Broken Walls ✔

Ch 13

Liam Moonhovan

"Alright that you so much. It's a pleasure" I shook the man's hand with a grin. "It's all our pleasure; we'll go through everything and get the deal done in a week," he replied, shaking my hand and then Zach's. Before saying our goodbyes and departing, we shared a few more words. We had a no-work-on-weekends rule, which I clearly violated frequently, but this was a big thing, so we both spent the last two Saturdays in meetings.

"I'd say that went quite well," Zach replied as he removed his tie and unbuttoned his shirt's top button. 

"Yes, it very certainly did," I answered, letting go of my tie. We continued to discuss the meeting till we arrived at my place.

 "You're back!" Zaria exclaimed. Her and Alexis were sitting on the couch, watching tv.

Zach flopped down on one of the side couches, grumbling something incoherent. I walked up to Alexis and gently rested my head on her flat-on-the-chair legs, which were too short to dangle over the edge when she sat with her back against the backrest. 

"Are you tired, Papa?" she said gently, her gaze falling on me. I laughed and nodded at her perplexed expression.

"Oh," she said, beaming down at me as she pushed my hair back with her little soft fingers. 

"You guys are too adorable," Zaria exclaimed, and I looked up to find her snapping photos and Zach, who was resting on his stomach on the other couch, smiling at us. Alexis grinned as she messed with my hair.

Zaria remarked, pointing to her brother, "I have to leave, and this moron is my ride, so we'll get going." 

"Do I have to?"  Zach grumbled. 

"You promised, now come on, the store is closing," Zaria said as she pulled him up. I remember her mentioning a big sale at her favorite store. 

Zach grumbled, "All I'm going to do is drive you there and carry all your things." 

"That's why I'm dragging you along," Zaria remarked, whirling on her heels and tugging him along with her.

 "Bye bye uncle Zachy and Aunty Zar," Alexis said, waving at them.

 "Have a blast" I exclaimed teasingly. When one of them we're looking, Zach gave me the middle finger as his sister yanked him out by the wrist, making me laugh even more.

Alexis turned to face me once they had left, staring down at me with her bright green eyes   "Am I hurting you're legs love?" I inquired, and she swiftly shook her head, lovingly wrapping her hands over my face. 

"No, I like taking care of my Papa," she said with a grin that warmed my heart. 

"You're such a sweet heart. Exactly like your mother "I smiled up at her, chuckling. 

"Yea, I want to be just like Mama and Papa," she proudly stated. She paused for a moment "Can you tell me more stories of mama?" She asked

"Love, what stories do you want to hear?" I inquired, my hands on my stomach.

 I'd always raised Alexis to know about her mom, she needed to know what a wonderful person had brought her into this world and it's not like there was a reason to keep it from her. Why not simply be honest from the start? She'd find out eventually regardless. Plus she always loved hearing about what her mom was like.

"I wanna hear the one the dog" she said excitedly. 

"All right," I said, knowing that it was her favorite. I sat alongside her, patting my legs, after lifting my head from her laps and sitting up. "It's your turn," I remarked cheerfully as she slid over and rested her head on my laps.

 "Ok, so when your mom and I were in high school, we were going down the road when we came across a tiny puppy in a box, all alone and hungry," I recounted, trying not to laugh at her small sad expression. "Your mother had such a huge heart that she couldn't bear leaving it there to die, so she brought it home and hid it in her bedroom." I said this as I watched her face brighten into a smile. 

"This is my favorite part," she murmured making me laugh as I ruffled her hair.

"She'd been keeping it in her room for a week, and even though she didn't have much food to begin with, she always fed the door she'd named..." I stated that I was waiting for her to finish.

 "Coco!" Alexis screamed with delight.

 "Yes, Coco grew to the point where she couldn't hide him any longer. She begged me to keep him in my room since it was bigger "I remembered her imploring expression that's practically what Alexis looked like." "She used to sneak into my room to feed Coco, but one day I came home from school with her because she wanted to see him, but he had run away," I explained as I saw her scowl once again.

"Your mother was so angry with me that she had me go out in the freezing winter snow without a coat to look for him. I looked and looked for hours and hours around, till my fingers were frozen, but I couldn't find Coco. So I went back to my room, and your mother was waiting for me, and she was upset. She went to sleep when it got late" I paused thinking back, this was one of the last memories we had together before I left for collage "She told me the next morning that she had found Coco; do you know where he was?" I smiled

 "In her bedroom," Alexis said, and I chuckled and nodded. "And mama felt so horrible for freezing you that she cried and spent all of her savings to buy you hot coco," she said, making me laugh.

"That's why hot coca is you're favorite drink, because it reminds you of mama" Alexis said making my heart feel heavy. 

"Mhm, that's why it's my favorite" I smiled sadly. "It's my favorite too, with the marshmallows" Alexis smiled sitting up.

 "Do you want some now?" I asked. She nodded sitting up. 

"Alright two hot chocolates coming up" I said walking off to the kitchen to make them.