"Papa, attends! Non, non. Je ne suis plus un bebe. Je suis adulte, et les adultes, ca ne se porte pas", Six-year-old Gisele said, trying to stifle a giggle as her father was swinging her in the air.
Her father pretended to wipe a tear and said, "Mais tu est mon bebe a moi, Chloe, je dois te porter."
Then he proceeded to start tickling her.
(Translation. Gisele: Papa, wait! No, no. I'm no longer a baby. I am an adult and adults are not supposed to be carried.
Gisele's dad: But you're my baby, Chloe, I've got to carry you.)
She started laughing and pushed her cheek forward for him to kiss.
End of Flashback
As he was reaching to touch her, she jerked back her arm. His lips curved into a humorless smile.
"Ah, d'accord. I see. You-", he started but, Gisele didn't leave him the opportunity to finish what he started, she walked off.
When she entered the car, Callie asked, "Gigi, who was that man?"
"No one of importance, hunny. Let's just go home", Gisele said trying her best not to scare Callie.
"But, won't you get another ice cream?", Callie asked again, as if was unheard of for Gisele not to get another.
"Well, why would I get another one when I can have yours?", Gisele said, teasing Callie.
Callie looked at Gisele then her face brightened up. "Oh, I get it! Here we can share.", she said, gesturing towards her melting ice cream cone.
Gisele had to laugh at Callie's adorable cuteness. "No, thanks, sweetie, I'm already full".
Callie looked at Gisele for a while then shrugged and said, "Okay", then went back to her ice cream.
By the time they reached home, Gisele was so out of it that she barely heard any of Callie's unending chatter. Distractedly, she helped Callie out of the car and they entered the house together.
Slate was already there but when he looked at Gisele's distracted and almost sad face, the smile on his face was wiped off.
Gisele wasn't herself anymore. It was like she was a robot, doing everything automatically. She changed Callie's ice cream soiled clothes, put them in the laundry basket, put her in warm clothes then and and stayed with her in the multimedia room. Callie was watching a cartoon about puppets and stuff but Gisele was not listening to a word of what she was saying.
She was in the past, thinking about the night her Papa left her and her mother, how her mother sunk into a depression.
She sighed. It would not do her any good to think of the past, she needed to be positive and concentrate on the future. She threw a glance at Callie and saw that she was fast asleep. She carried her gently to her room and tucked her in.
As she was going to her room, Slate stopped her.
"Hey," he said, "what's wrong?"
Gisele tried to cover up by giving him a smile but she felt it was more of a grimace. She tried to control herself but the tears threatening to come out fell and she started crying silently. Slate took her into his arms and directed her towards his room.
For a while, he didn't say anything because he knew she needed to let it out.
Slate was so good at comforting because of his ex-wife. When they still loved each other, she always opened up to him and poured her frustrations out.
Gisele quietened down at last. She looked and felt embarrassed.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have --", she started but Slate would have none of it. He silenced her by placing his lips on hers.
Gisele was shocked at first and didn't respond but then she parted her lips for Slate's possession.
When he broke the kiss, Gisele was certain she looked as breathless as she felt.
"Now you're going to tell me what exactly happened to make you break down like that"