Angel Academy

Chapter Twelve

Niamh’s POV

I sat at the kitchen counter, watching Jeremy feed Heath. It’s been a week since I took Jeremy back, and this is the first time I’ve let him even remotely near my son. I can see him getting frustrated as Heath squirms in his seat, avoiding the mashed peas and crying. He doesn’t like Jeremy, which is weird because Heath’s never met a stranger; until now I suppose. It scares me when he scowls at Heath; I’m afraid he’s going to throw things, or worse, hit him. He always takes a second to take a deep, calming breath before he proceeds with what he’s doing.

“I don’t get what I’m doing wrong,” Jeremy whines, pouting like a three year old.

I shrug, and move to stand in front of Heath’s high chair. I fill the spoon with peas and lift it to his mouth. He hesitates only a moment before smiling and eating it, grinning even wider as it falls out of his mouth and down his chin. “He’s a momma’s boy,’ is all I say as I continue to feed him.

Jeremy sighs,” I suppose so. It’s a good idea to break him of that before he gets too old.” He moved from the sink to come up behind me. I stiffen as his arms go around my waist, and he doesn’t seem to notice. He cuddles into my back, his nose on the back of my neck. He takes a deep breath. “You smell good,” he whispers, his lips against my ear. He kisses the back of my neck and I shiver.

Quickly, without thinking, I pick Heath up and move away from Jeremy. He looks at me, a little annoyed. “I have to change Heath,” I mutter, and head into the back room to change him and put him in new clothes. He fusses as I lay him on his back, and tries to roll over onto his tummy. “Heath,’ I murmur, slightly annoyed, “quit fighting me.” Softly, so as not to hurt him, I lay him onto his back again, but he still doesn’t seem to agree with what I want, and begins to cry. I undo his diaper, and instantly cover my nose. “My god Heath!” My eyes begin to water, and I start gagging; sadly, I’ve never gotten used to the smell of baby-diapers.

After I change him, I carry him out into the living room and set him on his baby mat. He instantly rolls over onto his tummy and looks up at me, grinning at his achievement, his new tooth poking out from his gums. He grabs his teething toy and drools on it, giggling and talking to himself. Sitting back at the table, I take up the Fischer Murder File. Lucky for me, the police did have copies, but they warned that these were the last they had, so I needed to be extra careful with these, and that meant not letting Jeremy get a hold of them if he ever got mad at me again.

Jeremy sat in the chair across of me. “Niamh, why don’t we go on a date? Just you and I? It’ll be a romantic one. Maybe we could go to Jamy’s again.” He looked at me hopefully; I had been turning him down for the past week.

“I’m sorry Jeremy, I can’t. I have so much work to do.” I held up the Fischer Murder Files. “Maybe sometime tomorrow.”

He scowled. “You always say that Niamh. What’s the real reason?”

“I don’t have a babysitter.”

“We can take him with us.”

“He gets fussy in public.”

“Then we can leave him with your neighbor, Tracie.”

“She doesn’t like kids.”

“Then we can hire someone.”

“I refuse to let a stranger watch my child.”

“Niamh, do you not want to be with me?” Jeremy slammed his hand on the table angrily. I jumped, my eyes widening.

“I-I-“

Jeremy glared at me. “I love you Niamh,” he murmured, slowly calming down. He reached his hand across the table, and I let him take mine in his. He kissed my fingers. “Please, just go for one date with me.”

I sighed. “Fine. Pick me up at eight?”

It was eight o’ clock, and I heard Jeremy pull up right on time. Taking a deep breath, I looked in the mirror. I wore a knee length skirt with a blue blouse on the top. I had on my tiniest heels, and my hair was brushed and just hung on the sides of my head. Looking at me, you could tell I didn’t really put much effort into my look. When I answered the door, Jeremy looked me up and down.

“You look lovely,” he said, forcing a smile. He kissed my cheek and handed me a bouquet of roses. I took them from him and set them in a coffee cup. I would deal with them when I got home. Heath was over at Tracie’s house until later tonight. I told her I wouldn’t be gone long. “Ready?” I nodded and grabbed my purse.

When we got outside, Jeremy opened the door of a limo. Raising my eyebrow, he grinned at me and motioned to the door. I got in and Jeremy climbed in after me. He sat beside me, his hand on my thigh. He leaned in and kissed my cheek. “If you had told me of what you were going to wear, I would have chosen somewhere a little less fancy.” I blushed, feeling a little embarrassed.

“Between Heath and the Fischer Murder Case, I didn’t get a chance to really try,” I lied, feeling ashamed for dressing so lazily.

Jeremy nodded, patting my hand. “I thought so.” He kissed my cheek again, and then my neck. “You should have worn the perfume I got you,” he whispered against my neck.

I shivered. “We’re here,” the driver called back to us. I pulled back from him.

“We better get in there before they give away out reservations,” I whispered. Jeremy moaned a little against my neck, but pulled back and got out. I followed after him, and he took my hand.

“I think you’re going to like this,” he said, smiling mischievously. I raised my eyebrow, feeling more curious than nervous. “Close your eyes.” I did as I was told, and felt him lead me into the restaurant. It was strangely quiet. Jamy’s wasn’t a very loud restaurant in the first place, but it was deathly silent now. “Alright,” he said, stepping behind me, “open your eyes.”

I did as he asked, and gasped. In the middle of the room sat one table, and only one. It was donned in a red cloth and candles. A small bowl of roses resided in the middle of the table. “Oh my god, Jeremy. How did you pull this off?”

He smiled. “It helps to be rich.”

“I guess so,” I murmured. Rose petals littered the floor and table, and a trail started from the door and lead to what I assumed would be my seat. “This is absolutely amazing. I can’t believe you would do this for me.”

He laid a hand on my lower back, and leaned in to whisper softly in my ear, “Anything for my future wife.” My stomach dropped, but I ignored it. It was normal for couples to expect to be together forever, right?

He led me to the table, and I sat down. Violinists started playing, and our very own waiter stepped up. ‘Anything to drink, madam?”

My face flushed when I realized that I had seriously dressed down. I felt so ashamed. “Yes, I’d like a glass of water please.”

“Actually, she’d like a glass of champagne,” Jeremy interjected. I raised my eyebrow in annoyance at having been talked over, but Jeremy didn’t seem to notice. “A glass for me as well.” The waiter bowed slightly and scurried away, leaving us sitting alone. “Do you know what you’d like to eat?”

“I was thinking a mushroom soup bowl-”

“I think you should have a salad. The salad is delicious.” I opened my mouth to argue, but my phone, thankfully, cut me off. I dug through my purse for it. “Are you really going to answer that? We’re on a date, Niamh.”

Nodding, I pulled it out. “It could be Tracie.” I answered. “Hello, Ms. Harvey speaking.”

“Niamh, it’s your mother. I don’t know how to tell you this, so I’m just going to say it. Baby girl, Jeff passed away.”