Broken (Endurance) (11 page)

Max waved back then concentrated on his work out.  Samuel looked at his watch.  It was late, but Samuel figured he would stay up and wait for Max to return. He was anxious to become friends with his new roommate. The more he knew about Max's exotic wife, the easier it would be to trap her. Samuel still didn't know her name and didn't want to ask, fearing Max would become too suspicious. He’d already become defensive quickly enough and it probably wouldn’t take much to send him on high alert. Samuel decided to play it safe. He had time after all. He went back to his dorm room and relaxed on his bed having no clue when he dosed off.

***

Mei paced her dorm room, trying to console her son who was crying for his father. It broke her heart to see him so upset. She kissed his neck and rubbed his back as he cried.  Soon she was crying along with him.

"Baby, you are making Mommy sad," she whispered. She was tempted to go find Max, but she wanted to prove to herself she could handle the situation. Uriel was just used to being around both parents all the time. "This must be so weird for you, baby," she cooed.

She sat down on the couch in the small living room of her dorm. She didn't want to disturb her roommate, but couldn't stop Uriel from crying and whining. She remembered something her grandmother had told her when Uriel was fussy one night. ”"If you don't relax, he won't relax.”

Mei leaned back with Uriel lying on her chest. He looked exhausted.  He cried and yawned at the same time. Mei smiled, took deep breaths and relaxed her mind. She began to see images of Max sitting beside them. He was rubbing Uriel's back and whispering soothing words. Before Mei realized what had happened, Uriel was fast asleep. Too afraid to wake him, she decided to remain where she was until he fell into a deep sleep.

Morning came quickly. Mei was awakened by her roommate, Sandra Hall. She was a sophomore and loved the exotic college life at King Solomon.

"Hey, Mei, you fell asleep on the couch with your baby."

"Oh no," Mei said, slowly cradling his head and back as she sat up and lay Uriel down on the couch. Mei stood and stretched, rotating her neck and groaning at every pop and crack her neck made.

"I can watch him if you want.  My class won't start for another hour and a half. Go take a shower. I got him." Sandra was already seated on the couch next to Uriel.

"Thank you so much," Mei ran off to the shower.

Sandra watched Uriel sleep with utter amazement. He was adorable and she couldn’t help but wonder about the children in her future.  Twenty minutes later when a knock sounded at the door, Sandra rushed to open it. She didn't want whoever it was to wake the baby. Watching a sleeping baby was easy, but she wasn't sure she could keep up with him when he was up and active. She opened the door and had to catch her breath as she faced a tall and incredibly handsome man with a Carmel complexion.  He looked strong and powerful
,
in a tight t-shirt and snug fitting jeans.  His eyes sparkled with intelligence and charm while his smile melted her heart in an instant. 

"Hello. Is Mei up?" Max asked.

Figures, she thought, resisting the urge to glare up at the ceiling. "Actually she’s in the shower."

"Daddy," Uriel said as he groggily made his way to the door.

Max barged in and quickly apologized to Sandra who just had enough time to step out of the way.  Smiling at the happy reunion, she closed the door.

“Where’s my little man?” Max called out.

Uriel came to life as he clumsily ran into his father’s arms. Max tossed him into the air and was rewarded by a heartfelt giggle from Uriel.

“Daddy!”  Now wide awake, he clung onto his father’s neck. Uriel’s beautiful grey eyes filled with water as he took a deep breath.

Max rubbed his son's back and kissed him. “Do you know how much I missed you last night? Huh, little guy?”

The boy giggled and nuzzled some more.

“Daddy loves you so much,” Max murmured, giving Uriel an affectionate squeeze.

Sandra
was taken aback by him. "You must be Max. Hi, I’m Sandra. Mei told me all about you." She reached out to shake his hand.

"Well, I pray it was all good stuff." Max smiled.

"I think you would have to make her pretty mad for her to say something bad about you." Sandra laughed and tried to hide how smitten she was. "Sit. Have a seat.  Mei should be out soon."

Max took a seat on the couch. Uriel was permanently attached to his neck and refused to let go. Max smiled and continued talking to him, his hand gently running circles along his small back. "Was he trouble?" Max asked.

"I would be lying if I said no," Sandra said. "It's the first night, though and Mei warned me this might happen. She said he's used to being around both of you most of the day."

"Yeah, it just kind a happened that way. Lucky for him he doesn't know what it's like to have one parent working all day." Max tickled Uriel's side to make him let go of his neck.

"Hey, we are all blessed here at this school, well most of us anyway."

"Did you say Mei was in the shower?" he asked Sandra.

"Y-yeah, do you need something?"

"Nothing freaky." Max smiled, already reading her mind. "I just want her to bath him before we drop him off at daycare." Max took a whiff of his son. "He smells like a combination of sweat and his momma.  Of course, I don't mind the momma scent."

"You better not," Sandra joked. "Do you want me to let her know you’re here or, well, it's your wife.  I’ll let you take care of that.  I’ll be in the kitchen making coffee for everyone." Sandra walked into the kitchen area.

Max undressed his son, leaving just his diapers. He gently tapped on the door.

Mei yelled, "Open," assuming it was her roommate coming to tell her Uriel was awake.

When Max walked into the bathroom, Mei screamed then laughed. "What are you doing here?"

"I missed you," Max said.

"Momma-dada," Uriel said, kicking his legs excitedly.

"Can you bath him?" Max asked.

"Sure"

Max took of his son’s diaper off and handed him to Mei. "I'll be outside, call me when you need me. Where’s the baby bag?" Max asked, throwing the diaper in the trash.

"Next to my bed in the room."

Max left and nodded at the new arrival, a friend of Sandra’s, he assumed.  After asking Sandra for permission to go into the room she shared with Mei, he retrieved the baby bag and returned to the living room.

"Have a seat, pull up a chair," Sandra said. She sat on the couch next to her friend as they both sipped coffee and admired Max's alluring features.

Max nodded and pulled out one of the dining room chairs to sit on. He relaxed, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. Sandra and her friend giggled quietly, making Max feel uncomfortable. He could hear Sandra's friend forcing her to introducing her to Max. Sandra resisted for a while then gave in. She cleared her throat, getting Max's attention.

"Max, this is my friend Renee Loren. She just transferred here from Harvard," Sandra said.

"What's up? I'm Max, Mei's husband," Max said, feeling the need to make that fact abundantly clear.

"Oh, hi" Renee said, shyly.

"Max!" Mei yelled from the shower.

"Excuse me." Max was happy to leave the room.

The moment he walked into the bathroom, Sandra and Renee burst out laughing. "Oh, my Lord he is... oh, my goodness. That girl better watch her man," Renee said, grinning from ear to ear.

"You should see their baby. He is so cute. When his dad came in, he ran to him. It was so adorable," Sandra said.

"I want to have his baby," Renee replied.

"Girl, this is not a game. He’s married. That's not his girlfriend bathing a fake baby in there. They are a family, and let me tell you, the only reason you’re here, is because I had to take responsibility for you. This school is spiritually based. It's not your normal college or even Christian college. Don't forget they judge you on your character." Finished with her lecture, Sandra gazed intently at her friend.

"Okay. Okay," Renee said, rolling her eyes with exaggerated displeasure.

"Don't mess this up for me," Sandra added.

Max set his son on the bathroom counter and dressed him while Mei took care of dressing herself.

Max couldn't help his wandering eyes as he watched her slip into her bra and thong. Every inch of her was toned and beautiful.  No one would ever think she’d had a child.

"I thought I was going to get a shower," Max teased.

Mei smiled at him. "I had such a rough night without you."

"So did I. Why do you think I was over here so early?"

Mei slid her jeans on and pulled a tank top over her head before slipping her feet into her flip-flops. "I just need to brush my teeth and I’ll be ready."

"Okay, we’ll be in the living room." Max grabbed a firm hold of Uriel and walked out. In the living room he
had been
greeted by an excited Renee, eager to see his son.

"He is so cute. Look at those eyes. Can I hold him?" Renee asked, putting her arms out for Uriel.

Max immediately felt his son tense up and recoil, and knew it just wasn't going to happen. "I don't know.  He’s really shy around strangers."

"Aw, come on. What's his name?"  Renee insisted gently rubbing the boy’s arm.

Before Max could reply, Uriel put his small hand over his father’s mouth and said, "No."

Max burst out laughing. He knew when Uriel said no, that was final. "I'm sorry when he says no, it's no." Max laughed.

Renee held her ground a few seconds more.  No doubt she didn’t readily take no for answer, but this time she would have no choice.  He saw a flicker of pride play on her smiling eyes just moments before she backed off.  Her gaze turned to Mei as she approached.

"Ready babe?" Mei said.

"Yeah, get the baby bag and let’s go. We got like thirty minutes." Max glanced at his watch.

"We can walk with you guys," Renee offered.

"Ah, they’ll be fine," Sandra said, holding Renee back at the door.

"Max, it was nice meeting you. See you around." Sandra waved at Uriel.  “See you later, little guy.”  She closed the door behind and held onto Renee, keeping her from going out and making a fool of herself. .

"What was that about?" Mei asked as they walked out of the short hallway.

"Your son doesn't like your roommate’s friend." Max smiled and nuzzled Uriel.

"Well, I'm sure he has a very good reason," Mei replied. "Let’s go."

They walked to the daycare center, stopping just a few feet from the front door.

"Okay, you know this means war," Max said to Mei. They gazed at Uriel, peaceful and unaware of the upcoming potential tragedy.

"Okay, we will take it slow. Maybe he won't notice when we leave," Mei said.

"Sure," Max said sarcastically, while they walked to the front door.

"Good morning. Is this Uriel?" A childcare attendant walked towards them.

"Yes, and this is his first time at a daycare so..."

"Say no more.  You will be fine and you’re not horrible parents for leaving him here," she instantly replied.