Page 82 of Hale's Pawn
I nod, trying not to tear up. Fucking hormones. “Yeah and I didn’t tell Oran where the name came from. I want it to be you when you’re ready.”
“Poulaki mou…” Mikonos calls me a nickname I haven’t heard since the first time he met me.His little bird. “For you, I’ll tell him. I like him for you. He’s a little rough around the edges, but I don’t want to kill him everyday. I’ll still curse him out on a daily basis because he’s earned it though.” Mikonos smirks.
I hug him tight. “Thank you. I love you,” I say to him.
“I love you too,poulaki mou.”
“One more thing… the head of the family. I’m not made for it, Ry, you are.”
He pulls me out of the hug. “What? It’s your birthright,” he says to me.
I smile at him, shaking my head. “It may be my birthright, but Ry, you were born to lead. This family, our papa, he needs you. I don’t have the balance, Orion. I get too lost. I don’t want to lose my husband and child in the process. I can’t be papa. I just can’t. But you, you’re stronger than us both. You don’t bow to the world, the world bows to you. It moves in your direction, not the other way around. Papa has raised you for this. Everything he did, he knows. Ry, he knows.”
Mikonos stays silent then and I can see the little boy that I first met. The one that I haven’t seen in years. “I can’t do this without you, Ains. Not like this.”
“Orion Krios Moralis.” Mikonos glares at me for the use of his middle name. “You know what that middle name means, who it came from. A Titan. Your mother seemed to know what to name you. This is your path, it’s in your name. You’re a ruler and a strong-ass pillar for this entire family. I know you’ve got this. I know you have balance and I know that this isn’t my birthright, it’s yours. I’ll be there, every step of the way. I may not be the Don, but I’ll be your right hand woman. Your Consigliere. Except this one shoots first and asks questions later. I’ve got you,” I say.
“Be mycomareand I’ll do it,” Mikonos asks me.
He wants me to be, for lack of a better word, the godmother or the female boss, right by his side. I smile at him. “You don’t know what you’re asking but hell yeah, soulmate.”
“Fuck,” Mikonos says and this one means he’s agreeing. He pulls me to him in a tight hug. “My soulmate,” Mikonos repeats.
The thing is, I know my husband should be my soulmate, but I don’t think that’s what will ever happen for either Mikonos or me. Soulmates doesn’t always mean we have to have erotic love or anything, it just means that I’d go to great lengths for him. He’s right, we don’t need to be blood, he is more than blood to me. I couldn’t have a world without him and I’m glad my husband understands that. That’s all I need. Finding people to love is easy, but finding your soulmate is a dime a dozen.
38
Oran
When I get homefrom work, the music is playing loudly in the house. Ainslee is in the kitchen, humming and dancing to Maroon 5’s Moves Like Jagger and I quickly pull my phone out, video-calling Jagger. The second he picks up, I flip the camera to her and the amusement is clear on his face as she dances in her white velvety short-shorts and a t-shirt while cooking. I forgot that my girl cannot sing. Lord, she sounds like she’d put a fucking screeching walrus to shame. I try not to laugh but it’s so hard. I signal Jagger that I’m hanging up. I record her as she continues. She does this little shimmy thing, shaking her ass, and she turns to the side, walking to the pantry.
Once she comes back out, she’s rubbing her belly. She stops and looks right at me. She glares at me, narrowing her eyes. “Babe,” she says.
“Yeeeesss?” I answer, knowing I sound guilty as hell.
“Are you recording me? Stop doing that,” she whines.
I snicker. “But it’s so much fun. I see why you do it.” Ainslee starts to walk towards me and I slip right by her. “Slow as fuck,” I taunt her.
“Oran…Delete it,” she states.
I laugh. “Is that my word you’re stealing now? I’m going to take a page out of your book.” I take a breath as the island separates us. “No.”
Ainslee’s determined face is so apparent and when she goes left, I go right. We continue this chase for a bit and then I can tell she gets breathless. “Baaaaabe!” she cries out.
I laugh even harder. “See how frustrating it is when someone doesn’t do what you ask? You snooze, you lose, baby.” I shrug.
Or—.”
“Your food’s burning,” I cut her off.
Ainslee looks at whatever she was doing and runs over to the stove. “Fuck! My empanadas!” She cries real tears.
My eyes widen and I freeze on the spot. “What did I do? Baby…”
“It’s not you!” She continues to cry.
“Uhh…” then it clicks. Her hormones. I don’t know why, but I laugh so hard. “I’m sorry for laughing,” I offer after I’ve calmed.
