Remember this Face, Baby.

You're the best thing that ever happened to me. His words continued to ring in my head, even deep in my dreams as I slept. His handsome face and piercing blue eyes lingered behind my closed eye-lids, preventing me from thinking about anything other than him. At one point, he had been the one thing I had prevented myself from thinking of and now, I felt he was stitched into my mind with no way of ripping him out.

I stared, blankly at the ceiling above me, clutching the sheets, tightly in my hands. I wanted to believe what had happened the night before had simply been a dream—something made up by my imagination. But no matter how much I tried to convince myself that's what it had been, I knew better. Every moment we had had and every emotion we had felt, we had shared them together. He had seen me at my most vulnerable point and I had seen a side of him, I had never seen before. I wasn't ready to fall again—at least not now, when I felt things were going so well between the two of us as friends.

I released an exasperated sigh, running my fingers through my messy bed hair. I glanced at my alarm clock and wondered: why hadn't anyone come to wake me up? Glancing at the clock for a second time, realization finally dawned on me—I was extremely late for work! Without a second thought on my mind, I jumped out of bed and ran towards the bathroom, pulling my shirt over my head. I should have been at work two hours ago at nine in the morning and it was well past eleven.

"Shit, shit, shit!" I said, frantically, pulling my hair out of the messy ponytail it was in. Again, I glanced back at the alarm clock sitting, comfortably on my night-stand and a mouthful of curses burst out of my mouth. How could I have been so stupid to not set an alarm the night before? All I wanted to do in that moment was a grab a handful of my hair and scream out in frustration. Angry tears blurred my vision and quickly, I blinked them back. I didn't want to waste time crying and when an angry tear rushed down my cheek, I wiped it away and turned on my heel.

When I stepped back in my bedroom, I saw Margaret trying to quietly creep inside, holding a folded sheet of paper in her hand. I blinked back any tears that tried to escape and gently, I said, "Margaret." Completely caught off guard, Margaret gasped and clutched at her chest, turning her attention towards me. She let out a sigh of relief once she realized it was only me and gently, she closed the door behind her. She walked towards me, holding out the folded sheet of paper I had been curious about.

"Darling, I didn't think you were awake," Margaret stated, then quickly added, "Here, darling. Alexis told me to give you this. She said she didn't want to wake you."

Instanteously, I smiled at the mention of my daughter and took the sheet from Margaret's hand. I opened the paper, eagerly and I felt my stomach flutter with butterflies at the sight of my daughter's drawing of me and her. I walked towards my vanity and pinned the drawing on my mirror, knowing that every morning I would have something to smile about.

"Thank you, Margaret," I said, turning my attention back towards her.

"You're welcome, dear. Breakfast is waiting for you whenever you're finished getting dressed," Margaret claimed, and turned towards the door to leave.

"Why didn’t anyone come to wake me up, Margaret? It's eleven and I should have been at work at nine," I said, slightly angry she wasn't as flustered as I was. "And oh God, did someone take Alexis to pre-school?"

"Darling, darling, please take a breather. Alexis is waiting downstairs for you with Deryk and the boys," Margaret said. I wondered if I had heard her right and I gave her a confused expression, making her chuckle and shake her head.

Gently, she grabbed a hold of my hand and pulled me towards the bathroom, leading me towards the toilet. She pulled the shower curtain back and began turning the water faucets to fill up the bath tub. Then, she turned towards me and pulled my dark hair into a bun on top of my head. When her gaze finally fell back on mine, I locked eye-contact and she smiled, giving her head a gentle nod as though she understood I wanted an explanation. "Before I tell you anything, step out of your trousers and undergarments, and get in the bath," Margaret demanded. I stood up from my spot on the toilet seat and quickly stepped out of my clothes, letting them drop on the floor as I stepped into the warm water and slid into the tub.

Margaret grabbed my dirty clothes off of the floor and dumped them into the hamper near the door. She closed the door behind her and turned towards me, sitting on the ledge of the bath tub. "Earlier this morning, the Young Master called Alexis' pre-school and informed them she wasn't feeling well today, but that she would definitely be there tomorrow," Margaret explained, grabbing the white sponge from the small hook on the wall. I watched as she poured body soap on it and rubbed her hand against it, making white foam drip from it. Then, she grabbed my arm and began rubbing the sponge over my skin, waiting for my response.

"Wait, wait, Deryk is still here? I mean, he didn't go to work?" I asked, glancing up at Margaret. For a moment, I felt like I was pulled back into a scene from my childhood when my mother would do this for me whenever she gave me a bath. She would pour so many bubbles into my bath, she would say if I dunk my head low enough, she wouldn't be able to see me and she'd have to jump in after me. The thought made my heart swell with happiness—and complete despair.

"Yes, dear, he's downstairs eating breakfast with his brothers and Alexis," Margaret stated, continuing to bathe me, rubbing the sponge along my shoulders and back.

"Are you sure this isn't a dream?" I asked, incredulously. Margaret laughed, half-heartedly and she shook her head, letting her white curls bounce around her shoulders.

"Fortunately, it isn't. He told me not to wake you because you stayed up late waiting for him to come home. He called in to the office and told them you two wouldn't be going in this morning, but that he would stop by later," Margaret said. I glanced up at her, knowing my eyes were filled with shock. I was completely speechless and as though Margaret sensed this, she continued to bathe me, humming a gentle tune I had heard her hum several times whenever she put Alexis to sleep. We didn't utter a single word and I listened to her gentle humming, completely stunned that I was going to eat breakfast with Deryk, his brothers and Alexis.

◊

The moment I stepped on the downstairs landing, I could hear Alexis chattering, loudly.
Her loud chatter was followed by a chorus of laughter and another loud, high-pitched voice in which belonged to Benjamin. I heard Margaret chuckle from behind me and I couldn't help but glance over my shoulder and smile at her, knowing this family brought the same amount of happiness to her, as it did to me.

"I wonder what those two are arguing about now," Margaret chuckled, shaking her head, slightly.

I rolled my eyes, giving my shoulder a gentle shrug. "Alexis and Ben argue about almost everything nowadays. I don't understand how they haven't killed each other yet!" I said, amusedly. The closer I got to the kitchen, the stronger the aroma of recently-made eggs and bacon penetrated deep within my nostrils. I placed a hand over my stomach the moment I heard it growl and eagerly, I stepped into the kitchen.

The moment I saw Deryk, I stopped in the middle of the kitchen and stared at him, shocked. Even though Margaret had told me Deryk would be waiting for me, like the rest of them would be in the kitchen, I guess it didn't quite sink in that he was actually there. I tried telling myself this wasn't a dream and that this was all real—just like the night before had been—but something inside of me wasn't quite convinced. So, I stood there, in the middle of the kitchen, staring at Deryk with a blank expression.

As though he sensed my presence, he glanced over at me and smiled, then shook his head. He stood up from the table and walked towards the kitchen sink, ignoring the fact that I was watching his every movement. He grabbed a plate from one of the cuberts and then, moved towards the stove, scooping bacon and eggs onto the clean plate. Margaret rushed towards him, telling him she could do it, but he shook his head and gently, kissed her cheek. "No, Margaret. You've done enough for us this morning. Go sit down and relax," Deryk said, gently. She smiled and nodded, walking towards the kitchen table. She took a seat beside Ben, quietly scolding him to behave as he began punching his brother, Jake, repeatedly on the arm.

"Good morning, Karissa," Deryk said, placing his hand under my elbow. He led me towards the kitchen table, placing the plate on its wooden surface as he waited for me to take a seat.

"Good morning," I replied, taking a seat. He pushed in the chair, before walking around me and seating himself beside me. He poured me a glass of freshly-squeezed lemonade and placed it in front of me, sending me a side-way glance.

"Mama, guess what we're doing today?" Alexis said, loudly, rushing to the other side of the table. She crawled onto my lap and sat down, roughly, clutching my hand in her small ones. I smiled at my daughter and pecked her forehead, brushing back curls that had fallen in front of her face.

"What, sweetheart?" I asked, tilting my head to the side as I wrapped my arms around her.
She watched me with wide eyes and glanced over at Deryk, patting his forearm. "Daddy said we're gonna go get ice cream! He said—," she paused to take a deep breath, before continuing, "—he said we're gonna go to the park and play on all the big park stuff, Mama!" Alexis exclaimed, excitedly.

"Is that right?" I said, even though the question had been directed at Deryk. I turned my attention towards him and he smiled, nodding his head in agreement. He leaned back in his chair, placing his hands on the table as he watched me, curiously.

“He said he's gonna buy me a big chocolate sundae with lots of gummy bears!" Alexis replied, clapping her hands, excitedly. The moment she glanced at Deryk, her face immediately lit up and she reached out for him. He took her in his arms and sat her down in his lap, wrapping an arm around her body as she sat with her back against his stomach. She kept her hands in her own lap, watching the rest of the boys eating and talking amongst each other with a big smile on her face. This had been the happiest I'd seen her in a long time.

"So, what happened?" I asked Deryk, casually.

"What do you mean?" Deryk asked, glancing over at me. He smiled the moment I narrowed my eyes at him, playfully and he chuckled, shaking his head. "Okay, okay, I just wanted to spend time with you guys."

"What about work?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. I grabbed a piece of bacon and took a bite out it, hoping I heard the response I had been waiting to hear, for what seemed like months now.

"Work can wait a few hours. You guys are more important right now and I want to spend this day with you," Deryk said, sincerely and I smiled, feeling such a sudden happiness.

"Let's not keep the day waiting then."

◊

I watched Alexis rush towards the playground equipment at the small park Deryk had brought us to, with Ben bounding behind. The young golden retriever rushed behind Ben, barking, happily as his young master called after him. Ben had, also insisted on bringing the broad-shouldered bull dog, even though Deryk and I both knew the dog wouldn't want to participate in any of the park's activities. The moment we had gotten to the park, the first thing Hamburger had done was plop down under the park bench, and an hour later, he still hadn't attempted to move an inch. Even when Ben tried bribing him with dog treats, Hamburger simply turned away and acted as though he hadn't heard his young master at all.

It had been an hour since we had arrived at the park and the bull dog hadn't moved once—besides switching sleeping positions every so often. His golden companion was going wild, running back and forth with Ben at his side as they played with Alexis. From what I could see, Alexis had conquered the park equipment as hers and any time Ben tried climbing on, she would scream some gibberish and Ben would pretend to fall back, as though some force field had pushed him back. I smiled, watching her from my spot on the bench and I wondered when time had gone by so fast—my little girl was growing up.

"When do you want to leave, Karissa?" I turned my attention to Deryk sitting beside me and gave my shoulder a shrug, not wanting to disrupt the children's play. And in all honesty, I wanted watch them play and watch my daughter laugh and smile—it was the happiness my daughter was showing that kept me glued to the bench.

"It doesn't matter to me. In all honesty, I could sit here watching them play all day," I replied.

Deryk chuckled and nodded, saying, "I guess we are going to have to sit here all day then because I don't see those two getting tired any time soon."

"Well, that gives me time to thank you," I said, turning my attention towards Deryk.

"Thank me, for what?" Deryk asked, furrowing his eyebrows forward.

"For this," I said, motioning towards the park with my hands, and then added, "Just today. I know it meant a lot to your brothers that you took time off work, especially because of how busy you have been lately with the merging of the companies."

"I'm glad I did it. I've missed being around my brothers and not having to worry about being in the office. I can't believe I went this long without them," Deryk stated, truthfully, rushing his fingers through his dark hair.

"You seem happier, too, Deryk and well, you seem more like yourself. I’ve missed the old you," I said, immediately turning my face away to hide the blush I knew had crept across my cheeks.

Deryk sighed, loudly and placed his hand on my knee. "I am sorry I haven't been myself, lately. I don't know when things began getting out of control. I don't know when I began drowning in all that paperwork, but I'm being honest when I tell you I don't want it to continue. I do want things to change," Deryk said, giving my knee a gentle squeeze.

I smiled, placing my hand over Deryk's. For the first time in a long time, I actually felt like I could believe his words. "I believe you, Deryk and I do have faith things will change. But, things have already begun changing. They may be small gestures and they may not be on a daily basis, but they mean a lot more than you think," I said, honestly, staring back at him.

Turning his hand over so the back of it rested on my knee; he clasped my hand in his and held it, gently rubbing the side of my thumb with his own. I stared at our hands placed together and I couldn't stop myself from thinking how perfectly my hand fit in his. It was a thought foreign to my mind and I couldn't remember a time I had thought this about David. Had David and I truly fit together, perfectly like everyone had said we had or were looks more deceiving than I had thought?

Shaking the sudden thought from my head, I squeezed Deryk's large hand, affectionately and glanced up at him. "Thank you for understanding me, Karissa. I don't think you realize just how wonderful you are," Deryk stated. When he caught me trying to hide my face, he chuckled and grabbed my jaw, gently, pulling my face towards him. "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, but I'm only stating the truth."

"You're such a liar, Deryk. I'm nowhere near wonderful. I'm not even close," I said, removing Deryk's hand from my jaw. I reached towards his face, pushing a strand of hair that had fallen in front of Deryk's eyes, back behind his ear. "You on the other hand—you're definitely something else."

Deryk grinned, tilting his head as he watched me. "Should I take that as a compliment or an insult?" Deryk asked, teasingly and I shrugged, letting a smile move onto my lips.

"I would take it as a compliment," I said, and he chuckled, nodding his head.

Once I heard my daughter's voice, I glanced over in their direction seeing them heading back towards us. Alexis looked tired beside Ben, who still seemed to be filled with lots of energy as he jumped and continued to chatter. I watched Alexis roll her eyes at him and once she reached us, she climbed onto my lap and hid her face in the hollow of my neck. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her temple, knowing once we got into the limo, she would be fast asleep.

"Lexi wants to go home now," Ben said, taking a seat on the ground beside Zipper. Narrowing his eyes at the bull dog laying under the bench, he grumbled, "You suck, Burger. We came to the park to play. Not to lay around and sleep. You can always do that at home!"

Deryk chuckled, pulling Ben off of the ground as he began standing up. He placed Ben on his shoulders and slowly began walking, patting his leg for the dogs to follow. Adjusting Alexis onto my side, I stood up from the bench and followed after Deryk, seeing the limo pull in front of us.

Change, I thought, contently, hugging Alexis tighter to my body.

◊

By the time we had arrived at the mansion, both Ben and Alexis had been fast asleep. We had both taken each child to their separate rooms and had decided to meet in the kitchen. When I reached the kitchen, Deryk was already there waiting for me, standing at the back door watching his other brothers. From what I could see standing near the kitchen entrance, Jake was cheering Tyson on as he ran and jumped, somersaulting in the air before he dived into the pool. I shook my head, walking towards the fridge to grab a bottle of cold water.

"Go out and see them, Deryk," I said, making him glance over his shoulder. He chuckled and shook his head, turning to walk towards me. He placed the glass of orange juice he was drinking on the island top and then, took a seat on one of the stools.

"I don't want to interrupt how much fun they're having. I've just always enjoyed watching them. They have always been able to make me laugh, no matter what kind of mood I may be in," Deryk explained.

"That's how I feel when it comes to Alexis. She's my little bundle of entertainment," I said.

Deryk smiled and nodded his head in agreement. "She's definitely a joy to be around," Deryk said, and I could hear the meaning behind his words—he truly did love Alexis.

"Anyways, are you going to stop by the office later?" I asked.

Deryk hesitated, suddenly and it seemed like he didn't want to say that he was. It was like he thought I would be disappointed in him if he went, especially after today. He sighed, then though and nodded, running his fingers through his hair. "With the merging coming together so successfully, I just want to make sure there isn't anything that I may have missed or may have left out. I don't want to make any mistakes," Deryk stated, and I nodded, smiling as I watched him. It was the fact that he had such a passion and love for business that made me admire him. I didn't think Deryk would ever admit he had a knack for business simply because of everything he had loss to it.

"I understand, don't worry. Just come home tonight and get some night's rest," I said, gently.

"I will. I've noticed there has been less and less things to do at the office, lately. It's like a sigh of relief," Deryk answered.

"I'm really glad to hear that. You really need to get a good night's rest and just to have some time to relax. You shouldn't be worrying about work all the time and you very well know that," I said, pointing my index finger at him. Deryk laughed, half-heartedly and nodded, rolling his eyes at me.

"You worry about me too much, Karissa but I appreciate it. Fortunately for the both of us, that's exactly what I have been planning on doing, now that the stress of the merging is over and done with. Well, almost," Deryk said, grabbing his empty glass of orange juice from the island top. He hopped off the stool and walked over to the sink, placing it inside before he turned to me and smiled.

"What do you mean by almost?" I asked, curiously, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Well, there is one more thing I may have forgotten to mention," Deryk said, and I sighed heavily. I thought things were going to change, I thought, miserably, watching him from my spot, leaned against the island's edge.

"Come on, Deryk. Stop beating around the bush, I want to know what's going on," I said, hastily.

"Alright, well, there is this ball," Deryk began, making me furrow my eyebrows together. Deryk chuckled, placing his hands on the island as he watched me thinking of all the possibilities he could mean. He continued then, "It's a sort of celebration, in honor of how successful the merging went between the companies.”

"Wait—by ball, do you mean those big, elegant parties rich people throw for certain special occasions?” I asked, incredulously, staring at Deryk with wide eyes.

Nodding his head in agreement, Deryk smiled and said, “I guess you could put it like that, so yes. Thomas informed me there will be a lot of important people attending and that it would be in my best interest that I also attend myself. I’m not quite thrilled about having to be around stuck-up millionaires for an entire evening, but I do think it could benefit me in the long run.”

“Well, you may not be thrilled about it, but I can be excited for you! Like Mr. Silverstones said, it could be in your best interest if you went. Don’t think of it as anything besides an opportunity,” I stated, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

“I have never been the one to enjoy being around such high-class people. I may have grown up around luxury and such, but I have never felt like I belonged in it. That was my father,” Deryk said, and for a moment, I saw a look of resentment pass over his face.

“You aren’t nothing like your father, Deryk and I don’t think you ever will be. But I do believe if you go to that ball, it’ll be an opportunity to socialize and it’ll also give them a chance to know you. You’re much younger than any of them and they’ll be interested in knowing how someone as young as you has been able to keep the company striving for these past few months,” I insisted.

“It would be nice to feel appreciated, especially after all the effort I have been putting into this company,” Deryk answered, truthfully, running his fingers through his hair.

“Anyways, enough of that talk. You still haven’t told me when this grand ball is and I want to know every detail. I still can’t believe you’re going to be going to a ball,” I said, feeling like a child on Christmas morning.

“The ball is in two weeks this coming Saturday. You seem to think I’ll be going alone and I do happen to go by myself, I don’t know how much I’ll be able tolerate before I go slightly insane,” Deryk chuckled. I couldn’t help but arch an eyebrow, wondering who he would go with. Had he already asked someone?

Deryk grinned, shaking his head as he watched me. He added, “Thomas said I could bring a guest with me, so I was thinking—why don’t you come with me?”

My eyes widened, making Deryk laugh. “Are you serious? You want me to go with you?” I asked, astonished, clutching my water bottle, tightly in my hands.

Again, Deryk laughed, nodding his head. “Of course I want you to go with me. You’ll keep me sane,” Deryk answered.

“I’m—wow, I’m honored. I would love to go!” I said, feeling completely at loss of words. Then, suddenly realizing the extremity of the situation, I blurted out, “But Deryk, I have nothing to wear!”

This time, Deryk laughed, half-heartedly, shaking his head as he walked towards the back door. “Don’t worry, Karissa. I have everything taken care of,” Deryk responded, before opening the door and stepping outside, leaving me speechless in the kitchen.