Sorry is not enough

Rominic's viewpoint

I walked over to her, she was going to cry. "I really like this shoes, Daddy, why doesn't it fit?" I crouched between her small and carelessly opened legs.

"Because you are growing and becoming a little lady," I pinched her cheek, making her to giggle, "why don't I take these to the sales girl and ask if they have a bigger size and if they don't, I'll get my designer to make one for you…"

"With more glitters?" She asked with wide, twinkling eyes. I chuckled and stroke her chin.

"And all the sparkles in the world,"

"Yay!"

"Yes! I finally got it! I'll buy both the glitter one and the royal one! Zach, what do you think?"

"When will you realize that I don't care?" Zach sighed jadedly. It was followed by a loud smack and a cry. I chuckled to myself.

After getting the shoes, I was dragged to a shop for hats and beads, Zach loved beads, so it made him happy for the moment. After beads shopping, I found myself buying them jewelries, getting a stylist to make Sera's hair more curly like Serenity's, so they would look more alike like they said and let them get a streak of colors in their hair for easy identification. Sera got a color she kept calling liseran purple and Serene got candy pink. But honestly, I can't tell what's the difference between the two colors… Okay, maybe I can't tell the difference between a lot of things when it comes to my daughters.

After their hair, they got a manicure and pedicure and made me take them to a place they could get their skins to glow. The boys didn't really do more than buy toys, games and most things I would want if I'm a little boy. They even got themselves bicycles. We were finally done, at least I think we are.

"Oh," Sera said, placing her hand on her forehead, "I'm so hungry I can eat you, Zach, which is saying something because you are too skinny and tasteless to be eaten. Now, if it's Zyaire… No, he would make me dumb, Zayne is the least scrawny among you three idiots…"

"Why do you find joy in picking on me? You have been doing that recently,"

"Because, my dear little brother, you are miserable and miserable people need to be tormented," she smiled, pinching his cheek, "take Sokka for example,"

"I am not miserable, I am just not in the mood! And you are only older than me by five minutes!"

"Five minutes, three, even two seconds," she shrugged, "the point remains what it is, I came first, and you came next, so I'm older, little brother," she taunted.

"Call me that again and I'll…"

"Adore me? Oh, thank you," she said cockily, flipping her newly curled hair, "see my hair, little brother? It's better than yours…"

"Why you…"

"Okay, let's find you all something to eat before you eat each other," I chuckled.

"You mean before I eat diseased meat, get an infection and die. Hear that, Zach? You have a disease,"

"Urgh! Mr. Verlice, tell Sera to leave me alone!"

I hate that name.

"Okay, okay, let's go home and on our way back, we can stop at somewhere for ice cream," Zyaire pleaded more than said, he was looking at me.

"Sure, I think I know a good place,"

"See? Now that's why I love you, Zyaire, you are not completely stupid,"

"I know! I'm like Batman!"

"Yeah, and I'm Taylor Swift," Sera said sarcastically, Serenity giggled. I rolled my eyes with a smile as I let them lead me to my car. Guess I was right for bringing an SUV along with my car.

~~~

How did Lavender deal with five children all by herself? Barely an hour and I was already dying of tiredness. Jeez! They can argue and disturb! Halfway through their cherry-topped ice cream and pizza, Serenity wanted to pee and before I could say a word, they cried that they wanted to pee too. I wasn't allowed into the lady's room because Sera said and I quote:

"Every woman should be respected with their very own privacy, whether big or small because privacy is what makes a woman get-up-and-go. So get lost, mister, shoo." And I wasn't allowed to be inside the men's room because my boys demanded privacy as well.

"If women can get privacy, then get out, Dad, you're prying in our private business,"

Fantastic.

The door opened and an annoyed Zachary came out grumbling, glaring at the doors as he continued to walk towards me. I took in a deep breath and smiled and cleared my throat. He halted, looked at me and scoffed.

"What do you want?"

"You know, when I was your age, I didn't have the guts to speak to people that way, let alone my parents,"

"You know, when you were my age, you weren't living from hand to mouth, watching your siblings go through this life-threatening sickness to the other, watching your mother labor and struggle each and every single day just to bring food on the table for you. You didn't have to watch her cry herself to sleep or offer her body as a means to earn money while you are fully aware of the asshole father that practically ruined her life and yours. So, my dear father, you had no reason to be like me now that I am this age." His red eyes glared at me. I smiled sadly at the little bitter boy. If it were me, I would feel the same.

"You know I didn't know about you and your siblings, if I knew…"

"What? You would have kept her prisoner until she gave birth and then gotten rid of her so your pretty wife can turn us to a fairy tale novel? You would have magically changed your mind and give her everything you took away after shattering her heart and her trust? Tell me, 'father', what would you have done?!"

"I will not lie that I would have given her everything, I don't know what I would have done then but now, I am sorry…"

"Sorry doesn't fix it, Mr. Verlice, sorry doesn't make up for the pain she had to endure and the pain she is still enduring," tears rolled down his cheeks, "sorry doesn't soothe this hotness in my chest, sorry doesn't make up for the lost years, the years we suffered in the street. Mr. Verlice, sorry is never enough to fix anything,"

"But sorry is enough to begin," I countered. He kept closing his mouth and re-opening it to say something, but nothing came out. Serafina walked out of the restroom, adjusting her dress.

"Sheep, hurry up!"

"I am not a sheep!" Serene cried. Sera laughed silently and walked towards us with a wide smile. She paused and looked at us suspiciously, giving Zach the look I had grown use to.

"Should I care why you are crying?" She asked, her hands on her hips.

"No, I'm fine,"

"Oh, you are, I can't see the tears you have on your face on anything," she said sarcastically, "but whatever, do what you like, I'm going to get more ice cream."

And I need to think.

~~~

"Good evening, Mom!"

"Welcome home, kids, how was your day?" Lavender asked, her eyes fixed on the books she was arranging. Serenity gasped.

"Mommy, are those our books?"

"Yup, you are staring school coming Monday, or taking the test rather," the children cheered, except the moody little one. I kept my eyes on him, watching his every move. "So, how was your day?"

"Boring, I'm going to bed, goodnight." I watched him exit again, going to hide himself in his room, away from me. I could never make up for what I did. Only he knew what his mother went through. He must have spent the years watching her, even more than she knew. It made my heart squeeze more just thinking about what she had to endure to keep them alive. Especially the sleeping with men part.

Bloody bastard men!

"You should go after him," her voice made me look at her. She was nonchalantly arranging the books, "go to him,"

"He hates me,"

"Think about what you can give him and see what wonders it creates," she glanced at me, giving me a brief smile, "just try to remember what you have learned from being with the children today."

"I didn't learn anything about them, just how to carry bags and deal with noise," I said crossly. She looked up at me and gave me her cryptic smile, one that always made me flick her forehead. My fingers tingled with the familiar urge to do it, but I resisted.

"What's Serenity's favorite colors?"

"That's easy, honey gold and pink. She, however, likes some certain pinks only for some certain things. For example, her teddy bears can only have carnation pink, candy pink, dark pink, coral pink and three other pinks I don't know. She loves candy pink hair, her dress must not be Barbie pink, and she prefers all her shoes to be one pink color that sounds like cherry but not it."

"And Serafina?"

"Can never decide what's her favorite besides the shade of purple in her hair and the blue of her shoes, she really hates red. Zyaire, on the other hand, loves red and green, Zach prefers colors that make him look like a bad boy, and Zayne loves any color that reminds him of food."

"What do they like to wear?"

"Sera loves dresses, gowns especially, but Serenity hate them. She prefers skirts and jumpsuits. Zayne wears anything that makes him glow, Zyaire don't care as long as the clothing has any superhero logo, and Zachary is your typical cool kid. Why all these ridiculous questions?" She rolled her eyes.

"Think it through," I opened my mouth to snap, but shut it back when what she said actually made sense. I didn't know that before. I learned quite a lot about them, including their likes and dislikes. I knew exactly what to give him.

~~~

I knocked on his room door gently for the third time. "If your last name is Verlice, scram," he repeated for the third time. I opened the door and walked in. "I thought I said no Verlice allowed," he said, not removing his eyes from his laptop screen. I quietly walked to him and dropped the laptop on his small desk. He glanced at it only to return with a gasp.

"You know my company works with gadgets of many kinds, this model was made exclusively for me, but I think you would make better use of it," he raised his head to look at me with wide eyes. I smiled and dropped my backup credit card for him. "You can buy your bird any house he wants and order for anything that would help you with your inventions and if you ever encounter any issue figuring things out, you can come to me, I'm a pro…"

"But why?"

"Because," I ruffled his head, "you have The Verlice brain and I wouldn't want to stop you. Or if you want, you can use my laboratory whenever you get an idea, it can help the company…"

"I have lots of ideas!" He squealed, his eyes twinkling with excitement. "I'll show you!" He stood up and ran to his drawer to get something. He came back with a big book, slammed it on the desk and sat down. "All the ones I haven't tried and the ones that failed. I was thinking a cool skateboard for kids, boys would go gaga to get a high-tech one, don't you think so, da… Ur… Mr. Verlice?" He almost said it, he almost did. Maybe sorry is not enough to take away the pains and memories, but it is enough to begin a new chapter.