Remember this Face, Baby.

ONE WEEK AND A HALF LATER

For the past few days, Deryk hadn’t needed me at the office as much since the merger of the companies and unfortunately, I had been stuck inside the mansion doing absolutely nothing. I hated having to sit around the mansion and wait as the time dragged by painfully slow. I would have rather been in the office, occupying my time sorting out documents, answering phone calls or helping Deryk whenever he needed me to. The only thing I looked forward to now was when three o’clock rolled by and I was able to get out of the mansion to pick up Alexis and Ben from pre-school.

Sighing dramatically, I stepped towards the backyard door holding a glass of orange juice in my hand. I stared at the water glistening, beautifully in the underground pool and suddenly, I longed to be in its cool embrace. Margaret had said something about the day being absolutely gorgeous, so why not take advantage of the day? I glanced over my shoulder at the clock hanging on the wall and saw it was a little after one. I smiled to myself and turned to walk towards the kitchen sink, quickly chugging back the little of orange juice I had left in my glass. I placed the glass in the sink once I had finished and walked out of the kitchen.

As I walked past one of the boys’ room, I could hear Tyson and Jake arguing, loudly about something. I stopped mid-step and glanced over at Tyson’s door, wondering if I should knock and ask what was going on. I stepped closer to his door and the moment I heard Jake shout something about a video game and Tyson cheating, I sighed a breath of relief and continued on my way towards my bedroom. I pushed my door opened and stepped inside, lifting my arms up to wrap my hair into a bun on top of my head. I shut the door behind me and I walked towards my drawer, pulling it opened. I looked inside its messy remnants and after a few moments of searching, I found the two-piece bathing suit I had bought a few weeks back. I tossed the black bathing suit onto my bed and began undressing myself.

I was halfway through pulling my shirt over my head when I heard my cellphone vibrating from my vanity. I stopped fumbling with my shirt and left it around my neck, going towards my vanity to grab my vibrating phone. I grabbed my phone and instantaneously smiled when I saw Deryk’s picture flashing on the screen. I pressed the green talk button and pressed the phone to my ear, answering, “Yes, Deryk?”

Deryk chuckled. I couldn’t help, but imagine his face light up with one of his most breath-taking smiles that always seemed to make my heart beat quickly. “Good afternoon, Karissa. How are you?” Deryk asked, gently.

“I’m a little bit bored, but besides that, I’m fine. I was about to go for a quick swim,” I responded, lazily walking towards my bed. I took a seat at the end of the bed and sighed, loudly, glancing over at my balcony doors. I added, “What are you doing?”

“I’m just signing some papers I have to give Thomas tomorrow. I think once I’m finished doing this, I can come home and join you and the boys for dinner,” Deryk stated.
“That sounds perfect. I’ll tell Margaret to cook something special for dinner tonight, then. Once you’re home, I’ll have someone to bug,” I said, and Deryk laughed, making little goose bumps rise up and down my body.

“Are you that bored, Karissa?” Deryk asked, and I grumbled a response, flopping back onto my bed. I could hear Deryk shuffling around with some paper through the phone and I wondered how much paperwork Deryk defined as some. Deryk chuckled at my response and he said, “Well, I should be leaving the office very soon. I could be home within the hour, so you can begin bugging me any time after that.”

“Oh, thank God! It’s lonely without you, Alexis and Ben. Tyson and Jake are usually off doing their own thing and I don’t want to interfere in their fun,” I said, and then added, quickly, “And Margaret disappears around this time of day. I have no idea where she is! Do you think she has a secret boyfriend she hasn’t told us about?”

Deryk laughed, half-heartedly. “I highly doubt she has a secret boyfriend, Karissa. She’s probably in her room reading one of her romance novels,” Deryk said, and then chuckled. I could imagine he was shaking his head, with another one of those beautiful smiles on his face. “Oh, before I forget—the reason I called you is because I received a call from the designer we went to see for your dress.”

My eyes widened, as I took in a large gulp of air at the mention of my dress. It only had been a week since I had gone with Deryk to see a dress designer his mother had recommended, to have my measurements taken down. I had been able to sit down with the designer to speak about the exact design I had envisioned for my dress. Deryk said the designer would have the dress finished within a few days and if she had any problems, she would call Deryk and ask us to go back. I bit my lip, nervously and hesitantly, I asked, “Is something wrong, Deryk?”

“Oh no, Karissa. There is nothing wrong. The receptionist called me to inform that the dress is finished and that it is being delivered today. She didn’t give me an exact time, but I’m assuming it should be there very soon so keep an eye out,” Deryk explained, and I nearly exclaimed into the phone.

“Okay, okay, Deryk! I will see you later on! Bye!” Without waiting for a response from Deryk, I hung up the phone and placed it back on my vanity. I put my shirt completely back on and rushed out my bedroom door, nearly tripping down the stairs.

I finally realized Margaret had reappeared as she walked into the greeting to the answer the front door. A man dressed in slacks and a dress up shirt appeared at the door with a large rectangular box. He had a clipboard sitting on top of the box and when he saw Margaret, he smiled and politely said, “Good afternoon, ma’am. I am here to deliver this package to Deryk Madison.”

Just as Margaret was about to give him a response, I rushed to her side and smiled at the man. “Hi! I can take that from you!” I said, excitedly, and the man chuckled, grabbing the clipboard before handing me the box. I nearly squealed when I grabbed the box from him and hugged it against my chest.

“Before I completely hand over that package, I need you to sign this here to ensure you received it,” the man said, lightly and held out his clipboard, pointing to the line at the bottom where I needed to sign.

“Oh, of course!” I said, eagerly and took the pen he was holding. I quickly signed the bottom and handed him back his pen, smiling from ear to ear.

The man chuckled and nodded, tucking the clipboard under his arm. “Thank you very much. Have a nice day, ladies,” he said, kindly and turned on his heel. I called out a good-bye and Margaret shut the door behind him.

I didn’t think I could wait for Margaret and without hesitation, I took off running up the stairs. I kept the box held tightly against my chest until I reached my bedroom. I rushed towards the bed and placed the box on it, gently. I stared at the box, with eyes as wide as saucers and I kept my hands at my sides, wondering what exactly I should do. I wanted to open the box and see what was inside—I did, really—but I was scared I was going to ruin the masterpiece I was sure was inside.

“Karissa.” I screamed when I heard someone call my name and I quickly turned around to see an amused Tyson. Jake trailed in after him, looking at me, confusedly. I narrowed my eyes at Tyson and marched up to him, slapping his chest with the back of my hand. He laughed and rubbed his chest, before poking my forehead. He walked around me and his large figure moved towards my bed, grabbing the box with one large hand.

Frantically, I ran towards him and grabbed it out of his hand, hugging it against my chest as though I was protecting it from harm’s hands. He raised an eyebrow and glanced at his brother standing behind me, who was making a circular motion with his finger near his ear. Jake mouthed, “she’s crazy,” before he walked up beside me and slung an arm around my shoulders. “What’s in the box, Karissa?” Jake asked, poking the side of the box.

“The real question here is what are you two are doing in my room. You didn’t even knock,” I demanded, narrowing my eyes at the two brothers. Jake chuckled and shrugged his shoulder, pulling me closer to his side.

“We got bored of playing video games. Well, I got tired of Tyson cheating,” Jake stated. “Then, we heard someone come to the door and saw you rush up the stairs.”

“We just want to know what’s inside the box,” Tyson said, and I rolled my eyes, shrugging Jake’s arm off of my shoulders. I walked towards my bed and placed the box on it.

“It’s my dress,” I said, simply and I thought that would feed their curiosity but instead, Jake and Tyson flopped onto my perfectly made bed and stared at me, expectantly.

“Well, are you going to open it or are you going to wear the box, too?” Tyson asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Why do you guys want to see it so badly? It’s my dress!” I said, staring between the two boys with a hard expression.

“Karissa, if you don’t open that box, I swear on our lovely friendship, I’m going to. We just want to see the dress,” Jake stated, and he slowly edged towards the box. I flung my arms up in the air and let out a frustrated shriek. I grabbed the box and quickly opened it, placing it back on the bed. When I saw the black material laying beautifully inside, my hands flew up to my mouth and my eyes widened.

Hesitantly, I stepped closer to the bed and dropped my hands from my mouth to reach inside the box. I grabbed the black material and pulled it out of the box, looking at the dress in awe. It was beautiful! There were no words to describe how extremely beautiful and elegant it looked. I placed it on the bed and hesitantly, I ran my hand over the lace and I smiled, feeling extremely excited to actually put it on in a few days.

“Wow, that’s a fancy looking dress,” Jake said, touching the neckline part made of black lace.

“It’s incredible,” I said, pulling it off of the bed and hugging it against me. Then, I glanced up at the boys and pointed towards the door. “Now that you saw the dress, the door is that way. You can let yourselves out.”

Tyson chuckled, while Jake rolled his eyes, but both boys got off my bed and headed towards the door. Tyson stopped at the door, holding the doorknob as he stared back at me. He smirked and said, “Deryk’s going to love that dress on you.” My mouth dropped open and he sent me a wink, before he laughed and walked out, closing the door behind him.

◊

By the time I had arrived home with Alexis and Ben from pre-school, it was close to four o’clock in the afternoon. Tyson and Jake greeted us at the front door and Alexis jumped into Tyson’s arms. Jake took Ben and Alexis’ bags, asking both children how their day had gone. I stared after them and closed the door behind me, trying to occupy my mind from thinking back to what Tyson had said about Deryk. I hadn’t thought something as simple as that would bother me, but it was and I couldn’t get it off of my mind.

“Boys, is Deryk home?” I asked, as I followed them into the entertainment room. There was already a movie playing on the screen and Tyson—with Alexis clung to his side—flopped onto the couch, adjusting Alexis onto his lap. Ben sat in between his older brothers, rummaging through his Avengers backpack for something. He pulled out a painting he had done at pre-school and handed it to Jake to look at.

“Yeah, he arrived not too long before you guys. I don’t know where he went, though,” Tyson informed me, and I nodded.

“Did Margaret say anything about dinner?” I asked. I walked over to where Tyson was sitting on the couch with Alexis and gently, I began pulling Alexis’ messy hair into a small bun on top of her head. I made mental note to brush her hair as soon as we got to her bedroom.

“I heard dinner would be ready by or after six. I’m hoping before because I’m starving,” Jake grumbled, rubbing his flat stomach.

“Okay, I’ll go figure things out,” I said. I was about to walk out of the room before I began wondering if Alexis and Ben were hungry and if they had eaten anything before coming home. “Alexis and Ben, are two hungry or do you want me to get you a small snack before dinner?”

“I have snacks I can share wiff Lexi,” Ben said, diving back into his backpack. When he pulled his hands out of his large backpack, he had a bunch of snacks I didn’t remember packing this morning. I narrowed my eyes at him and stepped back into the room, putting my hands on my hips.

“Ben, where did you get those snacks?” I asked, sternly.

“School,” Ben said, simply and handed Alexis a fruit roll-up.

“What do you mean school, Ben? Come on, tell me the truth before I go tell Deryk,” I said and Ben’s eyes widened, as he quickly clutched his snacks to his chest.

“I traded my other snacks wiff the other kids!” Ben exclaimed, and Jake laughed, ruffling his little brother’s hair with his hand.

“Benjamin’s a hustler!” Jake laughed, and gave Tyson a high-five. Tyson chuckled and reached over to pinch Ben’s cheek closest to him. I shook my head and rolled my eyes, completely dismissing the topic as I walked out of the room and went searching for Deryk at his office.

I gave his office doors a few knocks, before I heard a response from inside and I opened the door, poking my head inside. I saw Deryk sitting at his desk, putting away folders he grabbed from his black briefcase. When he finally looked up, he smiled and pushed the briefcase to the side, leaning back in his desk chair.

“I was wondering when you were going to come see me,” Deryk stated, grinning when I rolled my brown eyes at him.

“Whatever,” I grumbled, sitting down in one of the chairs positioned in front of his desk.

“So, I heard you received a package this afternoon…” Deryk said, trailing off as he watched me light up and almost jump out of my seat.

“You have to see it, Deryk! It’s absolutely gorgeous!” I exclaimed, placing a hand on my chest from the excitement. I sighed, happily and leaned back in my chair, watching Deryk for a moment.

Deryk smirked, running his fingers through his dark hair. “I was hoping you would like it. Now, you simply have to wait a few more days to wear it,” Deryk said, and I groaned, making him chuckle.

“This week has been extremely long and there’s nothing to do to make it go by faster. I do nothing, besides wake up in the morning to pack Ben and Alexis their lunch, drop them off and then come home. After that, I’m just waiting to go pick them up at three. I miss the office, Deryk,” I said, honestly and he smiled, leaning towards his desk.

“I miss having you there, too but there’s honestly not much to do there anymore. It won’t be busy for the next few weeks, so I thought you were in need for a little vacation,” Deryk said. He rubbed his bottom lip with the side of his thumb and he glanced up at me from under his eyelashes. “You know, you can always come visit. I always have time for you.”

I breathed in a large gulp of air, feeling my cheeks get extremely hot. When I glanced back at Deryk, I knew my cheeks were a bright red because of the satisfied smirk on his face. It was the fact that he knew he had that effect on me—that he could say the simplest thing and it would make me melt instantly.

I cleared my throat and rolled my eyes, hoping that would help me recover from my slight slip-up. “I should go see if dinner is ready,” I said, standing up from my seat. Deryk chuckled, nodding his head as he looked up at me with a knowing look.

“Yes. I bet everyone’s hungry,” Deryk mumbled, gently, and his smirk never wavered—not once. I let out an uneasy sigh and began turning to leave, when Deryk called my name. A shiver rushed down my body and I glanced over my shoulder. “Thomas gave me the invitations for the ball. I thought you’d like to see it.”

I nodded and turned back to face him, slightly despising him. I watched him as he reached into his briefcase and pulled out two silver invitations. He stood up from his desk chair and walked around his desk to get to me. He held out an invitation for me to grab and a smile brightened his features. “Thank you,” I said, shortly, and grabbed the ticket, quickly walking out of his office.

I hate you, Deryk Madison, I thought, and then smiled.