INVITATION

As the three of them stood looking at each other in that small living room, tension grew bit by bit.

"Eric, please go home," Fiona said as she pushed him to the door.

"What is the problem? No, keep doing what you were doing. I apologize for interrupting" Samuel quickly said, walking to his room.

Eric glared at Samson and grabbed his arm.

"Let me go, I'm leaving, am I not?" Samuel confronted Eric. Eric could tell Samuel was upset but was trying to hide it, so he decided to put him to the test.

"I love Fiona, and I was about to ask her out before you barged in," he stated.

"What are you doing, Eric?" Fiona's face shifted from fear to confusion.

Samuel yanked himself free of his grip and landed him a punch.

"You just met her scumbag and want to date her?" He asked before leaving the house.

Eric stroked his chin. He expected it, and it proved Samuel's feelings for Fiona.

"Or, to put it another way, more than fond," he muttered.

"What was the point of that?" Fiona questioned, raising her hand.

"Please don't slap me, this is painful enough," Eric said, shielding his face with his hand.

"What exactly did you do? Why did you deceive him? People are waiting for me to resurrect memories I never forgot. Eric, I'm running out of time!" As she spoke, tears streamed down her cheeks at breakneck speed.

"I'm sorry, Jane; I didn't mean to explain to him in that way; his reaction was off, so I had to checkpoint him," he quickly apologized.

"All right, I'll leave you alone; we'll talk later," Eric resolved to leave so she could calm down.

"Wait," She stopped him as he approached the door.

"Yes,"

"Call me Fiona, not Jane. Don't spoil the rest of my story,"

"Yes, ma," Eric replied as he closed the door behind him.

"Ahh," As she thumped her body on the couch, she sighed. She scratched her chin, hoping that a solution to Eric's mess would appear. The situation at hand is simply too difficult to handle. She wasn't finished with Roger, and Eric brought up another complicated issue.

"I haven't even recovered!" She exclaimed as new tears began to fall.

———

As he opened the door, Eric removed his shoes. The day did not go as planned, and the reason was Samuel, who barged into them unexpectedly, leaving them speechless.

"I guess Mrs. Tess is with Samuel's grandmother," he muttered aloud, noticing her shoes were not in front of the door to the living room.

"Eric!" A girl yelled as she ran up to him and hugged his legs. She had dark skin and lovely blonde hair that flowed down her back.

"Katherine! Dear little girl, "As she hugged his leg, he quickly carried her.

Katherine was Mrs. Tess's granddaughter. She was in sixth grade.

"I had a lot to say about where we went with teacher Yvonne last week, but you weren't here when I came," she grumbled.

"Well, I'm here now, tell me," he said as he lowered her to the floor, smiling.

"That's the issue, and I can tell you right now without charging you," she frowned as she extended her hand in front of him.

"Was it $5 for that teddy bear we saw at the mall? Why did I keep my wallet?" Eric made a contemplative expression by holding his chin.

"You should know that I am no fool! You better give me that money. Alright, take a seat, and let me explain." She dashed back into the living room and sat on the couch, motioning for him to join her.

"Milady, I'm tired; why don't we put it off until later?" He wanted to go back to his room and think about what had happened earlier.

"Nooo, I'm going to cry," Katherine pouted.

"Why are you being so stubborn? Okay, let's hear what you have to say," Eric reluctantly agreed.

"So, we went to this really big..."

In Eric's ears, Katherine's explanation was like a passing train.

"This is going to complicate things," he reasoned. To summarize Jane's story in his own words, she ran away and one of the workers knows where she is. What if he tells on her? They'll take her back, and even the cops won't say anything because of the connection they have with them. So, what are they going to do now? He needs to hear the rest of the story, especially the part about the recent visit, to get an answer to his question.

"So take it," Katherine said, jolting him out of his reverie as she handed him an envelope.

"What exactly did you say?" Eric inquired, his face puzzled as he stared at the envelope.

"You weren't paying attention, were you?" Her small jaw clenched as she locked her gaze on him.

"I was paying attention; I didn't just hear the last part of what you said," He lied before opening the envelope.

"My teacher said I should give this invitation to a school play to my guardian," she explained as she noticed him struggling to understand the contents of the letter inside the envelope.

"Why didn't you give it to Grandma?" He inquired after reading the letter.

"Grandma is too busy to come to my play, but you are too free, so you must come," she said as she stood up from the couch to go to her room.

"Wow, I'm also very busy, if you must know," Eric exclaimed as he stood up.

"One more thing," she said as she came to a halt halfway to her room.

"What?" He inquired, hoping not to be forced to do anything else.

"You must bring someone, it is mandatory, most likely a female species," she replied, smirking.

"Kat, you're only 12 years old; protect your childhood," He stated.

Katherine laughed and she entered her room.

"Hold on a second!" Eric chuckled then held his chin that was hurting.

This was the ideal time to spend alone with Jane. But what if Samuel refuses to let him bring her to the play because of what happened earlier? So he'd have to talk it out with him.

"I should call Jane," He brought out his phone and was about to call her when he realized he didn't have her phone number.

"Shit," he muttered to himself.

"Should I return there?" As he sat back on the couch, he pondered. What if Samuel is at home and would prefer not to collect another punch? Thank goodness Katherine didn't notice his face, or did she notice but refused to speak?

"I need to sleep," he murmured as he ran his fingers through his hair. Things were getting too much on his mind lately.

"Eric, Eric," Katherine said as she tapped him on the shoulder. He got to his feet and stretched his arms. He looked at the wall m.

"Wait a minute..." he exclaimed. How did he manage to sleep for so long?

"Did you eat?" He asked Katherine, who was staring at him.

"I should be asking you to go eat, I boiled some potatoes," she replied before heading to the kitchen.

Eric let out a sigh. He will be eternally grateful to Mrs. Tess for teaching Katherine how to care for herself when she is alone at home.

His phone suddenly rang, and it was Samuel's grandmother calling.

"Yes, Grandma," he said as he answered the phone.