the sitter | lewandowski

fourteen

14 ; nova's first

"Where have you been all night?" Robert inquired, over the phone, as Saoirse lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling.

"I went on a date." She admitted, shamelessly. "With this guy from school. Don't worry, I don't like him or anything."

Robert sighed. He did wonder what she was like at school; especially when he was in boring and tiring meetings and his mind wandered off to thoughts of the seventeen year old and what she was doing.

Was she popular? If he was being honest, it didn't seem like it. But there wasn't a doubt in his mind that she was popular among the male population of her school, and judging by the girls he had seen her with a few times, she definitely wasn't unsocial.

"Another date?" He finally spoke, with his eyebrows risen. "How did it go this time?"

"Fine, it went fine." Saoirse sat up. "Why'd you call me? Are you just that old? You know, texting does exist for a reason."

Robert rolled his eyes. "I wanted to hear your voice. And to make sure you were coming tomorrow."

"Why would I miss Nova's birthday party? I love that kid." Saoirse made her way to her window and looked out at Robert's, but his curtains were closed. "What should I wear, Robert?"

Robert sighed, almost dreamily, before speaking. "A dress. It seems like forever since I've seen you in one."

"And if I follow through with that suggestion," Saoirse rose her eyebrows. "Will I look overdressed, or will I fit in?"

"You'll fit in, Saoirse. Trust me."

And trust him she did. So the next day, Saoirse found herself staring at her reflection in the full length mirror, realizing that the only opinion she really cared about when it came to how she looked was Robert's.

Her dress was a bright and playful shade of red; one which was chaste and bore no cleavage—despite the fact that the halter neckline did expose the lot of the skin in between her collarbone and the beginning of her breasts—and clung to her frame only until it reached her waist, where it flowed down from then on.

Saoirse sighed and shook her head. She wasn't going to stress it too much. She looked pretty, she knew she looked pretty, but the look did remind her of a picture perfect housewife who loved going on picnics on sunny mornings. So it was perfect for a one year old's birthday party, wasn't it?

She curled the ends of her hair and put it in a tight high ponytail and did her normal amount of makeup before she grabbed her gift for Nova and skipped down the staircase, knowing that Roisin had impatiently been waiting for her daughter to hurry up—the party started nearly an hour and a half ago.

"You look lovely, Saoirse." Roisin stated, scanning her daughter up and down. Almost too lovely, she thought, but said nothing.

"Thank you." Saoirse responded, as the two entered Robert's house. Either Nova had a ton of friends, or Robert had just decided to go all out—because it was crowded inside and out, with the majority of kids in the backyard, splashing around in the pool and doing activities and whatnot, and their parents socializing with other parents inside of the house.

All Saoirse could think about was Robert; finding Robert. But what was she going to do once she found him? hug him and kiss him? No, she didn't think so.

"Saoirse!" It was Kati who spoke, the only one who could see right through Saoirse's innocent facade as she looked around. "Oh, you look beautiful! Robert is in the backyard with my sister. Here, I'll lead you to them—this should be good."

Saoirse scoffed and nudged Kati. "I don't want any drama, Kati. I was just looking for a place to put the gift."

"Were you, now?" Kati rose her eyebrows. Saoirse's face reddened. The gift table was obvious, almost like the elephant in the room—it was stacked with all kinds of presents, like this was a Bat Mitzvah rather than a one year old's first birthday party.

Saoirse set the gift down and sighed, running her hands over her body. She'd already given her coat to one of the workers at the door, and servers were running around handing out non-alcoholic beverages—she grabbed one off of a tray and drank it to calm her nerves, wondering why on earth Robert had to invite Anna—and why he had to talk to her.

Kati led her to the backyard, which was just as crowded as it was inside. Saoirse would've gone over to Nova, but the one year old was finger painting with some other toddlers while Milena supervised, and judging by how stained her white dress was, it seemed like a good idea to steer clear of the situation.

"Give me that cup." Kati spoke, quietly, as they slowly approached Anna and Robert from behind.

Saoirse frowned. "Why?"

"Just give it to me."

Saoirse sighed and followed Kati's command, handing her the cup of a red liquid that was actually unbeknownst to her. Kati neared Anna and bumped into her from behind, groaning as the drink fell all over Anna's light blue dress. Anna shouted. "Sheisse! Kati, you imbecile! What is wrong with you?! You ruined my dress!" She quickly shoved her younger sister out of the way and rushed into the house, presumably to clean up the big red spot on her back.

Kati sighed, "I should probably go apologize for that."

"Yeah," Robert rose an eyebrow. "You should."

Then Kati rushed away, leaving Robert and Saoirse alone. Robert's lips parted as he finally got a good look at the seventeen year old, who coyly held her hands behind her back and stood with one leg crossed over the other as she stared up at him, in adoration of the way he looked at her. "Saoirse, you look..." Robert's voice drifted off. "You look absolutely breathtaking. I mean, I know you get that a lot, but—"

"Thank you." She interrupted, blinking. It was obvious, how much she wanted to reach out and touch and kiss him; Robert knew because he felt the same way. And since they could do neither of those things, it was dead silent between them.

"Red looks good on you. Really good." He finally spoke, as she moved a little closer to him and they both turned to look over at Nova.

"Red looks good on everyone, you know." Saoirse spoke, with a small titter.

"Well, that's debatable." Robert responded, smiling a little. His hands had been in his pockets, but as Saoirse moved close enough, he pulled one out. At first, it hung low by his side, but then he purposefully brushed it against hers. Saoirse's face grew red, and under the setting sun, the two managed to intertwine their fingers so discreetly that they could barely even be considered intertwined.

Saoirse closed her eyes. Because nearly no one knew about the two, this small lapse of time in which Robert had to show his deep running affection for the Montenegrin may have been a mistake or it may have been an act of faith—he honestly did not care which—but it felt real.

It was heartbeats and stuttered breaths and soft skin and, most importantly, it was so, so very human—unlike any other relationship he'd ever had, really. "You and me, Saoirse." Robert finally murmured. It caused Saoirse to blink and gaze up at him. He wasn't looking at her, because if he did, their faces would be too close to one another's. "We're simple, but we're enough. You agree, don't you?"

"I do." Saoirse nudged the pad of her thumb against his, pushing it back a little.

Robert relished within pure joy, a sense of unimpeachable peace, and the soft whisper of her voice; abandoning all reason, all things imaginable, leaving himself to feel nothing but utter contentment in this very moment.

He couldn't fathom being the only one between the two who had the fortune of experiencing this feeling of unique bliss, so he hoped that Saoirse felt it, too; but in honor of its individuality he engraved in his mind a reminder of its impeccable beauty: there was always a meaning in life to be grateful for. Right now, that meaning was Saoirse; and he prayed that, for the seventeen year old, it was him too.