Soul of Freeman. 3rd Book of the Freeman Series.

Chapter 3

The yellow flower looked familiar to Allie, but it was not one of those standard flowers people liked to add to bouquets. It was large with oval-shaped petals that stood up, reminding her of bananas. The sepals were short and puffy, forming a small hat over the hip and stem.The flower couldn't have appeared outside her apartment by accident. It seemed well taken care of, and it had been positioned in a way that drew the eye.

Did the man who fixed her door leave it there as a gift?

Allie grabbed a tall glass of water and placed the stem inside. She wasn't sure what kind of flower it was, so she placed it on the kitchen counter, where the sun wasn't too strong.

A soft knock made her look through the peep hole and unlock the door.

"Good morning. I came to check on you." The bald muscular man showed a cage of perfectly straight teeth.

"Hi. Sorry, I forgot your name." Allie opened the door a bit wider.

"Chris Serrano, at your service." He shook her hand.

"Chris," she smiled. "Thank you so much for fixing my door and pretty much saving my life."

"That's no problem. I'm a social worker. I deal with dudes like these all the time."

She gave him a half smile and hid her neck. Her left foot moved behind her right one.

"I...I like flowers."

Chris took a deep breath and rested his fists on his hips.

"That's an interesting fact," he grinned.

"I should go change." She pointed behind her.

He waved at her and made a sound with his mouth to acknowledge her statement. She wiggled her fingers and closed the door as he left.

***

Dean sat on a patio chair, watching Daniel and Andrew in a wrestling match. Every time one kid looked at him, he smiled and said something encouraging. Daniel tackled his brother down to the floor and began laughing, then Andrew quickly lifted him and locked his arm around his neck. Daniel's eyeballs popped out of their socket and he tapped the grass four times.

 "Ah, you got too confident, Dan," said his father. "You giggle too much."

"I can't help it," replied Daniel. "Andrew's always making funny faces."

Dean clapped his hands and dropped his head on the backrest.

"Ya'll are too goofy."

"Dad, is Mom coming back in time for the competition?" Andrew scratched his temple.

Dean stared at the trees in front of the horizon and cleared his throat.

"I'm sure she'll be there."

"When is she coming back?"

The backyard gate opened and Meryl's presence made Dean stand up.

"Hey, handsome," she smiled.

The twins frowned and tilted their heads at the same time.

"I thought you were working today," Dean addressed Meryl.

"I am," she pinched his cheek lightly.

The man eyed her fingers by his face and said nothing else. She chuckled at his lack of reaction and turned to the children.

"Aw, aren't you two adorable? It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Meryl," she extended her hand.

Daniel took a step back at the same time as his grandmother torpedoed out of the house.

"Meryl, isn't it too late in the afternoon to be visiting anybody?" Kathy's chin was higher than the tip of her nose.

"Mrs. Freeman, you know family is exempt from those silly rules." Meryl squeaked with her hands interlaced in front of her.

"I didn't know we considered you family," Kathy clenched her jaw at her son.

"Dean, I thought you told your mom about us." The girl sauntered toward Dean with opened arms as his children watched.

Kathy held her breath until Dean raised his hands and pushed Meryl's waist away.

"What does she mean?" Asked Andrew. "Is she our aunt?"

"Better!" Meryl gasped. "I'm your new mo—"

Dean crushed Meryl's bony forearm and showcased his lower teeth.

"Watch who you play with," he whispered. "I'm not the same dude from ten years ago."

"Meryl, if you don't mind, I'd like to spend some quality time with my family." Kathy crossed her arms. She had been staying at her son's house since he divorced Allie to bring him back to his senses and make sure the twins were okay.

Meryl stared into Dean's eyes for a moment, then yanked her arm back.

"I'm here for you." She smiled at the children and waved at them goodbye.

Kathy's eyeballs followed the girl until she couldn't hear her footsteps anymore.

"What's gone through your head?" she scolded her son. "I reckon your father and I raised you differently."

Dean's chest raised, watching the backyard gate close. When Allie bought the house and the surrounding land, there had been no gates or fences. Then, months after their marriage, he designed a strong structure that encompassed their entire property to protect his family.

He saw no point to the fence now. He had let the devil into his home and let it destroy what he had worked so hard to build.

"Dad, what did she mean?" Asked Daniel.

Dean didn't exhale, but gasped for more air and carried the patio chair above his head. He grunted the air out of his lungs and threw the piece of furniture far from the house. Kathy and Daniel jumped back, watching the chair fly far away from them. Andrew simply analyzed his father.

The man roared and found another object to destroy. This time flipping an outdoor table and kicking over a barbecue pit.

Kathy grabbed Daniel's arm and made him stand behind her.

"Andrew," she called in a high-pitched voice. "Come stand behind me."

But Andrew walked toward his father, seeing him raise his fist parallel to the brick terrace column. The boy quickly held his father's wrist. Dean looked down at his son with lost eyes. His red face of anger switched an even brighter shade of shame.

"Why are you so sad?" The boy looked neither scared nor surprised.

"I'm...I'm sorry I couldn't control my anger," Dean glanced at Kathy and Daniel.

"You're not angry."

"Huh?" Now Dean was the one trying to understand his son.

Andrew turned a chair upright and guided Dean to sit on it. 

"I know because this is the same thing that happened to me when I was mean in school. My sadness makes me wanna break things." 

"Your teachers never called me about that."

"That's because I haven't done it since you told me you were my dad."

There was a strange build up in Dean's nose and between his eyes. He swallowed, containing the feeling. His son't words brought him a sense of clearness.

"Mom says we, Freemans, mix up anger and sadness all the time." 

Dean looked at his mother, who nodded at him.

"Then, I must not be Freeman," interrupted Daniel. "When I'm sad, I eat lots of candy."

Both adults chuckled.

"Oh, you're a Freeman, all right," said Kathy. "You just haven't seen your father eat a whole cake after losing his first Lego building block competition."

Dean lowered his head with a smile, remembering that sad but humorous day of his childhood. He wasn't sad anymore. Instead, he was grateful his children could still make him laugh.

***

It felt unnatural for Allie to circle job postings on a newspaper. Her slow internet and her lack of technology weren't the only factors ruining her day, but she had to throw away all the food she had left in the fridge. At first, it was the stove and a week after moving into her shack, all the electronic appliances were rendered useless.

 Her stomach growled, but she didn't want to order food as she feared not being able to pay rent. That money is for a rainy day. When your appliances break, is that a rainy day? What if things get worse and I can't find a job?

She rolled her eyes as her call to the building manager went to voicemail. Nevertheless, she continued marking possible jobs. A picture of a family on a corner ad made her think of her boys but a knock on her door dragged her out of her thoughts.

 Fingers crossed for the building manager. She had more than a few complaints.

 Unexpectedly, a small bouquet of roses popped on her face.

 "You like roses, right?" Chris smiled behind the flowers. 

 "Uh...yes." Allie shook her head, not knowing how to react. "Wow, are these for me?"

 "Yeah, you said you liked flowers, so I figured, it'd be a nice 'welcome-to-the-building' present."

 Allie grabbed the bouquet from his hand and let the door swing open. She jerked her head and went into the kitchen to find a plastic jar for the flowers.

 "I also got you this. I figured you were hungry since you can't use your stove." He placed a plastic bag on her couch and pulled out a bundle of aluminum foil.

 Allie left the bouquet on the kitchen counter and ran toward the smell of grilled meat and peppers.

 "Oh, my God." She stood in front of Chris like a desperate puppy and sniffed the food. "How did you know?"

 "I was coming from work earlier and I saw you throwing out a lot of old food containers. It happens often around here. If your appliances break, you must fix them yourself or pay out of pocket."

 "That's insane." She grabbed the bundle and sat on the couch not even trying to guess what was in it. Whatever it was, she would eat it although from the smell of it, she thanked heavens for Mexican chefs.

 Chris had already sat beside her and began to unfold the aluminum sheet.

 "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for he flowers and the food," she repeated.

 Realizing she had left the door opened, she looked up at a presence by the entrance. The sharp jaw and prominent brow ridges penetrated and disturbed everything inside her.

 Dean, in his black suit and tie, glowered at the scene. His feet planted on the ground balanced his powerful form. Even Chris with his giant muscles looked smaller than him.