Balconial Conversations

Chapter 19: Soft

When I walk out onto the balcony after school see a few too many De Luca boys. Cam sits against the railing with his legs extended and his tousled brown hair glinting; Vivienne sits right above his knees and giggles sweetly; Akari and Riel play by the other rails, hopping and leaning dangerously.

The sunshine casts a gleam on her ebony hair like glass, and her skin is clear and lovely. She crawls up her brother's legs to curl against his chest, and he distractedly hugs one arm around her while carefully keeping an eye on her other brothers.

"Cam, do you think mom and dad will let me get a puppy?"

"Honestly, Viv? Give it a couple of years."

"How many?"

"Two, let's give them two."

"But I want a puppy now."

The door slides open, and Riel nearly falls over the edge and Cam shouts. They haven't noticed me. He lets himself tip back onto the balcony beside Cam, and dissolves into giggles, his plump lips spread wide exposing teeny tiny teeth.

Alec toddles out from the open sliding door. His pale, narrow face is drawn in, his small bowed lips pouted in consternation and dragging a ratty toy zebra along the wooden boards.

Cam says something questioning in what sounds like Russian (but what would I know?).

He replies with something that also sounds Russian and toddles over to Cam to drop beside him. He snuggles into his older brother's side, and Akari starts telling knock-knock jokes.

I quietly step back inside the apartment, internally reeling in equal parts over my brief conversation with Caroline Armstrong and the fact that he speaks Russian.

I sit on the couch and try to join the Cam who plays with his siblings and sweetly discusses family pets and the Cam who would treat a girl like garbage. Objectively, I know that a dichotomy such as this one is in everyone. Subjectively, it makes me sad.