Chapter 404: Cecile XXXV--Awake
The twins were in bed for a nap, Cecile kissed their pink cheeks and patted their blond, soft, papery hair and stood in the doorway looking at them. Who would know, once they saw those sleeping, cherubs’ faces, those bow shaped pink little mouths and chubby baby arms that they were loud, manipulative, vivacious and lively? Cecile grinned, but all in a good way. The twins would probably never realize how fortunate they were in life to be born to such wealth and love, to have a mother who fretted constantly about their welfare and prospects and happiness.
She yawned
and stretched as she left the nursery. A nap would be nice; the Sakic’s were
having an early dinner at the
Cecile remained in the doorway, yawning. Rosalita answered the door when she was around, not that Cecile felt it was the housekeeper’s job, just that the woman wouldn’t hear of it being anyway else. “What if it is locos, Cecilia,” she would say, “Do you think a milky little white girl like you would scare him? It didn’t work the first time, it won’t work the second time, anyone mess with me I kick him in the cojones.”
“Cecilia!” Rosalita called an almost sharp edge in her voice.
Cecile frowned and left her room and went downstairs to the entry way. Rosalita stood there, her hands on her curving hips, one eyebrow lifted. “The door is for you.”
“Danny!” Cecile exclaimed when she saw him taking his jacket off at the doorway. “What are you doing here you know you’re not supposed to be…”
“None of my business,” Rosalita replied waving her hands and disappearing into the kitchen. “But if they ask Cecilia I won’t stick my neck out for you and treat you better than the ones before you.”
Cecile frowned and glared at Danny who had the audacity to give her his patented, heart melting, heart warming sliced bread white grin. He also sported a reddish, bluish bruise on the upper corner of his left cheek. She’d seen bruises like that on his face before, by now she knew a fighter’s bruise when she saw one“You hear that Danny, I could get fired, if they catch you here, the twins are right upstairs and…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Danny grabbed her and kissed her, so warm, so passionate, so eager and hungry, and she couldn’t remember feeling him this intense since the first time he kissed her. Momentarily, Cecile lost her reserve and sense of time and she held onto him, her fingers on his hard, warm shoulders, loved his hands on her waist and hips, his taste of salt and spit, his hot breath brushing her upper lip and his pulse pressing into her breast. Ah yes, she did love him.
Before she could push him away, Dan broke the kiss but he didn’t let go of her. His eyes sparkled and his gaze bore into her so earnestly that Cecile felt her cheeks warm and prickle as they blushed. “Alright Danny you made your point but you really have to leave.” She whispered. “The romance isn’t lost on me though.”
Danny rolled his eyes. “Cecile, let me be the one to talk first for once okay?”
Cecile lifted her eyebrows and the heat of the kiss evaporated. “Oh I love you too. Get lost you weirdo.”
“Cecile!” Dan exclaimed, and the smile on his face now seemed so giddy and overexcited that she found herself cocking her head to one side and imagining him as a chattering, giggling dolphin. “Just let me talk okay! Just forget the Sakics, or rules or any of the other shit okay?”
Cecile slowly blinked. “Okay…” but before Danny could speak, “Danny are you drunk or something.” She hadn’t smelled any liquor on his breath but she wasn’t dumb, she knew stuff like vodka didn’t leave any scent. Still, she knew she shouldn’t have said it; last thing Rosalita needed to hear was that the nanny’s drunk boyfriends was toddling around Mr. Sakic’s house while his babies slept upstairs.
“No, Cecile,” Danny said with that smile so bright, “This is better.”
Cecile squinted. Danny nodded and grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the living room. Ah she should have known. If a soul could roll its eyes, Cecile knew her immortal one did, as surely as it lifted its eyebrow. Danny pulled her onto a couch and kissed her, hungry, his hands groping and fumbling, and almost forceful. She pushed at him, squeaking her protest but his only reply was to shove a heavy muscled thigh between her knees to part them. When his fingers slipped in-between the buttons of her sweater, Cecile knew enough was enough. “Danny! NO!” She barked and wriggling a hand free she made sure to whack him on the face, and didn’t miss her mark in hitting that angry red bruise.
“OW!” Dan roared and he fell off her body onto the carpet, overdramatically as far as Cecile was concerned and she crossed her arms and hugged herself sitting on the couch, glaring at him. “That hurt!”
“Not as bad as I hurt you!” Rosalita snapped storming into the room brandishing a rolling pin. “Stay still you horny mutt.”
“Hey get away from me!” Danny exclaimed too frightened to stand up, crawling back on his bottom and Cecile half fancied leaving him there to Rosalita’s mercies. “You’re just joking right?”
“Ha!” Rosalita growled. “And you think that disease riddled red haired Swede miss eight games last season because of something that happened during a game? When a nanny says no in this house, she means it, and so do I,” she closed one eye and stepped forward, holding the rolling pin high. “I think we’ll make this one a ten game…”
“No it’s okay,” Cecile cried standing up, that blanched, helpless expression on Danny’s face calling to her sensibilities, and her satisfaction. “Danny just gets carried away; it’s nothing serious, really, thank you so much for….”
“Oh you just let him do that to you?” Rosalita frowned, “and excuse him?”
“It’s not like that, really, it looks worse…” and Cecile realized how bad that sounded. “…than…it…is.”
“The rich white girls’ lament,” Rosalita murmured and shaking her head she left the living room. “If he tries that again under this roof I don’t care what you say, I’ll break his knee.”
Cecile looked at Danny, and raised an eyebrow. “Okay what is wrong with you?”
Danny coughed and grinned sheepishly. “I’m sorry?”
“Make it better than that buster or I’m calling Rosalita back in here,” Cecile growled pointing at him. Her skin felt warm and itchy and prickled all over and her pulse wouldn’t calm, her arms and legs hurt from struggling so futilely against his overpowering body and yet still, she felt, somehow exhilarated. Either way it felt nice to hit that bruise on his face, which for some reason, she felt had some sort of answer to his actions of a few minutes ago.
Dan sighed and looked at his hands and looked back at her, there was her Dan Hinote, innocent lamblike eyes, soft lips, soft skin but something was different about him, almost as if his very pores bled some sort of happiness or light. “Baby I shouldn’t have, I just couldn’t help myself I’m so happy.”
Cecile nodded. “It’s drugs isn’t it?”
Danny half grinned and Cecile smiled back. “Tell me from the beginning okay? What happened to your face, did you get another concussion during practice or something?”
“No, no!” Dan said leaning forward. “No drink or drug or concussion could have caused this, this, this awakening in me! None of that! Baby I, something happened yesterday, I can’t explain it to you and I doubt you’d really understand, but I do, I understand it and I felt it and I experienced it and I want that to never leave, because now all I can think about is you, and how you don’t know and I want you to know so badly.”
Cecile put her hand over her breast and crawled off the couch, onto the carpet and put her hand on his cheek. “An epiphany? Are you talking about an epiphany?” How stupid of her, of course, that’s why he glowed and seemed so blissful and unaware of her own limitations and feelings. Now she felt a little fortunate, a little amused.
Dan blinked. “Sure,” he whispered, “Sure it was spiritual Baby it was an epiphany. Yes that’s it. And I want to share it with you, I want you to be with me forever and be that happy, trust me you’ll never worry about anything ever again you’ll be so happy.”
“I’m sure,” Cecile smiled. “I know you want all that Danny, I do too but…”
“But what?” Dan exclaimed. “But nothing, screw it, let’s just screw it, let’s just go downtown, get a license and let’s get married, you can do that here, you can just get a license and a judge can marry us.”
Cecile scowled and moved away from him. “Danny!”
He rolled his eyes. “Cecile where’s your sense of adventure? If you want we can fly to Vegas have some fun, forget about a stupid big old wedding and dress and cake, we can put on a show like that during the summer if you want, we can have a proper honey moon then but shit Baby, and I want you with me now. I’ve got a great apartment, I can get a bigger one if you want, you’ll be happy there, we’ll be married, and I’ll do everything for you, anything, you’ve got it made!”
It all sounded so wonderful. Her heart swelled with imagining the dizzying whirl of possibilities in just disappearing and making everyone wonder, getting married, making love, abandoning everything behind to seal a promise of love. She almost laughed and hugged him and jumped at that offer but then her gut swirled and dampened her joy. “Danny, the kids.”
“We can have kids as soon as you want em honey don’t worry about…”
“No Mitchell and the twins, and.. and…Jana.” Just last week, with Jana curled against her body last Friday night; Cecile could hear the girl whimpering in her sleep, still frightened of the evil that can lurk in the dark. The girl not completely healed from that trauma, still needing comfort.
“What about them?” Danny asked.
“I can’t just off and leave them,” Cecile pointed out. “I would get fired, for certain.”
“Oh screw that!” Danny exclaimed. “When we’re married you won’t need to work for anyone anyway, don’t worry about that.”
“I’m thinking of the children,” Cecile said, “Mitchell freaks, Danny, he freaks when he even thinks that there’s a chance of me getting fired, it’s like, like he’s a little brother or something, I couldn’t just abandon him. And even Jana, on the weekends, she sleeps in my bed, I don’t think she’s well enough yet after what happened to be left behind.”
“Cecile…” Danny said helplessly.
“Married or not,” Cecile said, and she felt the truth of it, “I don’t think I can leave these children, not on terms like that, being fired.”
And in an instant all of that beauty and joy left Danny’s face. Of course, Cecile thought, I’d be the one to destroy it because of my stupid, sensible brain. She tried to touch his cheek, just to show him she still loved him.
“So that’s it?” Dan said, “That’s your answer?”
Cecile nodded and she felt tears wobble in her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“So I just wait then?” Danny asked.
“Yes I guess…”
“So I wait?” Dan scowled. “I wait, that’s all I’m good for right? Waiting?”
“Danny don’t…”
“No really,” He laughed mirthlessly, sarcastically. “It’s funny. First I’m waiting for you to grow up, then I’m waiting for your Mom now I’m waiting for a couple kids that aren’t even yours? I’m supposed to wait for that?”
Cecile’s
blood surged angrily. “Don’t take that tone with me Dan Hinote, we can wait for
the summer, both families will be in
“And then you have an answer for everything,” Dan sighed and he stood up, “I forgot, I’m always wrong.” He began to walk away, “Wrong, wrong, wrong.”
“Danny!” Cecile jumped to her feet. “Where are you going?”
“Away from here,” he snapped. “And everyone else’s God damn kids.” Within seconds he had the front door opened, slammed it shut and was gone.
Cecile ran to the foyer but not to the window. She could feel Rosalita’s presence and she wondered how much she had heard or knew of. “What got into him?” Cecile murmured.
“The devil’s itch got into his pants, Cecilia,” Rosalita sniffed. “She can ruin even the nicest boys.”
Cecile looked at Rosalita and felt her bottom lip tremble. Within the moment, the housekeeper hugged her tightly and Cecile burst into tears.