Theon
" Mama, why don't you let me make this tea? " my mother questioned my grandmother a few hours later as we gathered in the kitchen waiting for the guests to arrive.
" The tea is for my husband and I will make it," she declared stubbornly.
" But I can…”
" And I can pour hot water on you! " she returned.
It seems that marrying the love of her life has done nothing to improve her mood. My mother gave up on her and left her there before she went to check on the ham that was in the oven.
" Theon, can you stay with Daphne for a while?" Lara came into the kitchen, holding the little girl out to me " Liny can apparently die if she watches her for five minutes.”
My younger sister, who had arrived earlier, came soon after, following her with a calm expression on her face, already dressed for the celebration.
She was wearing a short brown skirt, high heels, and a burgundy sweater, matching her bright lipstick.
" Hey, I told you I take care of myself so that I don't have to take care of any babies," she returned.”
Daphne busied herself playing with my nose while I watched my two sisters.
" I may have a baby, but at least I don't look like a clown with this lipstick," Lara retorted, receiving a shocked look from her younger sister in return, before leaving the kitchen.
" Mama, do I look like a clown with this lipstick?”
" Don't mind your sister, you don't look like a clown.”
" You look like a prostitute who caters exclusively to clowns," my grandmother declared naturally, to Liny's utter shock.
I left the kitchen, leaving the initial confusion behind me, and went into the living room, where Lara had settled on the carpet, with her makeup cases and mirrors arranged on the coffee table.
" You look beautiful," I commented, standing beside her.
" Thank you," she smiled as she lifted her head and looked in my direction, "you look good carrying her.
" I don't know if that was a compliment, but thank you," I frowned.
" I meant that you already look like a father," she explained, turning her attention back to the mirror as she worked with a brush in her eye area.
I sat down next to her, placing Daphne on the carpet. The little girl quickly crawled out into the available space.
" I still haven't confirmed that she's coming," I commented, picking up one of her colored Makeup Palette and looking at it.
" Still with that story? " my sister gave me a brief skewed look " I know she's coming, she told me it was something you guys agreed on, so I thought you worked it out."
" That was before," I sighed.
" I see."
I watched Daphne in silence as she worked to explore all the environment at her disposal.
Soon it would be my son there, exploring the world around him, where everything is new. There was little time left, in ninety days he would arrive, and Sam and I would need to deal with whatever was going on between the two of us.
The doorbell rang, breaking the silence that had formed between the two of us, and I quickly stood up, walking to the door. Before I even opened it, I could hear whispering voices outside, and one voice in particular did not seem very pleased.
" I will ask you one more time, what do you think you are doing?"
I opened the door, observing the situation. Sam was standing there with her parents staring at Marcus who had both hands on her belly.
" I'm trying to feel the baby kick. You know, I've never felt Daphne and I wanted to know what it feels like," the man explained.
" If you don't keep your hands off me, you'll feel a kick and you won't like it," Sam threatened.
" But…"
" Sam, you better get out of the cold, come on," I gently took her by the arm, pulling her into the house.
The others followed us without question, while Sam gave me a grateful look. I picked up the coats and put them in the closet while they spread out around the house.
Lara came to greet Marcus, and Sam went to the table where Delphine was seated with Yanis, leaving her parents in my company.
Our meeting went pleasantly for much of the evening. For a moment I even forgot my resolution to stay away from the mother of my son, returning to treating her the same way I had before that strange trip. But that didn't last long.
" I heard that you are going to Lamaze with the two of you," my mother commented to the Hursts during their meal.
" Oh yes, we have decided to support them in every detail. We want to be a part of everything, right dear? " the man declared, receiving a disgusted groan from Sam in return, which was promptly ignored.
" Yes, we will be present at all times," Selena confirmed.
" Except in the delivery room," Carl added.
" Why? Isn't this the time that everyone waits to see? " Liny questioned.
" Ahh, the young and inexperienced. I was already traumatized in Samantha's birth, I'll leave that part to Adamos now."
I cast an amused glance at Sam, who was mortified by the whole situation.
" Can we leave the subject of childbirth for Lamaze class? " she murmured.
" Just a word of advice, Adamos, don't be curious," Carl warned me.
I frowned at the direction this conversation was taking.
" In my day, the men waited in the living room while the midwife did the work," my grandmother remarked, "that's the way it should be."
Sam's eyes widened, looking in my direction before Lara spoke up.
" γιαγιά, are you suggesting that Sam have the baby at home with a midwife?"
" I could help her. I've delivered many babies while we were still in Greece," she shrugged, to the girl's dismay.
" Have you gone crazy? You delivered babies in Greece because there probably wasn't a good hospital there," Sam raised her voice.
" Your father didn't go into the delivery room with me, there was no such thing back then " my mother tried to change the focus.
" I wish I could have attended Daphne's birth, it was my biggest regret," Marcus declared, making me roll my eyes when I saw the delighted smile on Lara's face.
And I would like to bash his head against the wall.
But something interrupted that thought. I frowned as I noticed the look on my younger sister's face, who was staring at the man with an expression similar to Lara's. This however, seemed to have been ignored by everyone around.
" I paid a lot of money to get in, and I must say I would have preferred to wait outside like all the parents. But young people are almost always stupid," Carl rolled his eyes.
" Don't you resent him talking like that? " Liny questioned Selena, finally looking away.
" Offended? Have you ever seen childbirth? It's not pretty!"
" Mom, not now," Sam took a deep breath.
" Samantha's birth was enough for me not to have any more children. In fact, if she had been planned, I certainly would have paid someone to have her for me," the woman declared naturally, receiving a surprised look from my family.
" But it's all worth it when we see the baby, isn't it? " Lara forced a smile, in an attempt to ease the situation.
" You clearly did not spend eighteen hours in labor," the woman smiled, "I thought I was going to die."
" That's so encouraging," Sam groaned, leaning her forehead against the table.
" I think the two of them should at least be married by the time the child is born."
" γιαγιά!"
" What? Before you were with the other girl, now there's nothing to stop you."
" No? I see a lot of things," Samantha practically growled, "so concentrate on your marriage, you old hag. "
" γιαγιά They shouldn't get married just because of the baby, it's crazy " Liny warned.
" The madness they've already done, now it's time to do something intelligent about it."
" I agree with the girl, it is crazy " Samantha's mother came to our defense.
" But isn't that what happened to you? " Lara interfered.
" Of course it was, but I only agreed to marry her because her father had a shotgun pointed at me," Carl clarified.
" The last thing I wanted at sixteen was to get married because of a baby," Selena continued.
I cast a worried glance in Sam's direction; she didn't look well with all this interaction. I managed to reach her hand across the table, trying to reassure her somehow.
" I think... " she stood up, looking like she needed some time away from all the craziness.
" You need something sweet," I stood up, receiving a grateful look in return.
" The sweet potato pie is in the oven, Theon," my mother warned as I led her into the kitchen.
We walked together into the room, where Sam finally sighed with relief at being away from her family.
" Thank you for this," she forced a smile, "I swear I don't know how much longer I can take all this punishment from them."
" Have they always been like this? " I questioned, leaning my back on the small island in the middle of the kitchen as I watched her.
Sam looked very beautiful that night. Her loose hair framed her face, which was delicately highlighted by the makeup she wore.
" Like this you mean Creative when it comes to punishing me? Always," she smiled, "they never believed in conventional punishments and always knew just the right point for torturing me."
" That I realized," I mirrored her smile.
I missed her. I know I'm doing the right thing by walking away, but I still miss her!
The conversation with Lara came back to my mind. Should I make one last attempt?
" I haven't seen you in the last few days " Sam interrupted my thoughts.
I analyzed her for a moment before making my decision.
" I thought you could use a little space."
" I never asked for that," she frowned.
" No, you didn't ask me for anything. You didn't say anything," I was very emphatic at that last part, causing her to look away.
I waited for her to say something, but she resumed the same closed posture, frustrating me a little. I walked over to the oven and picked up the pie.
" I don't want to eat," she interrupted, "I just needed some time away from them, but I think we can go back now."
I took a deep breath, putting the pie back in the oven before turning toward her.
" Don't you think we need to talk? " I crossed my arms, raising both eyebrows.
" Theon…"
" You don't want me to walk away, but you keep running away from me. What do you expect me to do, Samantha? " I lowered my tone, moving closer to her in an attempt to prevent anyone else from overhearing our conversation.
" I expect things to be as they were before!"
I narrowed the distance between us even further to within inches of her, forcing her to lift her face to look at me.
Her eyes shone with a mixture of guilt and anxiety, though she tried to keep all those feelings from her face, so that I couldn't see them.
" They won't be! Everything has changed, don't you understand? Sam, what happened…"
" It was wrong! It shouldn't have happened!"
" I didn't start it! " I accused.
" I didn't say it was, but I made a mistake. It was the heat of the moment," his voice became harsh.
" Bullshit! You know very well that it wasn't the heat of the moment, we both know that everything has changed, and not just today. What happened was that we reached the limit!"
I unconsciously moved closer to her as I spoke, causing her breathing to halt.
" Theon, I can't do this," her voice broke, "you have to understand."
" What do I have to understand? You and Mike? " I pulled away.
I felt my blood boil with jealousy at the thought of the two of them together, but there was nothing I could do about it.
" Yes, and…"
" And?"
" Everything is complicated when it comes to us. Don't you see? There are too many people involved who could get hurt."
I absorbed her words, taking a deep breath in an attempt to maintain control. I needed to ask the question that would define everything from here on out, no matter how much the answer haunted me.
" Do you like him? " I finally questioned.
" Of course I do, Mike has been very good to me," Sam looked away.
" Is what you feel for him greater than what you feel for me? " I insisted in a direct manner, causing her to blush before answering.
" It doesn't matter!"
In one motion I moved closer again, trapping her against the countertop, receiving a surprised look in return.
" It does matter! It Matters for me! " I lowered my tone further, feeling frustration consume me.
Without much thought, I leaned in, capturing her lips with mine. Sam didn't hesitate to return the kiss. She brought her hands to the back of my neck, moving up to my scalp as I wrapped my arms around her waist, bringing her body to meet mine. All too soon, however, the sound of footsteps approaching from the kitchen caused us to pull away. Sam turned away from me and walked to the window, watching the darkness outside until my mother appeared in the room.
" Oh, you didn't get the pie? " she frowned, alternating her gaze between the two of us.
" Sam gave up," I explained, taking a deep breath.
" I see," my mother stammered, realizing that something was wrong there, "I'll take the pie then, if you want you can pick it up in the dining room."
" Thank you mamma."
I watched my mother leave while Sam didn't dare to look at me. Once again I tried to approach her, aiming to resolve our situation once and for all.
" I'll be in the living room," she murmured.
" Sam."
" Theon, I promised Harper that I wasn't here to get involved with you! I assured Mike that there was nothing between us, that I had no feelings for you. I'm not going to be the person who doesn't keep the word, no matter how I feel."
" Harper and I are done! " I let out, in a mixture of frustration.
" And I'm not going to be a part of it! I'm not like that," she raised her voice slightly, then lowered it, "no matter what you say, it's not going to happen again, so you better forget about it!"
Those words hit me hard, I could insist on the subject, but the determined expression on her face left no room for discussion. Sam hurried toward the room, dodging me in the process. I reached for her arm, grabbing it and stopping her advance without looking directly at her.
" I know what you're doing. You know we can both deny these feelings all we want, but that doesn't mean they don't exist," I murmured, "but if that's what you want, I won't insist."
I shot her a skewed look, watching her watery eyes before letting go.
Sam left the kitchen quickly, leaving me standing there with a growing feeling burning in my chest.
" Mom, Dad, I think I need to lie down for a while, can we go? " I heard her shaky voice coming from the living room.
I placed both hands on the countertop, taking a deep breath as I recapped everything that had happened.
I shouldn't have brought it up!