Alliance

Lost Child

~Chapter Twenty Four~

The Fairgrounds burst with laughter as they walked side by side picking at the blue cotton candy Victoria held in her hand. She had already eaten three of them and somehow she couldn't seem to stop. So far the evening had gone so well, Alex had good aim, and it was almost thrilling to see the irritation the girl wore on her face every time she was dunked back into the water. That had won them a stuffed mickey mouse which he held for her under his arm as they made their way towards a hoop stand.

To the far end of the stand stood a shy timid little girl hugging her knees as a sadden expression took over her features. Victoria couldn't help but inch closer to her, and kneeling down she asked what was wrong.

"My mommy can't win anything," she muttered in disappointment.

"Oh I'm sure she will, where is she?"

"I don't know, she was near a candy stand," she replied looking up to meet Victoria's worried expression.

"Is everything okay?" Alex asked.

"I think she's lost, we have to help her find her mom," she whispered.

"Okay, well we need to look for a security around here and turn her in with them, I'm sure they will announce that there is a missing child in their office."

Victoria nodded and offered her hand to the little girl, she was hesitant to take it but one look at the candy in her hands and she sprung up.

"You want it?" Victoria asked. "First you got to tell me what your mom's name is."

"Nancy, mine's Deede," she giggled taking the cotton candy.

"Deede is a beautiful name."

They walked the fair in search of a guard, Alex taking one hand and Victoria the other. The child only looked to be about six, brown hair, blue eyes and a toothless grin.

"Aww, how old is your daughter," and elderly woman asked Alex.

"She's six, right Deede?" he replied looking down at her. Deede was too excited to be eating cotton candy than to be paying attention and simply nodded and went back to eating.

"Well she's just darling," the old woman said and pinched Deede on the cheek.

"I'm six years old but I'll be turning seven in October," Deede replied smiling her toothless grin.

"Isn't this just a happy family, I wish you all the luck in the world," she replied and then went on her way.

"Alexander, how could you?" Victoria laughed.

"It's not like we'll ever bump into her again," he chuckled.

The idea of someday having a family like this with her seemed so right. He stared at the small child holding his hand as she went about eating away and couldn't help but grin as his eyes directed themselves towards Victoria. She of course was too pre-occupied in search of a guard, but Alex rather liked making people think that this little lost child belonged to them both.

"Deede!" they heard from afar. A woman in her mid-thirties approached them. Victoria was quick to wave her hand and call the woman by her name.

"Oh dear Lord Deede," she exclaimed out of breath. She embraced her child and held her close squeezing the life out of her.

"Thank you, thank you so much, I thought I lost her," she whispered beginning to cry.

"Think nothing of it," Victoria replied kneeling down to come face to face with Deede. "Never, ever scare your mommy like that again," Victoria whispered to the small child. "She loves you no matter what, don't ever take her for granted." She rose off the floor and handed her the small stuffed Mickey Mouse placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Be a good kid," she then said. Deede smiled and embraced her in a sudden hug, soon they were off and gone. She stood there staring off after the small child even after they had disappeared. Thinking about the anguish that mother had held only made her think of her sick mother wasting away from the therapy and cancer.

A single tear escaped her and she felt Alex pull her into his embrace, she held on to him crying into his shoulder.

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

"I'm sorry I don't want to ruin our date but...while I'm out here having fun my mother is lying sick in a bed." she sobbed.

"Do you want to go home?" he whispered. She quickly nodded and they were gone driving off in the direction of her house. So many things flooded into her head as she sat in the car watching the street lights pass in a blur. What if one day she went home to find her mother had passed away while she was at the bakery laughing it off with Alex. What would her mother think of her, she would be devastated to see her own daughter was out having fun while she rotted away in a bed.

"I'm sorry Alex, but we can never go out again, my place is by my mother, not out having fun."

"I understand, it's mainly my fault, I knew that your mother was sick and yet I offered to take you out."

"No let's not play the blame game okay, let's just get back to the plan."

Alex almost hit the brakes as he heard her cold flat tone say those words. "The plan" now seemed like a very distant thing to him. He wanted to tell her how he was feeling, how in all this insane progress of trying to make "the plan" work he ended up falling for her. Instead he kept on driving in silence wanting nothing more than to make her happy. If he confessed himself he didn't know what would happen. She would probably just smile and tell him she didn't feel that way, but that she loved him as a friend. The more time he spent with her the harder it was getting for him to be able to contain just what he felt for her.

He finally pulled up to the driveway and turned off the engine to face her. "Are you gonna be...okay?" he asked. She nodded and turned to smile at him as tears brimmed from behind her black squared glasses.

"Can I come in?" he blurted out. It was crazy but true, he didn't want to say goodnight just yet.

"That would be nice, but there is still the matter of my parents, they don't know we get along," she chuckled.

"I'll wait out here then."

"Just take my car, I'll drive my dad's old pickup truck to work, I'll see ya, and Alex...thank you so much for a wonderful evening." She said.

"I promise that by tomorrow I'll have my car ready to go," he replied with a grin.

She leaned in and kissed his cheek giving him a tight hug, and pulled out of the car waving good bye to him.

Alex felt a little upset. Maybe it was time to show them that he was making some kind of progress. His mother had seen it but not Victoria's parents. He needed to prove to them that in truth he really was changing. This wasn't an act, it was real, and it was all because of her. Victoria Elven had managed to bring out the best in him without her knowledge and in the progress captured his heart.