Snowflakes and second chances

Episode 4

“Austin Morales,” I repeated, lowering the fireplace poker as I stepped aside. Unluckily, its sharp edge had gripped his fabric and tore it in a straight line. “I’m…I’m sorry. What are you doing here?” I added, still trying to get a hold of my racing heart.

Austin’s face broke into a wide grin, the kind that always made him look attractive even at the age of thirty nine. Austin was once my fathers’ school boy when they were in high school.

They belonged to the same band and did almost everything together although my father was twelve years older than him. The last time I saw him was when I was sixteen. I’d always admired his blue eyes and short, black, curly hair.

He ruffled his snow-coated hair before stepping further into the cabin. “I could ask you the same thing, Sia. Didn’t expect I’d find you in my cabin of all places,”

“Your cabin?” I muttered his exact last words, confusion swirling as I placed the poker on the table. “No…this is my cabin. I rented it a few days ago for the holiday,” I corrected him, moving to my purse to find the papers.

I found it and handed it over to him.

“Ohh…I urmm…I’m supposed to stay here until the new year. They must have made a mistake somewhere and sold it out to you,” a contagious subtle laughter followed his words. I joined him, taking the papers back from him.

“f*****g house agents,” I blurted, pursing the paper.

“You sound like you want to rent me out of my own house,” he muttered, taking off his gloves. I opened my mouth to argue but stopped short. His tone wasn’t accusatory, just amused. It was annoying, yet undeniably enticing.

“You look like you’re settling in for someone who feels like he’s being rented out,” I returned the tease, and a small smile crawled up his lips.

He tilted his head, eyes darting from my head to my toe in an annoyingly sweet manner.

“You haven’t changed a bit, Sia. I mean look at you,” he tried to hide his shock with a scoff. “How’s your father?” He asked a question that changed the mood of the room. I guess he noticed it before I the silence was broken.

“Mummy…Who’s he?” The twins crept out of their hiding place, Danny leading the way with the question. I glanced at Austin and saw the shock in his face which he couldn’t hide. My kids got closer and I scooped them from the floor into both arms.

“Danny, Diane, meet uncle Austin. El amigo del abuelo—grandpa’s best friend,” I introduced before turning to face Austin who was still awe struck.

“Austin…meet my kids,”

*******

Austin’s gaze shifted between the twins and I, as though he was trying to process the sudden revelation. A small grin faded into something softer, a contemplative look.

“Your kids?” He blurted, his voice barely above a whisper. The tension was growing, the silence making it more awkward as we just stood there staring at each other. At that point, I wished Danny made one of those his silly jokes to kill the growing tension.

“Wow Sia. You’ve grown into..quite the woman”.

I adjusted the twins on my arms whose weight was becoming so much to bear. “Yeah well, life happens,” I responded with a nervous chuckle to kill the tension. Luckily, Danny came to the rescue.

“Are you really grandpa's friend?” He asked, squirming in my arms. “Mummy doesn’t really have friends. She just goes to work and returns, leaving such a boring life at her young age”

“Danny!” I cautioned him with a chuckle. Austin had already burst into laughter, Danny stopped talking, and Diane was laughing on my neck whether face was shyly buried. I dropped the kids, rolling my eyes as I went to lock the door.

Austin crouched down to Danny’s level and took his hand in his palm. “Yes. Your grandpa and I used to be friends. Very..,good friends,” he said, stealing a glance at me. I stood smiling with arms folded across my breast while I watched him speaking to them.

“Then why do you look so young?” Danny questioned. Austin chuckled, glancing at me again.

“I wasn’t your grandpa’ age”

“Can you play the piano like mommy?” his Spanish accent kicked in.

Austin glanced up at me, his brows corked with surprise.

“You still play?” He asked.

I shrugged. “Sometimes,” I answered. Austin looked impressed by my answer. He returned his gaze to curious Danny who was stealing the moment from us.

“Well,” Austin inched closer. “Uncle Austin is a doctor, and due to the nature of his work…he’s forgotten what a musical instrument sounds like,” he said.

“That’s boring,” Danny dragged the last words, waving his hand and rolling his eyes, something he learnt from me and Diane.

“Okay, that’s enough introduction, kids. You’ve had your time with uncle Austin, go in and play with your toys,” I had to cut the drama being displayed before me. Austin and I waited for them to race back into the room before letting our heavy sighs.

“Kids,” I muttered.

“They’re adorable. You have lovely kids, Sia. Just like you,” Austin said. For some reason, his compliment made my heart dance in circles. I had no actual response to that, so I just forced a smile to hide my shock.

I served him wine, and we made our way to the balcony. The night was chill, the snowflakes dropping on our coats as we sat by the balcony fire.

“I see you set this up yourself,” I said, loving the idea of a fireplace on the balcony.

“Permit me to ask, Sia,” Austin made me look at him. It was then I realized his silence all along was because he’d been staring at me.

“Yes?”

“Is their father still around?” He asked.

My glass froze on my lips as I noisily gulped the wine in my mouth. The wine burned its way down my throat as Austin’s question hung icy in the air. My grip tightened around the glass, and for a moment, I debated how much I should share.

“Let’s just say…things didn’t go as planned between us,” I summarized nine years of my life in a sentence.

Where was I even to begin?

With Jamal who had the guts to cheat on me? Or with Chris who is currently still my contract husband until a few months to come?

It just felt like revealing too much. Even if Austin was my father’s best friend, one thing I learnt from my dad was never to reveal much. It had its way of either blocking or opening new paths.

“I’m sorry about that,” Austin said. I saw the look in his eyes. He wanted to talk about my dad, but he was considering it after I just gave him an answer.

I really hoped he would keep it in for sometime until I was ready to discuss the death of my father without feeling that stinging pain in my chest.

I shrugged,trying to mask the sting of old wounds with indifference. “It’s all in the past now. All I want is to give my kids the best life,” I said, watching a smile grow on his lips.

“You’re stronger than the last time I saw you, Sia. You were just as shy as Diane, your daughter,” Austin said. He wasn’t wrong by the way. I guess that a part of me Diane inherited. That shy, quiet part of me.

That was who I was while growing in my fathers house, doing all he wanted me to do while I was being molded into his perfect creation. But that part of me left the moment I decided to leave the house.

“Life has its ways of toughening you up,” I replied, forcing a smile. “What about you? Are you still single or did someone manage to tie you down?

Austin chuckled, revealing his prominent, deep dimples.

“Still single. My work keeps me too busy. And honestly , I haven’t found someone who could handle the chaos,”

I smirked, raising an eyebrow. “A doctor's chaos? Or Austin Morales chaos?

“Both,” he admitted with a contagious laughter. “Though I think the second one scares people off,” he added.

“Nahh, Austin. You scare people off with all those muscles hidden beneath those clothes. Who wouldn’t think you want to crush them in a single fold,” I teased, stirring the laughter between us.

“Sia,” Austin stopped laughing, his tone taking a tone of urgency. That was when I smelled it. The smell of burning wood—very distinct from the fire burning before us. I turned around, my eyes darting towards the room which was burning.

“The kids!”

******