The Things That You Do

Gently bouncing Zachary in her arms, Alexa rested her head back against the headboard, relishing the quiet of her childhood bedroom.

It was early, with Zachary having struggled to settle in the travel cot that Madeline had set up at Alexa’s bedside, Alexa hadn’t been afforded much of an opportunity to sleep, but she doubted that she would have been able to, even if Zachary had settled down to sleep for longer than an hour at a time. She doubted that she would have been able to stop thinking about what had happened between her and Lionel for long enough to get much sleep. She knew that he had said it in the heat of the moment, the look of realization that had been quick to flood his face had confided it, but still she was hurt that he had said it, even if he hadn’t meant to. She was more than a little irked that that thought had crossed his mind.

Shushing Zachary quietly, she gently brushed her finger against the sole of his foot before the buzzing of her phone reached her ear, causing her to let out a quiet sigh, knowing exactly whose name lit up the screen. It wasn’t the first time he had called, after the time that they’d usually wake up had passed, he had called four or five times, but still Alexa hadn’t moved to answer the phone, even if she did know that they would have to talk eventually. She wanted to avoid him for a little while longer.

Sparing the phone a quick glance, she moved to reject the call, before she leant down, pressing a soft kiss against the top of Zachary’s head.

“Are you going to tell me what is going on now?”

Alexa, who’d been quietly mumbling to Zachary, sighed a little at the sound of her mother’s voice before she lifted her head, shrugging slightly. “It’s nothing, mama” she mused.

Madeline, who’d moved to sit down on the bed beside her daughter, scoffed. “It is not nothing, Alexandria” she retorted.

Alexa shook her head. “Mama...”

“You spent the night in my spare bedroom. That is not nothing” Madeline interrupted, offering Alexa a firm look “So, are you going to tell me or do I have to call Lionel and ask him?” she added. It had come as a surprise, when Alexa had found her at the party and asked for her house keys, Madeline had been more than a little caught off guard, and she wanted to know what had happened, even if Alexa was reluctant to tell her. She wanted to know the reason that her daughter had run out of her own engagement party.

Alexa held her mother’s glance for a moment, briefly contemplating persisting with telling her that it was nothing, before she dropped her stare, settling it on Zachary who snoozed happily in her arms. “You’ve met Henry, haven’t you?” she murmured “We work together. He was at the party last night” she added.

Madeline paused for a moment, racking her mind for a face which matched the name Henry, before she nodded. “I met him last night” she mused “He seems like a nice guy, but what does he have to do with what happened between you and Lionel?” she posed.

Alexa pushed a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, her blue eyes not shifting away from the baby who slept happily in her arms. “Leo gets jealous” she mused “I don’t really know why, I’ve not looked at another guy since we started to date, but he does, and he doesn’t like the way I am around Henry. He thought that Henry was flirting with me last night, he got worked up about it, and we got into a fight” she explained quietly.

Madeline tilted her head. “Is that all?” she posed.

Alexa spared her sideward glance before she shook her head. “I messed up” she murmured “Before we got together, I pulled away from him because I was upset by the fact that he had another girlfriend, and he threw that back in my face like it was nothing. It was a stupid fight, mama, but he had no right to do that” she grumbled, her expression hardening slightly before she let out a soft sigh, moving to rest her head against Madeline’s shoulder.

Madeline spared her a look, mulling over her words slightly, before she gently turned, pressing a soft kiss against the top of Alexa’s head as a quiet settled over the two of them. Alexa closed her eyes, leaning into her mother for a few seconds, before the sound of the doorbell filled the air, something which caused her to let out a soft groan.

Madeline rubbed her arm gently. “You want me to go?” she asked.

Alexa hesitated, briefly thinking about accepting her mother’s offer, before she shook her head. “He’s not here to see you” she mumbled.

“You sure?” Madeline posed “I mean, it was only last night, Alexa, and if you need time to calm down, I don’t think that that is unreasonable. I can tell him to give it a couple of days” she insisted softly. She knew that they had to talk, after what had happened between the two of them, a conversation was practically a requirement between them, but she wanted to offer Alexa a little time to calm down, even if the conversation with Lionel was unavoidable. She didn’t want her to go into it angry and make things between the two of them worse.

Alexa quirked an eyebrow. “You think he’d listen to that?” she posed.

“I don’t know” Madeline replied, gently rubbing Alexa’s arm comfortingly “But I do know that you’re still upset and that you going and having this conversation right now probably isn’t the best idea. You have a tendency to get carried away and I don’t want you to say something that you’ll regret and make things worse between you. He’s an idiot, Alexandria, but he’s the idiot you’re in love with, the idiot that fathered that beautiful little boy. He’s your idiot, princesa, and I don’t want you to lose that by making this worse. You love him, Alexa, we both know it, and a couple of days to calm down will do you some good” she insisted softly.

Alexa spared her a soft look before she nodded her head, her blue eyes settling on Zachary. “Tell him I’ll call him when I want to talk” she mused.

Madeline nodded her head gently before she pushed herself up to her feet, moving to step out of the bedroom. Jogging down the stairs, she ducked into the hallway before she set her hand on the door handle, pulling it open to Lionel whose face fell, quickly recognizing that it wasn’t Alexa who’d opened the door to him. “Mrs Sanchez” he breathed “Is she here?” he posed.

Madeline spared him a look, not missing the redness in his eyes or the way that he had referred to her as ‘Mrs Sanchez’, before she gently nodded her head, offering him a light smile. “She and Zach spent the night here” she confirmed.

Lionel offered her a cautious glance before he let out a soft sigh. “Can I...” he trailed off, peeking past her into the hall.

Madeline followed the line of his stare before she gently shook her head. “I don’t think that that is the best idea” she mused.

“Mrs Sanchez...”

“She’s upset” Madeline interrupted gently “And we both know how she can be when she is upset. I am not trying to keep you from her, Lionel, I want you two to patch it up, but right now, the best thing is to give her space and let her calm down. You upset her. What you said, it hurt her, and she needs a little time to get over that before you talk. I am trying to help you, Lionel” she insisted kindly.

Lionel offered her an uncertain look, doubting her words, before he let out a soft sigh, his stare dropping down towards his feet which shifted nervously on the doorstep. “I messed up, didn’t I?” he asked.

“It wasn’t your smartest move” Madeline replied “But Alexandria will calm down and I am sure that you two will make up. She loves you, Lionel” she added, her voice warm and comforting.

Lionel’s lips quirked upwards at those words, something which made Madeline smile at him gently before she stepped towards him, offering him a brief hug. Lionel stilled a little, slightly surprised by the older woman’s sudden affection, before he took a step back, smiling at her sheepishly. “I...uh...I should go” he babbled shyly “You’ll tell Alexa I dropped by?” he posed.

Madeline nodded.

“Tell her I am sorry” Lionel added “And that I love her” he mused before he backed up the path, padding back towards his car.

Madeline watched him up the path before she closed the door, wordlessly hoping that he and Alexa figured things out. He was the best match for her, he always had been, and Madeline hoped that Alexa didn’t let him slip past. The chances were, she wasn’t going to find someone who was as good a match for her as Lionel was.