.

We? Did he mean Henry? Was this in the nursery?

"Layla, he's..." Henry appeared, and I immediately turned around, very flushed. I was in a towel, for God's sake! I wanted to leave at that instant, but Nathan rushed towards me, grasping my hand.

"Mommy, come, come..." He cried.

"I'll be right back, Nathan. Mommy must put some clothes on." I managed to say. I couldn't face Henry, not when I was literally naked but on a piece of fabric.

"But I want you to see my big car now..." He clamored.

"Nathan, come on. Mommy will be right back." Henry, who had been silent all the while, eventually spoke.

I carefully glanced at him, I watched him swallow. My body, he was staring at my body with devouring eyes. He looked away when our eyes locked.

I mustn't wait here any longer.

I still felt awkward when I returned to the nursery. By then, Nathan was building blocks and Henry was looking outside the window. He didn't even know when I had come in.

"Mommy, can Uncle Henry stay with us?" Nathan stared up at me, his beautiful blue eyes blinking with curiosity. Henry turned to face us.

"Nathan..."

"Nathaniel, I have my house, all right?" Henry cut in.

"But our house is big and has room for you." Nathan clamored. I had already begun to sense a feeling of attachment, one I especially dreaded.

Indeed, I had allowed Henry to become very close to Nathan, teaching him the piano, playing games with him, and taking him to the playground. It was all my fault and I knew it. Now, I'd better find a solution. I couldn't possibly allow such proximity again.

"You know what, Nath, there's quite a lot of work to do at my house. Once I begin to stay in your house, they will remain undone. You understand?" Henry managed, a smooth one for a precocious four-year-old.

Nathaniel believed with a slow but certain nod.

"Thank you." I mouthed. Henry smiled.

"Your hair..." I read his lips and that was when I realized that I hadn't dried my hair and the dripping was almost making a river out of my son's nursery.

Sofia visited the next day, and she came with Charlene. She and Charlene chose to hang out at my place as it was a Saturday. It was also the first time I had seen Charlene in four years. She was no longer the genderless little child with a large forehead, but a strangely clever teenager.

Georgina, according to Sofia, was going through a difficult time with Chege. They were quite opposed, and that was precisely what Sofia wanted for them.

"They shouldn't be together until she brings me to my dad. Aunt Layla, everyone in school, has a dad. Charlene, here there is a dad!" She cried.

"Daddies aren't fun," Charlene commented glumly.

"But you have one. Would you mind trading him for anything?" Sofia snapped.

"If I could, I would have him replaced with Taraji," Charlene said bleakly.

"I see you don't mind having two moms..."

"I don't mind," Charlene uttered.

"Georgina is pathetic. Worse off, she's a total drunk these days." Sofia grunted.

"Can I see her soon?" I queried.

"Sure. She hardly leaves the cellar." Sofia replied sleepily.

"Does Mrs. Carter visit her?"

"Yeah, occasionally. They both drink, though Mrs. Carter is far better drunk than Georgina."

"Aunt Layla, I actually want to tell you about Mrs. Carter..."

"I'm all ears."

"Yeah. She has been behaving strangely these days. She often gets dizzy, and she reaches almost every minute of the day. Likewise, she hasn't even scolded me for a while now, which I find horrifying. Perhaps we will be locked in the cold room soon..." She shivered.

"Do you know if she has gone to see a doctor?" I was concerned. Though she had deserted me when I needed her the most, I couldn't just reciprocate such a horrendous act.

"I am not so sure of that. She refuses to take pills." Sofia replied.

"She's pregnant," Charlene said point-blank.

Sofia blinked, she was as shocked as I was. Pregnant? What was that supposed to mean?

"How can that be? How do you know that? Hasn't she reached menopause?" Sofia queried.

"How would you know that, Charlene?"

"The signs say it all. My mother had the same signs before she miscarried." Charlene replied coolly.

"I doubt that. Mrs. Carter is too mean to have a child of her own." Sofia frowned.

I knew Charlene could be right, but I didn't want to jump to the conclusion that Mrs. Carter, my stepmother, was really with a child. It was the most stupid thing I had ever heard.