Prince Charming? Ch. 04
Keywords: 04, Prince, Ch., Charming?,
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*Chapter Four: The First Week*
Aidan woke the next morning feeling groggy and stiff. He sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes, and stood up off the couch. Bathroom, he thought, as he stumbled through the apartment. He'd had a lot of soda with his pizza last night and hadn't gone to the bathroom before bed. Figuring that it must be too early for Leda to be up (his vision was still foggy) Aidan barged into the bathroom without thinking.
Heat and the smell of flowers hit him as soon as he opened the door. However what caught his attention was Leda...turned towards him and just sliding a towel around herself. She froze when she saw him, but not for long. As Aidan stared, she wrapped the towel around herself, tucked it so it would stay on, and pushed past him. He stood in the doorway for a long moment, completely stunned.
There's nothing to be stunned about, damnit, he thought, trying to shake the cobwebs from his head. She's nothing special! She was slender, but not trim and toned like the women he knew. He'd caught enough to see that she had nice legs and somewhat hips, but her breasts were of an average size, nothing to get worked up about. So why didn't he feel so nonchalant? Aidan closed the bathroom door and leaned against in, drawing in deep, steady breaths.
So what if I'm attracted to her physically, he thought. That means nothing. Still, it would make his scheme that much harder to pull off. How was he going to remember that he had a role to play when she kept distracting him. And for that matter, Aidan thought, why the hell am I doing this, anyway? Well, technically to get back at her for humiliating him but...why did that matter so much? Because he had to impress his father?
Stop thinking about it! he told himself furiously. He was not going to break his resolve just because a girl with a pretty face smiled at him. So he would simply have to do his very best to ignore her kindness. It's overbearing, anyway, Aidan thought, rolling his eyes. She's ridiculously naïve, too. He went to the bathroom and cleaned himself up, the whole time determined not to wonder just who he was trying to convince.
*****
Aidan could never have expected just what a nightmare working at a hospice could be. The sick boy didn't get worse, but he didn't get better either. He had to be well taken care of and everything he touched, everything in the sickroom, and everyone who attended to him had to be scrubbed clean. Sometimes several times a day. Aidan spent much of his time cleaning: dishes, laundry, the floors, etc. Although the staff usually shifted, taking their turns with each chore, he wasn't comfortable watching the children.
It was a learning experience, especially watching Leda. Her endless patience was both endearing and irritating at the same time. Although she spent time with every child as much as she could, Aidan saw that she had especially taken to the little blue-eyed girl, Mary. He hadn't been certain why, until his third day working at the hospice. While he was eating lunch apart from the crowd, Martha came over to him with a photo album.
"How've you been doing, dear?" Martha asked. She was always kind to him, just like Leda, despite who he was.
"Tired and sore," Aidan answered, smiling slightly.
Martha chuckled. "Hard work, isn't it? But it's very rewarding...take a look at this."
She handed him the photo album. Curious, he flipped it open. There were dates on the inside that indicated the pictures were from about two years ago up until the present. And as Aidan browsed through them, he realized each and every one was from some sort of party: Christmas, Halloween, Valentine's Day, Easter, and so on. They love their holidays, I guess, he thought. Leda was in plenty of the pictures and in many of them she was holding a small blonde girl who could have easily been her sister.
"Mary," Martha explained. "Before the chemotherapy...well, you know."
Aidan nodded. "None of them seem self-conscious, though."
"That's because of Leda," Martha said, chuckling to herself. "She tells each one of them that if they're ever embarrassed, she'll shave her head so they won't feel alone."
"Seriously?" Aidan asked, his eyebrows lifting. "And that works?"
"It does," Martha replied, smiling gently. "I'm not sure if it's because they find it funny or comforting, but it always helps break the ice."
Aidan looked back down at the photo album. In one of the pictures Leda and the children had somehow gotten their hands on a variety of large, silly sunhats. In another they were gathered around a gigantic pumpkin with a big, toothy grin. He found it hard not to smile as he looked through the photos. His father's business was a serious, solemn place. Aidan couldn't help feeling as though this place, despite the grim reality it was built upon, was a ray of sunshine in comparison.
"What about um...Leda's brother?" Aidan asked, looking up. "I don't see any family resemblance in any of these other children..."
Martha sighed. "Well, these are after he...passed away. But Nathan was...he was a fussy boy. He hated being in pictures. It's not that he was a bad boy...it's just that he got out of hand on the days he was feeling well. Like any boy his age."
"So...why does she still come here?" Aidan wanted to know. "Isn't it painful?"
"Plenty of things are painful," Martha replied, smiling gently at him. "The things in life that are most worth doing are never easy. Leda comes here because it's what she loves. It's her calling. So she's happy, because she's doing what she loves."
Frowning, Aidan closed the photo album and handed it back to Martha. She took it from him, then stood up and walked away. Which was just as well, because his mind was buzzing. Because he was the eldest son and slated to take over the family business, he'd never stopped to think about what it was he loved to do. I'm not sure there is anything I love to do, Aidan thought, sighing. I never had hobbies or played sports or anything...
Looking up, he glanced at the children, some of whom were sitting around the crafts table. After long moments of thought he rose and walked over there. Mary, who was busy sticking big red buttons onto a shoebox that had been spray painted silver, looked up as he approached. She flashed a gap tooth smile that had Aidan smiling back.
"Whatcha doing?" he asked, crouching beside the table.
"Making a photo box," Mary replied in her small, slightly lisping voice. "Leda says we don't have enough books for all our pictures so we gotta make somethin' they can go in."
It took Aidan a moment to realize that by books she meant photo albums. He imagined that she must have some trouble with the word 'album', especially with her front teeth currently missing. He settled down on the floor beside the table, deciding to watch first. Aidan never noticed when first Martha, then Leda appeared to watch him for a few minutes before getting back to work.
*****
"Oh...oh my!"
Leda clapped her hands over her mouth and fought hard not to giggle. It wouldn't be polite. Martha had no such qualms and she was laughing loudly and heartily, so that they could hear her even as she headed into the crafts room to clean up the mess. Aidan looked furious, and Leda couldn't really blame him. Aside from the massive amounts of glitter in his hair and on his clothes, he'd also managed to get silver paint all up his arms.
"I uh...I should have warned you," Leda stammered, fighting back laughter. "Tara can get um...a little carried away with the glitter. Although the paint is a new one..."
Aidan scowled. "Mary had me hold another shoebox for her while she sprayed it."
"Let me guess," Leda said, grinning. "While you have been silvered, the shoebox has not."
The look on his face was answer enough. Leda found Ginny (another member of the hospice staff) and asked her to take over her last chores. Since they had Aidan helping, not everyone had a full schedule, and Ginny was one who didn't. Leda knew from first hand experience just how uncomfortable it could be to spend any length of time covered in glitter and paint, so she decided to take Aidan home. And not a moment too soon, she thought, glancing at him. He sure looks grumpy.
By the time they reached the apartment he was showing signs of his normal self. Leda winced as he slammed the bathroom door. Maybe he'd regained his memory. I guess I should take care of dinner, she thought, as she opened up the refrigerator. If he's remembered then there's little I can do, but if not maybe I can distract him.
It was really too bad things had ended up this way. Leda had snatched a few minutes here and there when she could to watch Aidan working with the children. She'd been surprised at the level of his patience. He'd helped with a lot of the things the children didn't or couldn't do, like cutting. Watching him, Leda had been overwhelmed first by a feeling of warmth, then by the urge to brush a stray lock of hair away from his face. He definitely looks better without it slicked back, she thought.
Aidan hadn't been able to get all the glitter from his hair. Of course, since he was only wearing a towel it was hard to pay attention to his hair. Although he was usually so modest, he didn't so much as glance at her before pulling off the towel. Leda turned away, startled. She could hear rustling as he pulled on his clothes. No doubt he was still angry. That's more like the Aidan Kirkland I know, she thought, sighing.
"You know," Leda said aloud. The rustling stopped. "I was really impressed today. With you, I mean..."
"You were?" His voice was hesitant.
Leda turned to face him, relieved and yet not that he had some pants on. "Yeah. You were really good with the kids...especially Mary."
"I uh...well...there wasn't anything else to do," Aidan said quietly, looking away.
That seemed to ease his anger, but it also left him practically silent for the rest of the evening. So maybe he didn't remember anything, Leda thought. She watched him closely throughout dinner, but he showed no signs that anything had changed.
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Keywords: 04, Prince, Ch., Charming?,