Chapter 5: A Love That Never Dies

Note: Sorry for the CAS pictures of the kids. Also, has some mild language and sexual themes (duh).

“Brandon?” I was surprised. “What are you doing here? Why’d you come to see me? Wh-What’s going on??”

“It’s okay, Ariel!” He laughed. “I’m not here to shoot you or anything. But with the way you treated me in High School, I could see how you might think that.”

“Brandon, I’m so, so sorry…” I apologized. “I was horrible in High School. I just… I’m so sorry.”

“Ariel, it’s fine! You had a rough time, no one can blame you for lashing out.” His sparkly brown eyes looked genuinely apologetic. “I heard about Gene, and your baby challenge, and I came here to, well…” He rubbed his neck, looking awkward and adorable. “Help out, I guess.”

“Uh, okay, well…” I replied. “I’m kinda holding off on having any more children right now, I’m focusing on the ones I have now. As soon as the triplets move out, I’ll let you know.”

“But Mom,” Autumn interjected. “Our birthday’s kind of tomorrow…”

“What!?” I screamed, shocked. “Are you serious!?” 

“Uh, yeah…” Autumn said. “I guess you forgot, it’s alright.”

“Oh, good, so I’ll pick you up around 6?” Brandon said.

“Uh, um… Yeah?” I guessed. Everything had happened so fast, I had no time to react. He left, and I turned around to see Danielle laughing.

“Ahaha! That was kind of… Cute.” She said in between giggles.

“What do you mean, ‘cute’?” I questioned her.

“You! And him!” She laughed. “I saw how your face was flustered around him. You liiiikeee hiiimmm.”

“I do not!” I said. “Shut up, Daniel!” I ran upstairs, trying to hide my bright red face from showing, and Danielle followed me.

“It’s okay to like him, you know.” She said. “He is kind of cute.”

“Ahhhh.” I yelled into my pillow that I put on the ground when I lied down, trying to deny my feelings. “I can’t like him, he’s Brandon. He’s Gene’s best friend.”

“C’mon, it’s okay.” Danielle sat on my bed. “I’m sure Gene would want both of you to be happy, even if it’s with each other.”

“Yeah, but…” I said, rolling over. “What’ll that say about me? Dating my dead husband’s best friend?”

“That you can’t help who you love.” Danielle said. “It’s okay, it’ll be okay. No one will think differently of you.”

“Ughh.” I moaned. “But… I still have a challenge to complete! I can’t let my emotions get in the way. I just… Can’t.”

“It’s okay, Ariel.” Danielle comforted me. “Just… Choose what you think is best to do. I’ll support you either way.” She got a text. “Alright, Chase needs me at home. I’ll see you later.”

“See you, Daniel.” That nickname earned me a look, which I stuck out my tongue towards.

“So, I guess I’ve gotta get some clothes ready for this date… and age up the kids…” I said to myself. I chose a nice outfit for the date and set it out for tomorrow. I decided to get the hectic birthdays out of the way, and aged up all the kids. October, Autumn, and Fall moved out of the house, and Autumn took Timothy with him. June and Lily ages into teenagers, and Fantasy, Ricky, and Zachary aged into children.

I went to sleep early so I could wake up early the next morning to get as ready as I can for this date.

When I woke up the next morning, it was 8 o’clock in the morning. “So much for waking up early.” I groaned, as I rolled out of bed. “Greebo!” I yelled “Did the kids get to school okay?”

Greebo appeared in my doorway immediately. “Yes ma’am, they did.” She said.

“Oh, good.” I said. Maybe this robot was a good thing, after all.

I spent the rest of the day perfecting my outfit and doing my hair, and I called Danielle out of nerves and asked her for advice.

“Don’t worry!” She said. “It’ll go fine, I promise. He’s crazy about you, obviously.”

“I guess…” I sighed “But what if it doesn’t go well? What do I do?”

“Don’t worry! It’ll go perfectly!” She said, then the doorbell rang.

“Gotta go, he’s here.” I ran to the door, checked myself in the screen of my phone one last time, and opened the door.

There Brandon was, standing in my doorway, dressed in a nice suit, and holding a bouquet of flowers. “Hi! I, uh, brought flowers…” He handed them to me, and I invited him inside.

“I’ll go put these flowers in some water.” I said to him, and I went into the bar room and put them in a vase filled with water, and sat on a bar stool. “Uh, so, do you wanna leave now?”

“Sure!” He said. “I’ve got a reservation at a nice restaurant.”

“Oh, that’s nice…” I said. “Let me get my purse, then.”

“No, it’s fine.” He smiled. “It’s on me.”

“Oh, uh…” I had butterflies in my stomach. “Okay, thanks.” I smiled at him. We went outside and went towards his car. He held the door open for me and I got in. “Thanks.” I mumbled awkwardly as I got in to the car. “So, how’s your day been?” I awkwardly tried to come up with a topic as he drove.

“Great!” He beamed.

“What’s been great about it?” I asked curiously.

“I get to see you!” He smiled at me, then looked back to the road, keeping the goofy grin on his face.

I was shocked at this. Could he really like me? Could we really somehow be together?

‘No.’ I thought to myself. ‘He’s just a challenge father, nothing else.’

‘No, he’s more than that.’ Something inside me, my “inner Danielle”, said to me. ‘You like him, and even if you can’t admit it, you have feelings for him.’

I cleared my thoughts of the subject, and tried to make some small talk. “So, what have you done since High School?” I asked.

“I’ve been doing some journalism.” He responds. “I’ve been offered a job to work in Chicago recently as head journalist.”

“Oh!” I said, ecstatic. “Are you gonna take it!?” I asked.

“I don’t think so.” He replied. “I was going to, but then I found a reason to stay here.”

“Really?” I felt a small surge of relief. “What’s the reason?”

“You.” He smiled that goofy smile again, and there went the butterflies, again.

“Oh, uh…” I tried to formulate a response. “But, that’s your job!” I said. “You can’t give up this great opportunity. Especially not for me.”

“It’s okay, Ariel.” He laughed. “I’d much rather be here with you. I mean, I know it’s a bit soon, but I really like you.”

I tried to think of something to say, but we pulled up to the restaurant, sparing me from having to awkwardly reply.

“Wait!” He said, and he ran to the other side to open the door.

“Th-Thanks.” I said, and there were the butterflies again. We went inside, and it was really fancy. “Heh, good thing I over-dressed this time.” I laughed, and so did he, and the workers looked at us like we were idiots, which I replied to with a gruesome face, which succeeded in making both me and Brandon laugh again. They guided us to our table and we ordered our drinks, and they gave us a menu for dinner.

I didn’t get a chance to look around before, but now that I did, I saw that it was very, very nice and must have been expensive. “How can you afford this!?” I asked when I looked at the menu.

“It’s okay, Ariel.” He laughed. “I’m fine. My job pays well.”

“I probably need to get a job. My Mom’s money is starting to run out…” I replied.

“It’s okay, Ariel.” He smiled. “If you ever need anything, just ask.”

“No, Brandon, I couldn’t--” I was interrupted.

“Ariel, it’s fine.” He laughed. “I want to help you, don’t worry. If you ever need anything, just ask.”

I sighed and gave up this argument. “Fine. But I’m not gonna need anything.” The waitor came and took our orders, and we ate and talked a little. Eventually, it was time to leave, and I found myself to be upset about it.

“Here we are.” Brandon said as we pulled up to our driveway. “Wait wait wait!” He said, and ran to open my door for me, again.

“Thanks.” I replied, this time smiling and not ignoring the butterflies in my stomach.

He walked me to the door, and we stood there for a second before saying anything. “Uh, well, I guess this is goodnight.” He laughed that cute, adorable laugh. “I’ll get going no--”

I kissed him. It was the best kiss I have ever had in my life, and it made me feel complete, warm, special. It made me feel a way I have never felt before in my life, not even with Gene. It was a minute before I pulled away, and then he did his big, goofy smile. “That’s the best ‘goodnight’ I’ve ever gotten.” He joked.

I giggled. “Do you, uh, want to come inside?” I asked, and he obviously knew what I was asking.

“Not tonight, Ariel.” He said, and I was confused. “Maybe some other time, but not tonight.” He kissed me one more time, and then walked towards his car and drove off. I went inside and erupted into a fit of giggles. I looked at the time. 1 A.M.

“Greebo?” I whispered silently, and sure enough, she appeared. “Are the kids asleep?”

“Yes ma’am.” Greebo replied.

“Good.” I yawned. “I’m going upstairs, I’m tired.” I walked upstairs, trying to be as quiet as I could. I fell in my bed and went to sleep immediately.

I woke up at 7:30 with Greebo screaming in my ear. “Problem! Problem! We have a problem!”

“Agh!” I yelled. “What’s going on!?”

“It’s Lily. She refuses to go to school.” Greebo told me.

“Ugh, what?” I got up, hair a mess and clothes crinkled. “Lily! Come up here!”

“Yeah, what is it?” She shot a rude look at me.

“Why aren’t you at school?” I asked.

“I didn’t want to go. So I’m not.” She leaned on the wall.

“What!?” I yelled. “Young lady, you have to go to school! Now!”

“Yeah, and what? What’s a whore like you gonna do about it!?” She screamed at me.

“Greebo, make sure Lily gets to school, even if it’s by force.” I said, angrily. “Lily, when you get back home, we’re going to have a talk, you understand me? And you are definitely grounded.”

“Alright.” She groaned, and followed Greebo out of the room and off to school.

I was so busy being angry, I didn’t notice that Lily’s words really stung. Tears started to run down my cheeks and I really needing someone to talk to. I pulled out my phone and looked through my contacts. But who should I call? Aria? Kimari? Danielle?

I chose one that I knew would be there for me whenever I needed them.

“Brandon?” I cried.

“Ariel!? What’s wrong, are you okay!?” He asked.

“I-I’m fine.” I said. “I just… Needed someone to talk to.” I spilt the entire story to him, and when it was over, I asked him a question that has been on my mind since I started this challenge. “I’m not a whore, am I?” 

He responded calmly. “I’m on my way.”

It took an hour for Brandon to show up, and when he did he had brought Champaigne for him and I. “Thanks…” I said, wiping tears from my eyes.

“What you said on the phone…” Brandon said. “It’s not true. Don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise. What you’re doing, this challenge, I think it’s great. You’re giving lives to children, and they have a good home, a great mother, everything they’d need for a great life. I think it’s wonderful, and so are you.” Brandon kissed me.

And that kiss turned in to something more. But it wasn’t for the challenge. It was for us. For me and him. I loved him, and he loved me, and that’s all there was in this moment. Love. A love that felt so right when it should have been so wrong, it was a love that I never wanted to let go of. Something I hoped that I would have forever.

“I love you, Brandon.”