Passion's Killing Floor

“Ville, really, it’s amasing how fast Mindy has warmed up to you. And you said she would run screaming,” I joked.

Ville, Mindy and I were walking down the sidewalk home, Mindy and I were both holding Ville’s hands and Mindy had spoken to Ville! Spoke to him! Albeit it was just ‘thank you’ but she spoke none the less. As for Ville and I, he had hardly let go of my hand since we met. And he’d kissed my cheek- getting closer to my lips each time- many times.

We got nearer to my apartment building and my mood dropped a bit. I didn’t want my time with Ville to stop just yet, but Mindy, sweet Mindy saved me.

“Willa, will you come colour with me?” she asked quietly beside him. My mouth dropped in shock, she’d said more today then she’d said in five years. Ville looked over to me asking with his eyes if it was okay with me.

“S-sure,” I said, then mouthed ‘oh my god’ to Ville. He laughed and moved his arm up around my shoulders, pulling me into his side. We came up to the building and I pulled out my keys from my back pocket. I slid it into the lock, opening up the door.

We got into the lift and I pushed the floor button, Mindy held her arms up to Ville and he picked her up, resting her on his hip. She clung to him and he carried her all the way to my room. He ser her down and she ran off to the guest room she was in to get, I presume her colouring things. Ville turned to me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

“Alone, good, now I can do this,” he said, leaning down and pressing his lips to mine.

* * *

“Okay, y’know, I think we should all show each other what we’ve drawn,” Ville said, holding up his own piece of paper in front of himself to look at it.

I held up my doodle of an eye, Mindy held up her drawing of three stick figures holding hands; obviously us from earlier. And Ville held up a paper that had ‘Ville ©’s Mary’ written on it. He winked at me and Mindy took the paper out of his hands.

“What does it say?” she asked him.

“Um, well. It says ‘Ville hearts Mary’…” he said shyly.

“You like Auntie Mary?”

“Well, yes. Yes I do, very much.”

“Oh, are you gonna be my uncle?”

He turned to me with wide eyes, looking to me for what he should say. I just shrugged and he turned back to her.

“Um, well would you like for me to be?”

“Yeah! You can be my Uncle Ville! Can you help me spell the names above my people, Uncle Ville?”

He agreed and helped her spell our names out. When she finished she went into my kitchen and pulled a magnet from the fridge door and hung the picture up. She came back and took Ville’s from the table and did the same with it. I moved over and sat next to him and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

“You niece is something else, and you say she never talks. I find it hard to believe she’s been chatty ever since I met her.”

“She’s only just started talking, I swear. I was thinking about tit and I think she doesn’t talk a lot because people bug her, you didn’t so she just… talked.”

“Hmm, she is adorable though. You and your sister must look a lot alike because the girl resembles you greatly.”

“Eh, I suppose but I think she looks like her mum.”

“That’s because it’s you, to anyone else they could see something completely different. It’s like no two pictures are the same. It applies here.”

I nodded, “You ramble off subject a bit, you know?”

“I’m aware,” he laughed, “So breakfast, would you like to do that tomorrow, maybe,” he asked, hope glinting in his eyes.

“I would love too, but I have school tomorrow, could we do lunch?”

“We can, who’s watching Mindy? Danni, I assume.”

“Oh no, Danni has cl- Oh shit. I don’t have a babysitter.”

The thought never occurred to me until now. I could ask my neighbour, she had babysat a few kids here and there, but I don’t know her that well. I could always drop her off at the college day care, but it worried me.

“I could watch her…” Ville said, bringing me out of my frantic thoughts.

“Y-you would watch her?” he nodded. “For what price?”

“Why must you assume I work for pay?” he asked, smiling.

“Because no man, however nice, never works without getting something in return. So name it, what do you want?”

“I don-”

“What do you want?”

“I-”

“Name it.”

“A date, Friday night, okay?”

“I thought so. You watch her, I’ll take that date. That’s more like a double score for me.”

“Triple for me. Lunch, funny little Mindy, date, I’m set,” he joked.

“Well thank you,” I said kissing his cheek. He moved his face and kissed my lips, moving his hand up to rub his thumb across my cheek.

“Eww! No kissing in front of me, that’s what mummy says,” Mindy said from the couch.

Ville pulled away laughing but pecked my lips again, bringing up more complaints from Mindy.

* * *

I was running around my apartment, trying to find all my books and papers. There was a knock at my door while I was in my kitchen grabbing homework I’d been doing last night and shoving it in my bag.

“It’s open, I yelled. Ville walked in with a smiling Danni following him. He had a guitar case beside him and he set it down on the couch.

“Come on, Mary, or we’re gonna be late,” Danni whined.

“Just a minute!”

I threw my bag down near the door and went to my room to get my shoes on. Today, instead of wearing my usual black boots, I was wearing an old pair of converse I found in my closet. There was a knock on my door frame and Ville walked into the room.

“Hey.”

“Hello,” he said, setting down beside me.

“What’s the guitar for?”

“If she gets bored. Trust me, I’ve got a little brother, growing up, he needed entertainment. And she told me she wanted me to sing to her yesterday.”

“That’s cute, thank you again for watching her. If you have any problems just call me.”

I got up and grabbed my jumper from the dresser knob where it was hanging and pulled it over my head. Ville stood an pulled me into a hug.

“I will, but I doubt I’ll need to. Just go to school and I’ll met you at lunch.”

“Where do you want to meet?”

“Wherever you want.”

“You know the building with the glass front on college campus? Meet me by the B door and we’ll go to that sandwich shop down the block.”

“We’ll be there now, go so Danni doesn’t freak for me being late,” he said, leaning down and kissing me while pushing me out the door. He pulled away and led me to the living room with his hand on my back. Danni tossed me my backpack. I glared at her and slung it over my shoulder, turning back to Ville and hugging him. He gave me one last kiss before Danni pulled me out the door.