Days Passing

(Jayden)

Fourteen years later…

"Bianca, we're going to be late!" I shouted from downstairs.

"It's not my fault you forgot to set up the alarm clock!" Bianca called.

"Every single time you have a tennis game you wake up a few hours early," I yelled.

"I need to go for a jog to warm up!" Bianca said as she rushed down the stairs. She had a bob hairstyle. The tips of her hair had been bleached and her dark skin contrasted well with her glasses' color. She wore a pink floral dress and high heeled shoes.

"Sydney said that we needed to be there by ten, it's nine thirty for god's sake," I said.

"You were the person who spent the entire night writing, you had the light on!" Bianca said.

This was a daily routine every single time an important event came around, we would always oversleep. "Writing is my job, I'm not even done with my rough draft yet!"

I could hear crying from upstairs, "Can you go get the baby?" I asked.

"You're his favorite, I'll go pack the car."

Who knew that I would be late for my baby's sip and see. I hurried up the stairs and into the nursery. "Hey there little guy, come to daddy!" I said.

The baby looked more like Bianca. Dark skin, brown hair and he had her smile. The only thing he shared with me was that he was a boy. Ok that's me being unreasonable but that's the just of it. I grabbed the boy and carried him down the stairs making sure not to drop him.

The boy was two months old yet we didn't have a name for him.

My mother in law wanted to name him Logan because it was Bianca's great grandfather's name but I said no. Why would we name him such a popular name? However Bianca just wanted a name. She wanted to name him Roger, but that sounded like something out of a war movie.

Did I mention that she spoiled this kid. She would let him do whatever he wanted, I mean whatever he wanted. He wanted to go electrocute himself, she would let him do it. He wanted to go take a bath without one of those baby bathtubs, she would let him do it.

I would question it every now and then, but she would always come up with the same excuse.

"Do you want him to resent you and run away like you did?" She would say.

I still loved her and we had been married for three years now. Oh, and the proposal was the worst thing that could ever happen to me. When I went down to propose I tripped on the red carpet ripping my favorite pair of dress pants. I dropped the ring and had to ask somebody to find it while covering up my underwear and making sure Bianca didn't notice. It was a disaster. Then I went to propose and totally said: "Will you carry me." She thought it was a joke, but I was so embarrassed. Then when I went in to kiss her, I tripped on the carpet again and we both fell off the chair; pure embarrassment.

"JAYDEN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Bianca shouted.

I then realized I had taken the baby and put him in a cooler bag. "Sorry, I'm sorry."

Bianca sighed and took the baby out of my arms.

He began to kick and scream as he shouted for me.

"Hey hey, it's ok little guy," Bianca said as she bobbed him up and down.

"God damn Bianca, just give him to me!" I said.

Bianca sighed and handed me the baby. "See he loves you more."

"Maybe because he's self aware that you spoil him, he's a smart kid," I said.

"Do you want him to resent you and run away like you did?" Bianca asked.

Off she goes again. I thought. "In my defence, I was abused, all I do to this little guy is cuddle and tickle."

"Yeah yeah, now get into the car, I don't want to be late," Bianca said.

"We're already late hun' what's the point in…" My voice trailed off.

"What is it?" Bianca asked.

I walked into the laundry room and wheeled out my old blue wheelchair. "Where did you find this?" I asked.

"Vienna gave it to me; it was just collecting dust so I, took the liberty to clean it up."

I stared down at it. I hadn't needed it in a while. My legs could move and I had relearned to walk.

"Jayden, is something wrong?" Bianca asked.

"No, it's just I haven't thought about that conflict we had all those years ago," I said.

"Wonder what happened to Rachelle," Bianca said. "No matter, we have to go!"

We ran out of the house and into the car. "Alright and we're off."

"I feel like we're forgetting something," Bianca said and shrugged. Then her eyes went wide.

"THE BABY!" We both gasped.

I pulled back into the driveway and opened the door. Of all the things we could've forgotten, it had to be the baby. The one thing we needed at this party. I mean it still would've been bad if we had forgotten him anyways but still.

Bianca tried to get me to move as fast as possible, but the more I stressed out the more clumsy I would become. I grabbed the child and hurried out the door not looking back for a second. I buckled him into his seat and we drove off.

"Oh god, what an idiot move- OW!"

Bianca slapped me on the wrist. "Watch it, we don't want the baby to develop your language."

I flicked my wrist in pain, "I'm driving Bianca!"

However Bianca just pouted and looked out the window.

She reminded me of how Chloe, who we had also lost touch with. Chloe loved nature, she would look out the window of the rehearsal hall during choir.

"Hey we're here!" I said.

Bianca looked up, "Why did Sydney have to rent a house back in Manchester?"

Bianca and I had moved to Liverpool when we got married.

It was a forty minute drive to Manchester which was nice, but it was always extremely busy.

We hurried out of our car and into the large house.

The walls on the house were made of stone. It had a modern look to it but when we entered, it was far from modern. It looked like a castle dining hall.

All the plastic tables were covered with a white tablecloth. The walls were covered in flowers and a large table for me and the baby was placed in the middle.

"Jayden, Bianca it's been so long!" said a voice in a thick british accent. That could only mean one thing.

I turned around and Sydney came up and hugged me.

"Hey Syd," Bianca smiled.

"We saw you a week ago," I said as she let go.

Sydney laughed, "I know, but it's felt like forever."

I smiled gratefully.

Sydney had grown into a hard working woman. She owned a company working on creating recyclable synthetic fibers. She made a killing when other clothing companies bought her prototypes. Sydney also had developed a hobby. She loved planning weddings, baby showers, funerals, you name it. She was really good at it too.

"Well hello there little guy," Sydney said bending down to see my son in his baby carrier. "Why don't you come play with Auntie Sydney."

"You're not his aunt Syd," Bianca said softly.

"It's an Asian thing," Sydney said as she lifted my child into her arms. "Aren't you a cute one."

"Be careful with him, he's a mischievous one," Bianca told her.

Sydney laughed. "I have nieces of my own, I know how they work."

"And, he wouldn't be this way if you didn't spoil him!" I said.

Bianca laughed, "Don't be so dramatic."

"I'm not bein-"

I was interrupted by a familiar voice. "Hey, it's everyone's favorite american!"

Sydney looked annoyed. "What do you want Sean?"

Sean smiled slyly. "Why don't we go back over to my seat and have a little round of speed, like the old days?" Sean looked exactly the same. His hair was extremely messy and he wore shorts and a t-shirt.

"Thought I told you to wear something more formal," Sydney said.

"Why, it's not like this is a special occasion," Sean laughed.

Sydney nodded to the baby, "It kind of is."

Sean's eyes went wide. "Oh, so that's what this is for."

"Didn't you get the invite?" I asked.

Sean shook his head, "Ito got it, I don't check my email."

Bianca laughed and buried her face in my shoulder. "Classic Sean."

"Hey Sean, you still keep up with that Sea Breeze Air Freshener?" I asked.

Sean grabbed a bottle from Sydney's purse. "Here," He said as he tossed it up into the air.

"I was wondering why my bag smelt so funny," Sydney joked.

I took the bottle and placed it in Bianca's arms. "Thanks man."

Sean bowed in an awkward manner.

"Sean, stop it," Sydney groaned.

Bianca finally stopped laughing, "I'm going to go talk with my parents, I'll see you guys in a bit."

She hurried off into the crowd.

"How's Ito?" I asked Sean.

"She's fine," Sean answered. "The kids though, it was so much easier when you were living with us."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

Sean winced. "Well, the oldest just got a raise."

"What, isn't the oldest only three?" I shouted.

"Calm down, I'm kidding," Sean laughed. "You're so gullible."

I laughed. "Where is she?"

"Table five," Sydney said. "Why don't you go hang out with them while we set up for the games."

Sean grabbed my hand. "Come on, she'll be really happy to see you."

I was dragged off by Sean past so many people I recognized.

Sydney's parents, Bianca's cousins, and-

"Vienna!" I gasped.

Vienna Bauer turned around. Her silky hair looked astonishing. "JAY!" She shouted. She ran as fast as she could in my direction. I was impressed how fast she could run in heels.

"How are you Vienna?" I asked.

"Doing great, but I miss you," She said as she hugged me.

Sean cleared his throat. "Ito is kind of waiting…"

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that."

Sean closed his eyes. "American as ever."

(Ito)

"Ito, guess who's here!" My husband shouted.

I noticed a tall brown haired man walk over to our table wearing a black tux.

"Jayden Davis, my you've grown!" I said sarcastically.

"I see you've adopted Sean's sense of humor. How are you Ito?" Jay said.

"Good, the kids are fine, I'm fine-"

"Where are the kids?" Jay asked.

Sean gave me a menacing look.

"They're playing with you in-laws, they've taken a liking to Bianca's father," I told them.

"Phew, you almost had me there," Sean laughed. "Anyways, speed?"

"Is it really an appropriate time to play?" Jay asked.

"If you want, I can take care of… what's the baby's name?" I asked.

"No name yet, and Sydney's already got that covered," Jay smiled.

I looked over his shoulder.

Sydney was cradling the baby in her arms and talking with some of the guests.

"Has anyone told you he looks like his mother?" Sean asked as he pulled out a deck of cards from my purse.

Jay looked behind him, "I mean, it was kind of obvious."

Sean sat down across from Jay. "Let's get this game started!"

Jay picked up five cards and took a deep breath. "3, 2, 1, GO!"

Sean and Jay both flipped their card and they were off.

Jay was moving like lightning leaving Sean in the dust.

"I've still got it!" Jay said as he placed his second to last card.

Sean still had half his deck left. "Um, how long was that?"

"Come on Sean, you've gotta place down your last card," Jay taunted him.

Sean placed down a five and Jay quickly placed down a six just as Sean's hand left the card.

"Speed!" He said as he slammed his hands on the table.

Sean raised his hands in defeat. "You still got it."

Jay stood up and shook Sean's hand. "Well done my good sir."

"Yeah yeah, soak it up." Sean laughed.

I watched as they both laughed together.

"How 'bout we go get ourselves a beer," Sean recommended. "I don't think Sydney's ready yet."

I looked behind Jay.

Sydney had been cuddling with the baby.

"Sure, I'll go-"

"No, you stay here and chat with Ito," Sean suggested. "I'll go get us something to drink." Sean hurried off.

We both stared at each other in an awkwards silence.

"So…" Jay said, trying to break the silence. "Did you guys go anywhere recently?"

"We did, I went to visit my father in Japan," I told him.

"So nothing extremely interesting?" Jay asked.

"I would say that was interesting," I said.

Jay shrugged.

"What about you guys?" I asked.

Jay didn't know what to say. I could tell because he started to sweat. "I went back to the U.S."

"Why?" I asked.

"I needed to clear some things up, and I wanted Bianca to see where I came from," Jay explained.

"Did you run into-"

"No, thank god," Jay said. "They would beg me to stay, but Bianca wants to go back and find them."

"Sydney knew them right?" I asked.

Jay nodded, "I was planning on asking her to help me out."

"You should, face your past I mean," I told him.

People started clapping and we both turned to see what was going on.

"Bianca says that she has a name for the baby!" Sydney said.

Everyone raised the cups and cheered.

"What, a name?" Jay gasped. "I thought we decided to agree to this together."

"Guess not," I said.

Bianca stood on a chair and raised the baby, "I would like you to meet, Baby Sterling Davis!"

Everyone clapped and Jay dug his teeth into one of the loaves of bread on the table to hide himself from view.

"Um Jay, are you doing ok?" I asked.

Jay nodded and started laughing. "God that's so bad."

"I think it suits him, you know what Sterling means, right?" I asked.

Jay shook his head.

"It means high quality or genuine," I explained. "Bianca asked me first."

"I forgot you were such a nerd," Jay laughed.

"Hey, just because you have no smarts doesn't mean you can tease people who took their education seriously!" I shouted.

Jay raised his hands defensively, "Didn't mean to make you mad, I just never saw education as important as survival."

"How could I forget, you lived on the streets with no education whatsoever."

"That's a low blow coming from you," Jay laughed.

We both shared that laugh together remembering how hard life was back then.

"They always said that life would get harder overtime, but if Income tax and taxes are all I have to worry about," Jay said.

"You know there's also a hydro bill, electrical bill-"

"Yeah yeah, I know." Jay said cutting me off. "Don't worry, I've already been through the tough times, now it's easy times and I can just relax."

"Can you though?" I asked.

Jay gave me a confused look, "What do you mean, life is easy now."

"What about, well that problem?" I asked quietly. "Don't you think that she'll, you know."

"I know what?" Jay asked me, raising an eyebrow.

"Rachelle, won't she come after you still?" I asked.

"Of course not!" Jay said as he blew raspberry.

"But she's Rachelle, she's persistent," I said.

"I know that, but it's been years, I'm sure she's changed," Jay said.

The question was, had she? She was older now, but sometimes people don't change. I had a feeling Rachelle might be one of those people. However perhaps Jay was right. Maybe Rachelle had changed. But I wouldn't know that. No matter, there wasn't a point in wondering, Rachelle hadn't talked to Jay in a while and nobody kept in touch with her or Chloe. The only thing that was in my mind at that moment, was that very question. What was Rachelle up to?

(Sydney)

"Thank you so much for setting up this party," Bianca said.

I smiled, "Hey don't worry about it, now go have fun!"

"But what about-"

"I've got Sterling, you go hang out with your family," I told her.

"Thanks Sydney, you're the best," Bianca smiled as she rushed off to see her family.

I sighed "Hey there little guy, why don't we go and say hi to your relatives?"

The baby squealed like he knew what I was saying.

I hurried over to Biaca's mother, "Hello Mr Jefferson," I said.

Her father was of caucasian descent. He had light skin and brown hair. Bianca looked more like her mother, but still had his brown hair.

"Oh, Mrs Liu, how are you?" Mrs Jefferson said and waved at me.

Mr Jefferson nodded and continued to talk with the men.

"I'm doing fine," I told her.

"And is this my grandson?" She asked.

I nodded, "This is Sterling."

Mrs Jefferson smiled. Wrinkles formed around her eyes. "Oh what a sweetheart."

Sterling reached for his grandmother.

"May I?" Mrs Jefferson asked.

"Of course," I answered as I gave the baby to her.

Mrs Jefferson cradled Sterling in her arms. "How's the father?"

"Jayden, he's doing fine," I responded.

"Oh I know he's doing fine, but is he a good man?" Mrs Jefferson asked.

"He's changed a lot," I explained.

"How so?" Mrs Jefferson asked.

"He's more confident in himself then he was before," I told her.

Mrs Jefferson smiled, "That's good."

I looked to the clock, "Oh time for our first game."

Mrs Jefferson handed me the baby.

Sterling squealed and tried to get back to his grandmother.

"All right everyone, as you can see young Sterling here is fussing, why don't we tell him some jokes," I said. "First person to make him laugh wins."

One at a time, the men tried to get Sterling to laugh, but he was a tough one.

Finally Jay walked over. "Alright little guy, you ready?"

Sterling didn't even react.

Jay cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak. But when he took a step forward, he tripped over the red carpet and landed on his back.

"Jay!" Vienna gasped.

Sterling's eyes went wide, then he started giggling.

"Oh god, that hurt," Jay said as he brushed off his pants.

Vienna and Bianca came rushing to my aid.

"Are you alright?" Vienna asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jay said as he stood up.

Vienna laughed to herself, "At least you won."

"I know my son best," Jay said victoriously.

"You mean you're a klutz, right?" Bianca asked.

"Ha ha, very funny," Jay said sarcastically, "Now we know our son loves slapstick humor."

"Wow, what a detailed explanation," I said. "Where does he get."

"Ok, soak it up now people," Jay said. "Come on, I can handle it."

Everyone started laughing leaving poor Jay humiliated.

"Well done son," Mr Jefferson said, slapping Jay on the back.

Jay leaned over to me, "You know, I never got used to being the only one who spoke in an american accent, it still feels weird."

"Oh come on," I said. "You get used to it."

"And you have the thickest accent of all, and you're chinese," Jay said.

"What can I say, England just brushed off of me I guess," I laughed as I slapped my knee.

Jay sighed, "Can I take the baby now?"

"Be my guest," I handed Jay his child. "Don't drop him," I said with a wink.

Jay rolled his eyes, "I won't, I'm not-" Jay yawned. "I'm not that clumsy."

"Um Jay, are you alright?" Vienna asked.

"Yeah, just tired," Jay said. "Here Sis' take this," Jayden passed Sterling to Vienna who was stunned. The fact that Jay had called her sis' made Vienna go pale.

"What?" Jay asked.

Vienna shook her head, "Oh it's nothing," She gently held Sterling and bobbed up and down.

Bianca and I helped Jay onto a seat.

"I think all those restless nights are finally catching up to me," Jay said. "I need to lie down."

"Hey, it's alright," Bianca said as she put her hand on his forehead. "I'm here."

"I know, thank you," Jay smiled as he closed his eyes.

"Jay, JAY?" Bianca gasped.

Jay started to shudder, "I'm ok Bianca, just let me rest."

"Wait Jay, wake up," Bianca said, shaking him.

"Jesus, I'm not dying Bianca, I'm just tire…" Jay drifted off onto the chair and collapsed.

"Jay, JAYDEN!" Bianca shouted.

"I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation," Vienna said.

Everyone huddled around Jay who was asleep.

"Is he alive?" Sean asked.

"SHUT US SEAN, OF COURSE HE'S ALIVE!" I yelled.

"I mean is he though?" Sean asked.

"My freaking god Sean," I shouted. "Why wouldn't he be alive?"

"I mean besides the fact that he's foaming from the mouth," Sean said in such a calm tone I thought he was kidding.

However, when I looked down, white foam was coming out of Jay's mouth.

"Oh my god," I gasped. "Not again!"

"Wait, this has happened before?" Mrs. Jefferson asked.

"Not exactly, but Jay has the tendency to do this kind of thing," I explained.

"Do what kind of thing?" Mr Jefferson asked.

"He has… Issues," Vienna explained. "We need to get him to the hospital, fast!"

"Bianca, call an ambulance, get them here now!" I shouted.

Bianca nodded and grabbed her phone.

Jay needed to survive.

I was determined to make sure Sterling had a father, he needed his father.

We waited a few minutes until the paramedics arrived. We could hear sirens and a loud knock at the door.

I quickly ran to the door and opened it.

Three paramedics ran in with a stretcher.

"Good glory," Said one of them. "Some party huh?"

"Yes, now hurry up!" Bianca shouted.

They placed Jay on the stretcher and carried him to the white ambulance outside.

"I hope he'll be alright," Vienna said.

"Well there's no point worrying, Bianca where the hell is your car?" I asked.

Bianca pointed outside to a blue car.

"Blue was always Jay's color," Vienna said.

"Yeah, now let's hurry!" I shouted.

We ran out the door and into the car.

Bianca put Sterling in his carseat and quickly ran to the driver's seat.

I sat in the front while Vienna sat in the back.

"Hurry up!" Vienna said frantically.

Bianca placed her keys in the slot and stepped on the gas pedal.

We sped off following the ambulance closely.

I was wishing that all the traffic lights would be green so we could follow the ambulance, but that was wishful thinking.

"I'm surprised they didn't ask Bianca to go with Jay," Vienna commented.

"Yeah, me too," Bianca said.

"It'll be ok, it always is," Vienna reassured her.

"This time, I'm not so sure," Bianca answered.