B00BR2BOUU EBOK (43 page)

We all stepped into the elevator and headed directly to the
apartment. Bryce stopped us on the 2nd floor of the private residence. I
stepped out after him curious as to why we would stop on level two first.

“Now, I didn’t know where you would want to sleep. So I
organised a few different options for you.” He opened a bedroom door. Inside
was a room decked out in greys, red and blacks, with a single bed and desk.
There were signed pictures of the Essendon Football Team on the wall, together
with a large mounted TV. My eyes nearly bulged out of my head.

“Sick! I bags this room.”
Bags? Is this his new word of
the month?

“What the hell is ‘bags’?” I asked my son.

He rolled his eyes at my apparent lack of modern-day lingo.
“It means I’m having it, you know...” 
No, I don’t know, obviously.
Nate
walked in and flopped on the bed, then shot back up and scrutinized one of the
pictures. “Hey, Mum, this Bombers picture is signed and it has my name on it.”
I walked into the room to take a closer inspection of the picture, and sure
enough it was personally signed for Nate. I turned back round with my mouth
wide open. Bryce just shrugged his shoulders.

“You didn’t tell me your football team was the ‘Bombers’.” I
said with a smile on my face.

“I don’t.” Bryce said as he smirked and crossed his arms.

“Oh, well what team do you support?” I asked inquisitively
“Please don’t say Collingwood, I think I will have to leave if you say
Collingwood.”

He laughed. “The Cats, I support the Cats.”

I looked at Nate, then to Charli. “What do we think of
that?”

“It’s better than Collingwood or Carlton, Mum.” Nate said in
Bryce’s defence.

Charli turned to Bryce and gave him the thumbs down, and he
laughed. We walked out of the room and made our way down the hallway.

“When did you organise this?” I asked him in a quiet tone.

“Yesterday, and last night.”

“You are amazing, Mr. Clark.” I quickly pinched him on the
arse, before he opened the next door.

“Charli, if you’d like, you can sleep in here, or with your
Mum. It’s up to you.” He opened the door for her, and we were hit with what
could only be described a princess’s paradise, a princess who was obsessed with
4Life.
That reminds me, the video Bryce recorded for her, and the napkin!

She screamed. “Mum, there is 4Life stuff everywhere and it
has my name on it.”

“No way!” chimed in Nate.

“That’s not all, Charli. I’ve got a surprise for you.” Bryce
switched on the TV which like in Nate’s room, was mounted to the wall. Instantly
the scene from backstage at the Tel V Awards came up on the screen.
Oh,
shit! Quick! Record it, Alexis.

“Hang on, hang on.” I yanked my phone from my pocket and
pointed it at Charli and pressed record. “Go.” I indicated to Bryce to press
play, which he did. Harry’s voice filled the room.

“Charlotte, we are sorry you
couldn’t be here tonight, so we’ve put together something especially for you.”

If I thought she screamed
before then I was wrong, because the shrill noise that radiated from that tiny
little mouth had my eardrums begging for mercy. She bounced up and down on the
bed as 4Life sang her favourite song, ‘Anything’. I watched the sheer
excitement and joy plaster Charli’s face as I held my phone up capturing every
single second of her reaction. A tear sat teetering on the edge of my lid,
undecided on whether or not it would fall. I giggled when the footage on the TV
filmed the roof for a second, remembering that was the moment I leaned back and
kissed Bryce while he recorded it. I glanced over at him, to see if he
remembered that moment too, and he was standing there filming me with his
phone. I gave him a ‘what are you doing’ look then put my hand up to shield my
face.

When the recording finished,
Charli ran up to Bryce and wrapped her arms around his waist and said thank
you. It took us all by surprise, especially Bryce who didn’t know what to do at
first. He sort of stood there with his hands in the air, like a police officer
had sprung into the room and shouted ‘stick em up’. By the time he realised he
could relax them and hug her back, she had let go and had run straight for me,
practically barrelling me over.

“Thank you, thank you, thank
you! That was the best thing EVER! Can I watch it again?”

“Sure.” Bryce handed her the
remote.

“Don’t you want to come and
see my room, Charli, in case you want to sleep in with me?” I asked, worried
she might find sleeping on her own for the first time a bit daunting.

“No, I’m good, this room is
awesome!” She pressed play and bounced up and down again as she replayed her
personalized footage.

I laughed at her. “Okay,
quickly one more time.” She watched it again then reluctantly put the remote
down and left the room. I wanted to secure Bryce in my arms and show him just
how much I loved him and appreciated him. It was almost unbearable that I
couldn’t. We had made a pact that there would be absolutely no displays of
affection in front of the kids, and who ever broke that pact would owe the
other, ‘anything’.

I opened the next door. “This
is my room kids”

“Where’s Bryce’s room?” Charli
asked squinting her eyes as she searched the hall way.

He pointed down the hall to
the last door. “Down there, Charli.”

“Okay.” She nodded, then
followed her brother downstairs. I walked up behind Bryce as we followed them,
and gently whispered in his ear.

“So, what were the other
sleeping options you had arranged for them, if these ones had not worked out?”

“Your bed, or the couch,” he
said with a matter of fact. I laughed.

***

We showed the kids the entire apartment, and they were quite
excited about the prospect of spending a lot of time here. I didn’t want to overwhelm
them with the thought of it permanently being their new home, because as Bryce
had said to me the other day, ‘it doesn’t have to be, we could live anywhere’. 
Just the notion of being able to live ‘anywhere’ still hadn’t quite sunk in. I
know Bryce was incredibly wealthy but it was not the dollar signs I saw
dripping off him, it was his determination and passion, not to mention the drips
of sweat and soapy lather—I couldn’t forget those either.
Alexis, you’ve
gone off subject.
Right, I knew we could live anywhere, but I really did
like it there, this was the special place that had changed my life for the
better.

***

Bryce and Nate spent most of
the morning in the ‘Man Cave/Recording Studio’ playing the rather new and large
collection of Wii games Bryce had organised. Charli spent a good hour in her
room replaying her footage and staring starry eyed at her signed pictures and
memorabilia. I decided to put on my bathing suit and soak up the sun’s rays as
the cooler weather was sure to hit Melbourne any day now. The weather in
Melbourne often resembled a woman’s temperament during that lovely time of the
month, where fertilisation of our egg was yet again denied. One day it was
sunshine, butterflies and rainbows, and the next it was grey, miserable and
ready to attack and unleash hell on all of those around it. So, I had every
intention of enjoying this particular sunshine and butterflies day, by lying on
the sun lounge by the pool and reading my extremely funny book. During the past
nine years at home, and after my domestic duties had been sorted, attacked and
accomplished, I would increase my caffeine and sugar levels and get lost in the
world of literature.

“Mum?”

I looked up from my book
still giggling at its content. “Yes, sweetheart, are you finished watching
4Life now?”

“Yes.” She blushed. “Addison
is going to be so jealous when I show her. Mum, can I bring my friends here?”

“Um, I guess...”

“Of course you can,
Charlotte.” Nate and Bryce walked out onto the balcony looking like new best friends.

“I kicked his butt, Mum.
Seven games to three!”

“He did, fair and square. Unlike
his mother.” Bryce gave me a cheeky look.

I dipped my sunglasses to my
nose. “I do not cheat, Mr. Clark.”

“Mum, it’s Bryce, remember?”
Charli shook her head at me, then changed the subject rather quickly, as 6 year
olds tend to do. “Can we go for a swim?”

“Yeah, did you pack your
bathing suits?”

Charli’s face dropped. “No.”

“That’s okay, I can get
Michelle...” Bryce was already reaching for his phone when I interrupted him.

“No, no. We can go downstairs
to the shopping precinct and pick some out ourselves, then we can get some
lunch.”

Charli jumped up from the end
of my sun lounge. “Can we have McDonalds?”

“Sure.” I looked at Bryce who
displayed a look of distaste, then quickly smiled.

***

We made our way down to Rip
Curl and chose both Nate and Charli a new bathing suit. The friendly shop
assistant smiled and said hello to Bryce.

“Can you please charge it to
my account?” He replied.

“No” I said, handing over my
credit card. Bryce turned to me and cupped my face.

“Hunny, you have to let me
look after you and the kids, if in fact you want me to look after you and the
kids.” He leaned down and placed a soft quick peck on my lips. My eyes widened
and so did his at the realisation he had just broken our promise
unintentionally. He dropped his hands and we both quickly looked at the kids.
Nate was smiling and trying to cover Charlotte’s eyes. She was also smiling and
peeping through the crack of Nate’s not so big fingers.

My smile rose to match my
children’s. “Come on, let’s get lunch.” I gently pushed them toward the door.

“I’m sorry, my love, I just
completely forgot and couldn’t help it.” he whispered into my ear.

I slipped my hand into his.
“It’s fine, didn’t you see their faces? Anyway, now you owe me ‘anything’.”

His eyebrows rose. “I’ve
already pledged ‘anything’ for you.”

“Good, I hope you’ve got your
Channing Tatum on.”

“Channing what?”

I laughed. “Have you seen
Magic Mike?”

“No.”

“Best you Google it.” I
lifted his hand to my mouth, kissed it then pulled him along to catch up with
the kids.

***

We stopped in front of
McDonalds and Charli sat on a park bench which had a fibre glass, life-size
statue of Ronald McDonald sitting on it. Charli draped her arm around him and
posed. I pulled out my phone to take a photo.

“Go on, Nate, sit with her.”
He reluctantly sat beside his sister and pulled a stupid face. I took the
picture.

“Come on, Bryce, you can sit
here too.” Charli smiled and pushed Nate across the seat, then patted the spot
in between them. I looked up at Bryce, thinking what fantastic progress we were
making in the space of only a few hours. I had never dreamed the kids would be
so great about this massive alteration to their lives. He looked hesitant,
which shocked me.

“Go on.” I put my hand on his
back and directed him to the seat. He sat down with a horrified look on his
face, and my heart fell to the floor.
What’s his problem?
“Smile Bryce.”
I glared at him. He forcefully smiled making me furious, but then I caught his
ever so subtle sideways look at the Ronald McDonald statue. I screwed up my
face then realised what his problem was. I couldn’t help it, I burst into
laughter. He shot me a deathly look, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if he
had sat there and crossed his arms. “Come here.” He shot up. I handed him my phone.
“I’ll trade with you,” I said as I continued to laugh.

“It’s not funny, Ms.
Summers.” He whispered. I sat down in between Nate and Charli and put my arms
around them hugging them in tight.

“What’s wrong with Bryce?”
Nate asked, a little sad and offended.

“Oh, it’s nothing, Nate.” I
laughed again.

“Alexis, stop it.” Bryce
scolded. He tried to look serious at me, but he was starting to break.

“Mum, tell me.” Nate pleaded.

“Bryce is afraid of clowns,
and Ronald McDonald here was freaking him out.” I choked again, mouthing the
word ‘sorry’ to Bryce before burying my head in my hand. Nate looked up and
replaced his concerned and offended face with a broad smile, then he too laughed.
Charli on the other hand stood up and wrapped her arms around Bryce’s waist.

“Don’t worry, Bryce, I
understand. I’m afraid of bees.” She squeezed him tighter. He placed his hand
on her head and gave it a light rub. My laugh pulled short, stopping in its
tracks, then, replacing it was a smile filled with love, and relief. Nate rested
his head on my shoulder and spoke quietly.

“She likes him Mum, and so do
I.”
Oh thank Christ for that.

CHAPTER
THIRTY

Life hands out challenges
that we all unwillingly accept. We have no choice in the acceptance really because
that is essentially what life is; a series of unavoidable challenges thrown our
way, and how we assess them, deal with them, and progress through them, shapes
our life to be what it will be. Some of us assess challenges in different ways,
either seeing them as a hurdle that one can easily jump over, or as a brick
wall that seems impossible to climb.