How Little You Care

Chapter 9.

On a chilly mid-October morning, Rachel and Isabel were escorted by one of Keith's security officers into the compound. Yesterday, Keith greenlit her and her daughter to come back now that the repairs were done. He added that his hands were tied, and he couldn't spare a moment to meet with them once they arrived.

It felt like forever since she last walked through this place, and she wasn't sure how she should feel about it. With her daughter in tow, pressed to her right leg, Rachel stole a glance downward, immediately recognizing Isabel's discomfort by the way she was dragging her little feet as they pressed forward. Since the phone call, Isabel had continuously expressed physical and verbal reluctance to ever come back.

That week, after getting their answering machine working, a newly excited little girl asked her mother to be the first to call her father and greet him. When the phone lines went back on, she begged her to phone him that night just to say hi and that she missed him dearly. Poor Isabel was not prepared for his explosive reception, and it resulted in Rachel seizing the receiver out of her little hand and sending her to her room. After chewing him out for almost a half hour, she explained to him that a windstorm knocked out power for a day and phone lines for a week. Following a profuse number of apologies for lashing out at their daughter, Micah convinced Rachel to come over and wait until Keith called her back.

When Rachel brought up that they were going to see her dad at the end of the week, Isabel flew into a tantrum, protesting she didn't want to go or see him anymore. To see Isabel act out of character was an unusual sight. Even if that call left a very poor impression on their daughter, Rachel couldn't help but worry seeing her look so flustered.

At last, the security guard escorted the pair bringing them to two normal-sized double doors.

"Here we are, Mrs. Solís." He signaled to them and gestured at a camera that granted him access to the dwelling, "Mr. Solís's aware that you and your daughter have arrived. He's waitin' for you inside."

"Thanks." She forced a smile, and gently propelled Isabel's stiff form through the doors. That little girl made her displeasure very clear and tried to find something to hold onto to keep her from going inside.

Sensing her distress, the guard looked down at Isabel and greeted her with a warm smile, "are ya excited to see your daddy in there? I know he's real happy to see ya!"

Isabel's only response was to tug her mother's pant leg tighter and let out a small cough.

Once they crossed through, Isabel's troubled expression instantly morphed into child-like amazement as the room exploded in size before her very eyes. The hazy gray colored walls seem to go on forever as if they blended with the cloudy sky above; light fixtures' illuminations brightened the room further but not so much that it was too luminous; there was a skylight tinted window where one could see up and out but not the opposite. The dwelling was like a mini-industrial hotel room, excluding the common hotel aesthetics, complete with a sturdy-looking bed, kitchenette, 'mini' entertainment center, and a 'small' bathroom opposite the bed.

Rachel, herself, was left astonished yet again crediting Keith's efforts in supplying a quaint room for his best friend. While the room wasn't carpeted, it left her wondering how big of a vacuum was needed to sweep this whole place.

Once their eyes explored as much as they could, their gazes fell on the giant resident himself who sat about fifty feet away, cross-legged in the center of the room with a kind smile on his face. Micah let out a small wave at them, welcoming them into his dwelling.

"Sir!" the security guard announced loudly and pleasantly, "I believe these lovely ladies are here to see ya!"

Micah leaned forward with anticipation, unsure what to do with his large, twitching hands, replying deeply, "I-I'll take it from here, Ken. You can go now, thank you."