The Rain Whispers Series – Ame - age 5
Logan
was kneeling down, meditating on the floor of his room. He was in deep, aware of everything around
him. He knew she was there watching
him. She had been for just over twenty
minutes now. He was impressed. Not many five-year-olds could stand
perfectly still, perfectly silent for so long.
Hell, not many thirty-year-olds could.
She was definitely her mother’s daughter.
He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. Ame Munroe was standing in the doorway,
holding her wrists behind her back.
‘She
got that from her mom too.’
“You’ve got a lot of patients darlin’. What can I do for ya?”
Ame
stepped forward and tried to speak in her most business-like voice.
“I
would like to ask you to teach me to fight.” She said as-a-matter-of-factly.
Logan raised an eyebrow. “You’re five years old, Ame.”
“That’s why I wanna—want to start learning
now. So I’ll be even better when I grow
up. I’d have years of practice and
training.”
“True.
But why do ya even want to learn to fight at all?”
She tilted her head to one side, the side of
her mouth curled up sheepishly. “I know
it sounds funny, but, I want to learn to fight, so I don’t hurt anyone.”
“What?”
“I don’t want to hurt anybody. Sometimes, when I’m allowed to sit in the
control room, I watch you fight in the Danger Room. You always fight your hardest.
Mommy says you’re the best and I can see that. But I also see that when you fight the robots in there, you tear
them apart. When you fight someone on
the team, you still fight as good— uh, as well, but you don’t hurt anyone. Mommy said she wasn’t always good at using her
powers and that she could hurt people at the beginning. But because she practiced a lot, she could
still use them, but without hurting anybody. I figure, if you know how to do
something good, you can control it more.”
Logan stood up and stared at the little girl.
“That’s stupid isn’t it?” She said sighing, when he didn’t say anything.
Logan walked over and picked her up. “Darlin’ I’ve known you your whole life and
I ain’t never heard you say one stupid thing yet. In fact I think what you said is the best—the only reason ever to
learn to fight.”
She grinned at him wildly, always happy to
receive praise from this man.
He pressed her nose like a button. “You’re a smart little girl. Anyone who tells you different’s gotta
answer to me!”
“So you’ll teach me?”
“Go ask yer mom.”
“And if she says yes?”
“Then I’ll teach you.”
“Yeah!” She threw her arms around Logan’s
neck. “Thank you!”
She kissed him on the cheek. He growled and put her down. “Go on, get outta here.”
She began to run out of the room. “Ame!”
She stopped and turned around. “You really better think about this. I’m a tough teacher. I’m not gonna go extra easy on you cause
you’re five.”
“I know.
That’s why I asked you and not someone else. And if I’m gonna learn, I should probly—probably learn from the
best.”
“Throwin’ apples at me all ready, huh?”
Ame knitted her brow in confusion.
“Never mind.” He said waving his hand. “Go on.”
Ame grinned and left the room.
* * * * *
Ororo
hesitatingly agreed to allow the lessons.
She trusted Logan and knew that despite his warning, he would not push
Ame too far. He loved the little girl
as though she were his own.
Having nearly fully recovered from her
injuries, Ororo, as well as Jean and Sara had decided to take the children to
the park. Jerri had declined the offer,
preferring instead to go into town with her father, and Darren was anxious to
continue his lesson in a strange game the Professor was teaching him called
“Chess”.
They remained in the nearby children’s park for
nearly two hours, before deciding to head home. Ame and David, still full of energy ran on ahead, a soccer ball
at war between them. David kicked the
ball too far ahead and it passed Ame.
She ran after the object, only to discover that someone else had picked
it up. She skidded to a stop only a few
feet from the tall man.
“Does this belong to you?” The man asked, looking down at her from
behind very dark shades. He was in an
exquisitely tailored business suite, and had shaved his head bald, as was the
fashion for many black men.
Ame only nodded slowly, but kept her
distance. She knew her mother was not
far behind her, but she was still mindful of the rule of not associating with
strangers.
“Here you go.” He said holding the ball out to
her with a smile.
Ame’s eyes merely shifted between his face and
the ball. She did not move
otherwise. Likewise, David, only a few
feet behind her, only stared without moving.
He knew he should probably get someone, but he didn’t want to let Ame
and this man out of his sight.
“Ame!!!”
Came an angry yell, from behind them.
It was the first time either child moved. The turned there heads in time to see Sara rushing at them, one
of her bone daggers drawn.
Ororo and Jean were just behind her, although
not running with such viciousness.
Storm stopped suddenly.
“Sara, stop!” she yelled.
“He’s not a threat!” Jean spoke into her brain when the younger mutant did not halt.
Sara
stopped her vicious charge but continued to advance. Storm and Jean caught up with her just before she reached the
children.
Ame ran back and hid behind her mother’s
leg. David did likewise to Jean, but
tried not to make it look so obvious.
Storm put a hand on Sara’s shoulder.
“He would not have harmed her.” She said
quietly. “He is an old friend.”
The man smiled widely at Ororo. She stepped forward and threw her arms
around his shoulders, embracing him in a tight hug that he returned. The two began laughing, and Jean smiled in
kind. Sara looked down at Ame and Ame
looked over at David, all exchanging the same confused look.
Storm finally broke the hug and stepped back
some, but her arms affectionately remained on his shoulders.
“T’Challa!
It has been an age!”
“Far too long, my dear.”
They exchanged a quick “peck” on the lips. Ame frowned.
Jean stepped up next and gave the man a hug.
“It’s good to see you again.” She said.
“And you, Jean.” He said with a smile.
Ororo went over to Ame and knelt down to her
height.
“Ame, remember when I told you about my
traveling across Africa from Cairo, and that I had a friend with me part of the
way?”
Ame nodded.
“Well, this is he. This is T’Challa, the king of Wakanda.”
Ame hesitated, then stepped forward and
extended her hand as she had been taught to do.
T’Challa shook it.
“Nice to meet you, sir.” She said quietly.
“I am very happy to meet you, Ame.” He
said. “My, you are a beauty. Just like your mother.”
“Thank you.” was all the girl said before
stepping back to her mother.
“Hey, aren’t you the Black Panther?” David
asked piping up.
“Yes I am.” T’Challa said squatting down to his
level. David started to walk over to
him. “And who might you be?”
“I’m David Michael Summers.” David said,
pointing to himself with pride.
“Well, I’m very glad to meet you, David Michael
Summers. You’re a very smart boy.”
David beamed.
“And this is Sara.” Jean said, indicating to
the girl whose arms were heavily crossed.
“She’s can be a little over protective at times.”
“Pleasure.”
Sara said dryly. Her posture
indicated that she was not going to move her hands, so T’Challa did not offer
his, opting for a polite nod instead.
“Goddess, what are you doing here? I mean, well… in America for one thing, but
more specifically here? There is no
trouble I hope.”
“Just the trouble of politics.” He
replied. “There is a political
conference here in New York about African and South American tribal
government. And my running into you
here was no coincidence. There is a
formal banquet and dinner I need to attend tomorrow, and as I have no escort…”
Ororo raised an eyebrow. T’Challa smiled.
“I went by Xavier’s. They told me you were here.
So how about it?”
“I would love to attend.”
“Great!” he said rubbing his hands together
devilishly. “The Prince of Merkan and I
have a bet going about which one of us would show up with the better looking
date. I think it’s safe to say I just
won that bet.”
“You!” Ororo said as she playfully smacked him
on the shoulder.
* * * * *
“But,
but, but, I’m sick! You can’t go!”
“Ame,” Ororo started in a warning voice. “You know better than to feign illness.”
“But I really don’t feel good mommy! You have to stay home.”
Ororo finished fastening her earring and turned
to face her daughter who was sitting on the foot of Ororo’s bed. Ame had been whining excuses for Ororo to
stay home since noon. T’Challa was to
pick her up at six thirty which was five minutes from then.
Careful not to disarray her long evening gown,
Ororo squatted down and put her hands on Ame’s knees.
“What does not feel good?”
“…I don’t know… My mouth tastes bad and I feel
hot right here.” The little girl pointed towards her solar plexus. “And my throat feels tight.” She added
gripping her throat with both hands.
Ororo placed a hand on her forehead and then
pressed the back of her hand to Ame’s cheek.
“You do not feel warm.”
“But…”
“If you are really feeling bad, perhaps we
should have your Uncle Hank take a look at you.”
“No… I think I’ll just feel better if you stay
home with me.”
Ororo sighed.
“Ame, I cannot. I promised
T’Challa I would attend this function with him. Now, you would not want me to break my word to a good friend now
would you.”
Ame sulked.
“No…”
“…Are you afraid something might happen to
me?” Ororo asked, considering that this
could be what all the fuss was about.
Since her brush with death, Ame had always been extremely nervous
whenever Storm went somewhere without her.
Only in recent weeks had she been apparently handling it better.”
“….N-Y-No…”
Ame finally said, thinking the better of not lying to her mother on this
topic
“Then what is this really about?”
Ame let out a huff. “Well, who’s going to give me my dinner?”
“You will eat dinner with Jerri and Darren as
you usually do. Can you not smell your
Uncle Remy’s cooking already?”
“But, who’s going to tell me when it’s time to
go to bed?”
“You know very well when it is time to go to
bed, and your Uncle Logan will be here to make certain you do.”
“But…”
There was a knock at the bedroom door.
“Somebody call me?”
Ororo looked over her shoulder. Logan was leaning against the
doorframe. Ame’s eye’s danced happily.
Ororo stood up and turned to face him. She was met by a long whistle.
“What ‘Panther do t’deserve that?”
“This dress is nothing special. Actually I thought it rather conservative,
as per my usual, do you not think?”
“I ain’t talkin’ ‘bout the dress, darlin’. I’m talkin’ ‘bout what’s in the
dress.”
Ame
giggled and covered her mouth with her hands.
“And what are you laughin’ at Shorty?”
“Nothing.” She said still giggling.
“C’Mon.” He said holding out his hand. “Your dinner’s ready.”
Ame slid off the bed and ran to him.
“And you,” he said looking up at Storm, “got a
rather large limo waitin’ for you downstairs.”
Ororo nodded and moved to her vanity to pick up
her small purse. Ame was frowning again
and gripped her uncle’s hand tighter.
Logan noticed but said nothing.
As Ororo approached, Logan held out his other
arm like a gentleman, for her to take, which she did with a smile. He escorted the two ‘ladies’ downstairs.
* * * * *
The
four youngest members of the house sat fixed absorbing their final minutes of
television for that night.
David was laying the wrong way across the arms
of a padded chair. Jerri had her legs
pulled up against her as she sat on the floor in front of the opposite
chair. Ame and Darren were occupying
the couch between them.
Darren was slowly adjusting to his life at the
mansion, and the occupants (for the most part) were adjusting to him. He was learning to immensely like everyone
in the house. They were all very
friendly… except for one. He couldn’t
for the life of him understand why Jerri’s father was so cold to him. In the weeks he’d been there, Remy had
spoken less than five words to the boy.
At first Darren thought that it just might be his nature, but he was
quick to observe that with everyone else, in that mansion, Gambit was a warm
and friendly guy.
His forehead knotted as he recalled something
that had caught his attention at dinner.
Mr. Logan, who frankly scared the boy to the point where he couldn’t
breath, dropped Ame off in the kitchen and then disappeared. Ame, frowning for some reason, took her
seat. She remained in that slump until
Mr. LeBeau came up behind her and said that he had heard she was having a bad
day and so he made her favorite.
He then brought forth a skillet and slid a very
large Western Omelet – Cajun style, of course, onto Ame’s plate. Ame burst out grinning, echoing “My
favorite!” She fiercely hugged Mr.
LeBeau around the neck, saying: “Thank you, Uncle Remy! You’re my favorite uncle!”
Darren, still pondering this turned to look at
Ame, who was in the process of laughing at a pre-screened episode of “The
Simpsons”.
“Ame?” Darren asked quietly, drawing the girl’s
immediate attention. Darren spoke very
little and when he did it was usually as a response to a question. “Why did you call Mr. LeBeau, your favorite
uncle? ”
Jerri
popped her gum but didn’t look from the screen. David moved, but only because too much blood was rushing to his
head.
Ame shrugged oddly. “Because he is.”
“But I thought Mr. Logan was your
favorite? You’re always hanging around
him…”
Another shrug.
She looked back to the t.v. screen, resting her head on the couch arm.
“…I just don’t… think of him as an uncle,
that’s all.” She said quietly.
Jerri popped her gum again.
Darren looked at her another moment then turned
back to the to the all-powerful television.
* * * * *
As soon as her eyes opened, Ame rolled herself
out of bed and quickly ran up to her mother’s apartment. She opened the door and flew into the room
unannounced.
“Ame!” You know better than that!” Ororo scolded.
Ame felt bad.
“I’m sorry mommy. I just wanted
to make sure you were here.”
Storm sighed and tied up her silk robe. She had just returned from her morning cloud
walk.
She held out her arms and picked the small girl
up when she ran into them.
“Of course I am here.” She said with a kind smile. “Where else would I be?”
“I thought you might still be out on your date
with T—T—”
“T’Challa.”
“Yeah, him.”
“I came home last night as I said I would,
child.”
“Yeah but sometimes when Uncle Bobby and Lisa
or when Uncle Remy go out, they don’t come back until the next day. Even Uncle Logan…”
“Well, I told you I would be home, and I strive
never to break my promises.”
“Are you going out with him again? Is he your boyfriend now?”
Ororo knitted her brow. “No T’Challa is not my ‘boyfriend’.”
“But you kissed him!”
“Ame… T’Challa and I have been friends for a
very long time. I care a great deal
about him. But we are just
friends. And sometimes close friends
give each other kisses as a show of affection.
But that is all it is Ame.
T’Challa is on a plane back to Africa as we speak.”
“Oh.”
Ame said quietly.
Ororo kissed Ame then put her back on the
floor. She sat on the edge of her bed
and pulled the child to her.
“Now… we have to talk about your behavior
yesterday, young lady.”
Ame dropped her head and chewed on her bottom
lip.
“Are you ready to tell me the real
reason for all of that whining?”
“…I… I
just didn’t want you to marry him.” She said quietly.
“Marry him! Ame, this was the first and only time you had ever seen us
together! What ever gave you the idea
that I might marry him?”
“Well, that’s what happened with you and my
dad! You started dating and then you
got married. That’s what happened with
Uncle Scott and Auntie Jean too!”
Storm shook her head. “Sweet child, there is a long way to go between dating and
marriage. Just because you date
someone, does not mean you will marry them.
Did you know that your Aunt Jean used to date your Uncle Warren?”
Ame’s eyes grew. “She did???”
“Yes.
It was a very long time ago and they did not date long, but yes, they
did go out.”
“So how do you know who to marry?”
Ororo shook her head again. “…I wish I could tell you that Ame, but it
is something you have to find out on your own.
Something inside of you tells you that this is the one.”
Ororo slipped off the bed and knelt in front of
Ame.
“Now, you need to understand something. You are first and foremost the most
important person in my life. You always
will be so and you must never forget that.”
Ame nodded.
“But there may come a time, child, when I may
begin to date again. I may even get
married someday. But this does not
mean that I love you any less. And it
does not mean that I love Rafe any less.
Love grows the more it is shared.
It does not shrink and become less.
All right?”
Ame
tilted her head to the side. “…I know that!
I want you to get married!
…I just didn’t want you to marry him!”
Ororo sat back on her heals and gave Ame an odd
look.
“Who is it you want me to marry?”
Ame opened her mouth then shut it again. She took a step back from her mother.
“Ame?”
Ame turned and ran out of the room.
“Ame?!?”
* * * * *
“You up for another too, mon ami?”
“Cajun, since when you gotta ask?”
Gambit held up his hands. “Jus’ bein’ polite. So dat’s t’ree more beers and one Broken
Down Golf Cart.” He said sliding out of
the booth. He stopped. “How’d I get elected barmaid anyway?”
“‘Cus yer the prettiest. Now get me my beer.”
“Luv you too sunshine.” Remy said ignoring the
laugher as he walked to the bar.
The little ones in bed and a long day over
with, some of the X-Men had retired to Harry’s Hideaway to unwind.
“So she was seriously worried that you might
marry T’Challa?”
“Her mind has a habit of jumping from A to Z at
the speed of light.” Ororo said shaking her head slightly. “I hope this is a trait she will grow out
of.”
“One thing Ame most certainly does not
lack is a vivid imagination.” Hank said as Remy returned to the table. “But all
the children are going through this stage.
It is perfectly normal. Their
minds are rapidly forming new pathways for thinking and they are anxious to
try--”
“Hank!
Too late at night plus too much alcohol plus the fact that we need a
dictionary to follow you under normal circumstances equals what?”
“Yeah,
yeah, yeah, Iceboy. Just tryin’ to be
helpful. …It is too quiet in here. I am going to make a selection.” Hank got up and stumbled slightly before
regaining his balance.
“I hear
one note of Sinatra and you die B.”
“Promises,
promises…”
“Ain’t
nuthin’ wrong with a little imagination.
Gives the kid character.” Logan said.
“Man, that kid’s got you two so wrapped that
you’d marry each other if she asked you to.” Bobby laughed.
“Might as well start picking out a dress Storm. You know there’s nothing Ame would like
better.”
“Et tu, Jean?”
“Call ‘em as I see ‘em.” she replied with a
laugh.
{SIGH}“You know what? I am leaving.”
“Me too.” Logan agreed getting up from the
table. (But not before finishing off his new beer in one gulp.)
“Course!
You two got a weddin’ t’plan.” Remy added.
Both Ororo and Logan turned and gave him a dry,
straight-mouthed glare before walk through the door, leaving the slightly tipsy
X-Men laughing after them. They stopped
a few feet past the large window and both wearily leaned against the brick
wall.
“So…” Ororo said turning only her head to look
at him. “Exactly when are we
going to tell them?”
Logan shrugged. “Kinda makes it more interesting don’tcha think.” He moved over and stood in front of
her. Ororo put her arms over his
shoulders and smiled.
“You just like the idea of holding one over on
everyone.”
“Nah.
Just like keepin’ you t’myself a little longer. Soon as everybody knows, everybody
watches. The whole family gets
involved. Right now, s’just us.”
“I like ‘us’.”
“Me
too.”
The music from the jukebox started up again,
but Ororo and Logan were too involved in their own kiss to notice.
Oh, come
on! Tell me you didn’t see that
comin’… Call me people! stormgates@hotmail.com