Scream Me a Dream

Friday May 21, 2010
12:00pm

Soya groaned and glared at the chirping cell phone that was on the nightstand, before grabbing it and looking at the caller ID.

“Do you even realize what time it is?” Soya asked with a groan.

“Noon.” Brooke said slowly.

Soya sat up in bed and turned to the clock on the nightstand. Sure enough a bright red twelve and a bright red fifteen glared back at her. “It’s past noon.” Soya muttered is disbelief. She never slept in that late, nine AM was the latest she ever slept and even that was rare.

“Did I wake you up?” Brooke asked.

“It’s fine.” Soya told her. “I should have been up already.”

“What did you do last night?” Brooke asked, and Soya could hear the smirk on Brooke’s face. “Did you get some?”

Soya frowned; even with all the years she had lived in America, American sayings still confused her. “Get some what?” She turned when she heard Ville chuckling.

“You didn’t.” Ville told her with a grin. “Tell who ever is on the phone that.”

“Ville says I didn’t.” Soya answered, causing Brooke to burst out laughing.

“Oh Soya, that is most definitely what I needed to brighten up my day.”

Soya frowned, “What’s going on?”

“Uh…” Brooke quickly sobered. “Call me back when you’ve had coffee in your system, I would also advise you be alone.”

“Brooke, you’re starting to scare me. Is everything all right?”

“You know how you like to be updated on Regan’s living situation?”

Soya winced. “Give me ten minutes.”

“I’m at the studio.” Brooke told her, before they hung up.

“Is everything all right?” Ville asked, causing Soya to look over at him.

“It will be.” Soya said, leaning down and kissing his cheek. “Go back to sleep, I’m going downstairs to talk to Brooke.”

“Take the crutches.” Ville reminded, causing her to roll her eyes.

“Sleep.” She told him, but grabbed the crutches off the wall anyway, knowing that Ville would probably chase her down if she didn’t. Leaving the room and carefully going down the stairs, making it to the kitchen in one piece. She smiled at Jyrki who was sitting at the counter with a mug of coffee.

“Morning.” She said going to the coffee machine and pouring herself a mug.

“Morning,” Jyrki nodded. “Glad to see I’m not the only one up anymore.”

Soya laughed softly. “I think had my secretary not called, I would have continued sleeping.” She hesitated. “I actually have to call her back.”

“Oh go ahead.” Jyrki said with a small grin. “I’m fine here; Impi’s bound to wake up any moment anyway.”

Soya nodded, took her mug and left to go sit out at the balcony, she sat her coffee mug down on the table and dialed Brooke again, as she sat down, resting her ankle on the chair across from her.

“That was quick.”

“Coffee was already made.” Soya told her. “So what’s going on with Regan?”

“He’s back living with Emmy.” Brooke sighed. “I just found out, her mother told me last night when she picked them up.”

Soya sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Regan didn’t have the best family life, his mother had died during childbirth and his father was in and out of his life so much that Regan had been shuffled into foster homes throughout his life.

The only solace the poor boy found was with his girlfriend, Emmy. Luckily, her parents were kind enough to give him a place to stay when he was between homes, but they could only keep him for so long as they also had four other children besides their teenage daughter to take care of.

“I…” Soya sighed, and contemplated her choices, she could call his social worker as she usually did or she could finally put that master bedroom to use. “I’ll call Amelia.” Soya told Brooke, thinking of Regan’s kind social worker. “I’ll get everything fixed.”

“Are you sure?” Brooke asked, “I can call.”

“I’ll call,” Soya assured her. “But do you mind calling Josef and telling him we’re going to be having a house guest for the next few months.”

Brooke stayed silent on the other line, before releasing a breath. “You’re fucking crazy Soya.”

“He needs a place to stay; I have an extra room, he looks up to Josef.” Soya shrugged. “Why not?”

“You’re not licensed to be a foster mom,” Brooke ticked off. “Josef has little patience for other people in his home; I know, I’ve visited, and you guys don’t have the most stable home life Soya. You’re in and out of the house; you’re not even there right now!”

“Wow,” Soya said blinking. “I didn’t think inviting a seventeen year old to stay with me was that big of a deal.”

“I’m just…” Brooke sighed. “I’m thinking about Regan here Soya, his father isn’t the best role model for a parent and he’s in between another home, staying with you temporarily, only to be shuffled away again.”

“Then I’ll talk to Amelia and see if he can stay with us. He’s seventeen Brooke, he turns eighteen soon.”

“Yeah and after he turns eighteen, what happens? He graduates in a little less than three weeks, Soya, then Emmy is off to her performing arts school in Texas and he’s stuck in your town house alone?”

“Our townhouse is better than him ending up with another horrible family for the next two and a half months.” Soya muttered.

“Oh sweetie, I’m just trying to think about this logically.” Brooke told her.

“I’ll talk to Amelia, at the very least he’ll have a roof over his head until August and even then, Josef and I don’t start traveling until the recitals actually start in February. If she doesn’t think it’s a good idea then I’ll let it go.”

“You’ve got a large heart Soya.” Brooke told her. “I’ll never argue you that, but sometimes a large heart isn’t enough.”

Soya rolled her eyes. “You’re cynicism is really setting the tone for my morning.”

“Afternoon.” Brooke reminded her with a laugh.

“Either way, I’m not liking it, I’m calling Amelia and nothing you say will change my mind, call Josef.”

“Yes ma’am.” Brooke sighed before hanging up. Soya sipped on her coffee as she dialed Amelia’s office number, only to smile when she heard the quite bubbly laugh on the other end.

“I was expecting your call, Soya.”

“Then you probably have a good idea of what I’m about to tell you.”

“I do,” Amelia said kindly. “The thing is, you’re not licensed to be a foster mother, I know you love Regan, Soya, and you worry about him. But I can’t approve him staying with you, unless you have his father’s permission or you’re licensed.”

Soya shrugged. “Then let’s get his father’s permission.”

“I’m sorry?” Amelia asked, caught off guard.

“I’m very willing to provide Regan with a stable home environment for as long as he needs it. He’s seventeen, he turns eighteen in August, and even then, the last thing I’ll do is kick him out, like other families might. I want to help him, and if finding his father and getting the permission to do it is what I need, then let’s do that.”

Amelia laughed. “All right then, let’s do it.”

“Really?” Soya blinked.

“You’re lucky I know exactly where his father is, I’ll push the paperwork through as fast as possible. I don’t think his father is going to fight you much on this issue Soya, and if you’re willing to have a seventeen year old live with you, then I trust your judgment.,”

“Thank you.” Soya said with a smile.

“Throughout the five years we’ve both known you, you’ve helped him a lot. We’re both grateful for that, as is Emmy.”

“Well, he has a way of getting to you.” Soya admitted. “Call me when everything’s set, I’m sure Josef is going to be just as thrilled to have him with us.”

“Right, tell me how breaking the news to Josef goes.” Amelia laughed. “I’ll start working on getting the permission; everything should be set by Monday.”

“Call me if you need anything, Amelia.”

“Of course.” Amelia said kindly, before they hung up. Soya bit her lip and played with her cell phone as she sipped the rest of the coffee, thinking about what she had just done.

“It was right.” She whispered to herself, before grabbing her crutches and making her way back inside, where Jyrki was still sipping his coffee, this time though he had procured the morning paper.

“How was the phone call?” Jyrki asked her.

“Productive.” Soya laughed as she refilled her mug and settled down in front of Jyrki. “How long are you here for?”

“We leave tomorrow afternoon.” Jyrki told her with a shrug. “You?”

“Sunday evening.” Soya said, looking at the pages of the paper he had discarded. “I have to take over some of the dance classes on Monday, and our annual showcase is next Friday, so I have to start setting up for that.”

“Annual showcase?” Jyrki asked.

Soya nodded as she decided to read the ‘Arts and Leisure’ section. “It gives the parents an idea of what they’re spending their money on.” She smiled at him. “It’s like a report card; if they don’t like what they see, they stop sending their children to my classes.”

“Has anyone ever been pulled?” Jyrki asked with a raised eyebrow.

Soya thought about it, before shaking her head. “No, so I must be doing pretty well right?”

Jyrki chuckled. “I guess so.” he looked back down at his paper with a smirk. “Nice shirt by the way.”

Soya frowned, and looked down only to laugh at herself. Instead of the ‘Hanoi Rocks’ shirt she had been wearing to bed, she had ended up with Ville’s ‘69 Eyes’ shirt. “I literally grabbed the first shirt I saw last night and put it on.” She shrugged. “Just means Ville will be one more shirt down.”

Jyrki laughed. “Rosalind does that to me too, she’s stolen at least four of my t-shirts, and I know she’s ended up with three of Jussi’s ‘Texas Terri’ shirts.”

“I think this will be the third of Ville’s.” Soya admitted. “Though, I probably have some in my old room in Finland that I stole when I used to sit in on their practices. It used to annoy him, so even more reason to do it.” Soya laughed.

Jyrki grinned as he took a drink of his coffee; he watched as Soya bit her lip and looked up at him, only to turn back to the paper. “Ask.”

Soya blinked and looked at him. “Sorry?”

“You want to ask something, go ahead and ask.”

“Oh.” Soya bit her lip. “It’s not really appropriate of me to ask.”

Jyrki raised an eyebrow. “How in the world did you end up with a friend like Rosalind?”

Soya laughed. “I ask myself that all the time.”

“She has no filter.” Jyrki told her. “It took me so long to get used to her just speaking everything that came to her mind, that it’s odd for me to hear someone censoring themselves. Trust me, nothing you ask me will be as bad as Rosalind asking me, on the first night we met, if my leather pants have lowered my sperm count.”

Soya felt her cheeks heat, but groaned. “God, Rosalind.”

“So ask.” Jyrki told her, motioning with his hand for her to continue.

Soya shrugged. “I was just going to ask if Impi calls everyone Isi or just you and Jussi.”

Jyrki swallowed and looked down at his paper, before giving a shrug. “Rosalind’s trying to break Impi of that. She has the habit of associating ‘Isi’ with any male that’s not her uncle.”

“So everyone, then?”

Jyrki nodded. “Usually when she wants something, or she’s not getting her way, much like last night.”

Soya bit her lip and nodded, deciding to close the subject. “Are you hungry?”

Jyrki shrugged again. “A bit.”

“I’ll start breakfast,” Soya rolled her eyes. “Well lunch now.” She started to get up only to stop when they both heard a shuffling coming towards the kitchen. Turning towards the entrance, they saw Impi slowly wandering in, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

“Sleeping Beauty get kissed by the prince?” Jyrki asked, picking her up when she raised her arms, and settling her on his lap. She gave a quiet nod and laid her head on his chest, giving a yawn.

“Impi, I’m making breakfast,” Soya told her, getting her attention. “Do you want anything?”

“Dangerous question.” Jyrki smirked.

“Pancakes.” Impi said quietly.

“All right, pancakes it is then.” She looked at the time on the microwave, then back at Impi, “Why don’t you go wake up your uncle Ville? Do you want to do that for me?”

Impi nodded and slid off Jyrki and was about to leave, only to stop and turn. “Where is uncle Ville?”

“I’ll take her.” Jyrki laughed getting off his stool, “What room?”

“First room on the left upstairs.” Soya told him as she started grabbing the mix from the cabinet. Jyrki nodded and grabbed Impi’s hand, leading her upstairs. He saw the door was slightly open, and pushed it open further. He gave Impi no prompting as she let go of his hand and ran into the room, jumping on the bed and landing on top of Ville’s back.

“Only one person would dare wake me up like that.” Ville groaned, turning his head to the side to see Impi’s grinning face. “At least you didn’t bite me; otherwise you really would be your mother’s daughter.” He turned towards the door when he heard a snort and grinned at Jyrki. “Was the wakeup call your idea?”

“Soya’s.” Jyrki grinned. “She’s fixing lunch.”

“Time to wake up, Tio!” Impi said, calling him ‘uncle’ in Spanish as she slipped off Ville’s back and onto the floor, running back to Jyrki.

“You know,” Ville said, sitting up and stretching before getting out of bed. “If she doesn’t end up being a rockstar, getting a job will be no problem with her.”

Jyrki frowned. “Why do you say that?”

“Not only does she know English, but she knows Spanish and Finnish, how many five year olds do you know that know three languages already?”

Jyrki shrugged. “Impi’s the only five year old I know.”

“Not many.” Ville answered with a laugh then thought of Linde’s daughter. “Olivia still struggles with English and she’s seven now.”

“I think between her hearing us speak Finnish, Rosalind and her brothers speak Spanish and the mixture of English we all throw in it’s easier for Impi.” Jyrki shrugged and laughed. “Then again, we could be totally fucking her up with all the languages we speak around her.”

“Oooo!” Impi said looking up at Jyrki. “You said a grown up word.”

Jyrki laughed and picked her up. “I’m a grown up, I’m allowed to say it.”

Impi thought about it, before nodding. “Okay.”

“Okay.” Jyrki said, mimicking her nod.

“Impi, what do you say we go wake up Jussi.” Ville asked, buttoning up the pair of jeans he’d thrown on.

“Can I bite him?!” Impi asked. “I want to bite something.” She said, clacking her teeth together.

“Seriously, that can’t be healthy.” Ville teased as they walked out the door and downstairs, towards the room Jussi was still sleeping in.

Jyrki shrugged. “I’m sure it’s just a phase.”

“Rosalind is her mother, Rosalind still bites,” Ville pointed out. “I highly doubt it’s just a phase.”

“Do you still have the marks on your knee?” Jyrki asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Who the hell bites a person’s knee?!” Ville asked in disbelief. “And yes, I do.” He muttered, causing Jyrki to laugh as he set Impi down by the door, before opening it and letting her run in.

They watched in amusement as she climbed onto Jussi’s bare back, causing him to groan, but not wake up, then fix herself so she was clamped around him, her legs tightly around his waist, while her arms wound their way around his back to his chest.

“Why does she do that?” Ville asked, watching as she gripped tightly.

“She learned pretty quickly that if she doesn’t, Jussi throws her off.” Jyrki smirked and motioned for Ville to watch. Sure enough, Impi bit down hard on Jussi’s shoulder, causing him to curse and try to throw her off his back, only for her to laugh as he stood up, trying to get her off.

“Really?!” Jussi asked, looking at them both as they laughed, while trying to get Impi off his back. “You’re going to let her bite me?”

Jyrki shrugged. “It’s not like she’s hurting anyone.”

“She’s hurting me!” Jussi yelped as she bit down again before unwinding herself from his back, running towards Jyrki again. Jussi reached over and rubbed his sore shoulder. “It’s not as entertaining to an interviewer when they ask how I got the bite marks and I say a five year old bit me.”

Ville laughed. “Have they actually asked you that?”

“Once,” Jussi muttered, following them towards the kitchen. “They looked at me as if I were some pervert, before I explained that that’s how Impi wakes me up. Only me, by the way.”

“I’ve trained her well then.” Jyrki smirked before picking Impi up and going towards the kitchen.

“Why was I woken up again?”

“Soya’s fixing lunch, apparently.” Ville told him.

“What time is it?” Jussi asked with a frown.

“Nearing one.” Soya answered as she set down plates on the counter for them, along with another one piled with pancakes. “I’ve seen this one eat.” She said motioning to Impi, when she saw Ville ready to argue the amount she’d made. “And you still don’t like eggs, right Impi?”

“Right!” Impi nodded, as she motioned for Jyrki to serve her.

“Where’s my ‘please’?” he asked, grabbing her plate.

“Pleeeeeeeeeeassssse!” she said with a grin.

“Thank you.” Jyrki said putting pancakes on her plate, pouring syrup on them, knowing Impi tended to have a heavy hand with the bottle, before setting it in front of her.

“So is everything all right at the studio?” Ville asked Soya, as she sat down after setting down a bowl of scrambled eggs for them to grab.

“What?” Soya asked, looking at him in confusion.

“Wasn’t it Brooke that called earlier?” Ville asked and Soya’s slow nod he continued. “Isn’t she your secretary at the studio?”

“Oh! It wasn’t about the studio.” Soya shrugged. “Just about one of the students.”

“My question still stands.” Ville told her. “Is everything okay?”

Soya bit her lip, not sure how much she was willing to share with Ville about Regan. “It’s going to be.” She said vaguely, causing Ville to raise an eyebrow. “That’s all I’m saying for now. Once I have more information I’ll share it.”

“Has HP gotten back to you?” Ville asked.

Soya shook her head. “Not that I know of, if he has, it’ll be through Josef, and Josef would have contacted me.”

“What’s going on?” Jussi asked.

“Soya’s planning on opening a studio in Finland.” Ville told him.

“Really?” Jyrki asked.

“I’m thinking about it,” Soya admitted. “I’m waiting to see what Hannu comes up with in buildings before I make any decisions. But I’m ready price wise for whatever he comes up with.”

“Not one for material things?” Jyrki asked.

“Not much of one, no.” Soya laughed. “I do like to shop, but I like to save. That’s how I ended up with my studio now, I saved every check my father sent me during school, mostly because other than school supplies, I didn’t buy anything else.”

“Clothes?” Jussi asked.

“Uniforms for my prep school and leotards at Julliard is usually what I was seen wearing. Everything else came from the wardrobe I’d brought from Finland.”

“What about when you traveled?” Ville asked. “Didn’t you indulge?”

Soya shrugged. “Snow globes for Rosalind, then the nesting dolls when Impi was born. For me, maybe shoes or a hat, if Josef was able to convince me, which he was usually able to.”

“You had to indulge in something.” Jussi said. “You have to have some guilty pleasure that you spend your money on.”

Ville’s eyes brightened as he came up with something. “I know.”

Soya rolled her eyes. “What?”

“Our life.” Ville said smirking at her.

Soya frowned then smiled. “I guess I did indulge in that.” She turned to Jussi. “I collect anything HIM, that’s where my money goes, everything else I save.”

“Some restraint you have.” Jussi laughed.

“Is it worth spending your money on?” Jyrki asked, as he wiped Impi’s chin free of syrup, causing her to giggle.

Soya looked at Ville who laughed at something Jussi had muttered him, his face lighting up with his laughter then turned back to Jyrki with a smile. “Most definitely.”