Chapter 6
The next morning, Michael woke his daughter up as early as possible keeping in mind she became very cranky if awoken too early. He did not bother explaining where they were since he knew their location would make her very excited considering she had mentioned Sydney at least once a day since their first meeting. He got her dressed, made her brush her teeth, and then told her to be very quiet as they surreptitiously escaped the house. Sydney, however, had other plans.
Just as Michael and Grace were descending the second half of the stairs, they spotted her on the third step up from the bottom. She was leaning against the wall with her legs spread full out across the step wearing an ivory color robe and matching slippers. Michael was not sure if she was asleep, but her position made it obvious that she was making sure they could not sneak out without her knowledge.
As they grew closer to her, she stirred, looked up at them and smiled. “Going somewhere?” she asked innocently. Michael fought a groan under his breath; his brilliant plan had been destroyed. Ignoring the obviously protesting look on Michael’s face, Sydney turned to Grace and smiled. “Good morning Grace; its nice to see you again.”
“’morning Sydney,” Grace smiled.
“How would you like some pancakes for breakfast, hmm?” Sydney offered. Grace nodded vigorously. “Excellent, c’mere,” Sydney said, opening up her arms. Grace jumped in them and Sydney hoisted her up on her hip, surprised at how lightweight the little girl actually was. “So what do you want on your pancakes, hmm?”
“Chocolate chips!” she exclaimed.
Sydney laughed softly. “Well I’m not sure if your daddy would like that. How about some blueberries instead?”
“I’ve never had those,” Grace told her simply.
“Never!” Sydney gasped. Grace shook her head. “Well then you’ll have to try them; they’re my favorite fruit! Go into the kitchen and tell Consuela you want pancakes and blueberries for breakfast, okay?”
“Okay!” Grace shouted as she bounced down from Sydney’s arms and went tearing through the foyer towards the back of the house. Once she was gone, Sydney looked up to Michael with a very proud smile only to see an annoyed look on his face.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” he told her almost sharply.
“Why? What’s wrong with pancakes and blueberries? Would you rather she have cereal instead?” Sydney asked sounding just as innocent as ever.
“We need to be going; we can’t stay for breakfast,” he said simply, pushing past her on his way down the final few stairs.
“Why not?” Sydney challenged, following him.
“Because we can’t.”
“That’s not a reason,” Sydney informed him. He gave her yet another annoyed look. “Michael come on! It’s breakfast! Grace is probably hungry and this way you won’t have to walk all the way to a shelter or a dumpster or God knows where to find food!”
“Excuse me but you don’t know a god damn thing about my life,” he snapped at her.
“You’re wrong,” she informed him, folding her arms over her chest. “I know that if it hadn’t been for me, you and Grace would have slept on the street all night last night! She wouldn’t have had a warm bed to sleep in. She wouldn’t have been safe and you wouldn’t have gotten any sleep either so excuse me for caring!”
Michael shut his eyes and lowered his head, breathing deeply and trying to rid himself of the animosity he felt towards the woman in front of him, who clearly was just being helpful, albeit annoyingly so. “Look, don’t get me wrong. I appreciate very much what you did for us last night, but we don’t need help. We’re doing just fine,” Michael told her.
“Yeah it looked like it too,” Sydney muttered under her breath. Michael was about to glare at her before he heard Grace shout from the kitchen.
“Daddy! Sydney! The pancakes are almost ready!”
“Eat breakfast; we’ll finish this discussion later,” Sydney told him simply before walking back towards the kitchen. Groaning, Michael had no choice but to follow.
In the kitchen, Sydney found Grace seated at the breakfast table staring at a bowl of blueberries practically frothing. Sydney sat down beside her, picked one up from the bowl and popped it in her mouth. “Mmm,” she grinned. “Did you try one yet?”
“Not yet,” Grace told her softly.
“Well what are you waiting for?” Sydney encouraged with a laugh. Mirroring Sydney’s behavior, Grace picked up a small rounded fruit from the bowl and put it in her mouth. “So?!”
“Pretty good,” Grace said.
“What are you crazy?! They’re very good,” Sydney told her, grabbing a handful more of the blueberries and dropping them onto her plate, letting them roll around. Grace was about to do the same before Michael cautioned her,
“Use the spoon Grace; not your hands.” Grace notably rolled her eyes but reached for the spoon like her father asked.
A few minutes later, a large fluffy stack of pancakes was delivered to the table by Consuela. Michael put two of them on Grace’s plate and then two on his own before passing the stack down the table to Sydney, who also took two. Then, she piled more blueberries on top of them before reaching for the bowl filled with a white fluffy substance beside her. “What’s that?” Grace asked.
“Powdered sugar; that’s how I eat mine,” Sydney told her. Then, she took a spoonful of sugar and dusted her entire plate with it before letting a large lump of it plop down atop the blueberries on her pancakes.
“Can I try?” Grace asked. Sydney nodded and passed her the bowl.
“These are the best pancakes I’ve ever had! I think they might be better than yours Daddy,” Grace smiled at her father.
“Great,” he laughed softly. Then he encouraged, “What do you say to Sydney?”
“Thank you!” Grace beamed at her.
“You’re very welcome,” Sydney told her. “Why don’t you sit here just a few more minutes; I need to talk with your father.” She got up from the table and gave Michael a pointed look until he stood rather reluctantly. Then, she led him across the kitchen to a doorway he hardly noticed before and ushered him inside.
“What’s this?” he asked upon entering the small space lined with bookshelves and wood paneling.
“My office,” she said simply before getting down to business, “I want you and Grace to stay.”
“Where?!”
“Here.”
“Absolutely not,” Michael told her.
“Why?” Sydney challenged. Michael looked away and said nothing. “Alright,” Sydney sighed, trying a different approach. “I don’t know much about you, but let me take a guess. You and Grace don’t have a home…you live out of that backpack you carry around, wander the city after work and after Grace is out of school…sleep in shelters at night with god knows what kid of miscreants – am I close?” she asked. Again, Michael said nothing, though he did notably turn a soft shade of pink which confirmed Sydney’s suspicions.
“What happened, Michael? Did you ever have a home?” she asked sounding genuinely concerned.
“Yes,” he said firmly.
“Then what happened?” she asked. He refused to answer. “Alright,” she sighed. “Let’s try something easier. What’s your last name?”
“Don’t have one,” he said simply. She gave him a ‘Nice try, but I don’t think so’ look. “I’m not telling you – you’re probably thinking about calling the police or child services!”
“What?!” she gasped rather horrified. “No Michael I would never I…you know what I would. I would call them if you don’t stay here with me,” she told him with a rather proud, ‘I’ve got you now’ smile.
“You wouldn’t!” he gasped in an almost questioning way.
“Okay I wouldn’t,” she conceded. “But I want you to stay, please,” she requested. He shook his head. “Oh come on Michael! It’s supposed to snow tonight! What if you have to sleep outside again?!”
“We won’t,” he said defiantly.
“How do you know that?”
“We just won’t alright!” he snapped.
Sighing heavily, Sydney rubbed her brow and began to pace. Michael’s extreme stubbornness was beginning to wear upon her. “Please,” she tried once more, “Stay the weekend. Give Grace a chance to sleep in a real bed instead of a filthy cot. Think of it as a vacation; I’ll bet she’s never had one, has she?”
Michael was silent for almost a full five minutes before agreeing quietly. “Fine, the weekend. But come Monday morning we’re gone,” he informed her. Sydney smiled and nodded; that was good enough for now.