One Wild Night

Neither Aaron nor Candace said a word to each other, instead Jamal did all the talking while they both laughed occasionally whenever Jamal said something funny.

"You said something earlier. Did Tom really promise you a car if you leave Lucy alone?" Aaron asked, and Jamal grinned as he bobbed his head.

"He did."

"So what did you say? Did you promise to let her be?" Aaron asked, and Jamal shook his head.

"Lucy has a car too. So I can as well use her car, right?" Jamal asked making both Aaron and Candace to laugh out loud.

"You raised quite a smart young man," Aaron told Candace, and she smiled. An emotion he couldn't explain tugged on his heart as he watched her smile.

"I have no idea how he grew up to be so smart," Candace said, and Jamal grinned at them both.

"Miss Betty and aunt Andy says I'm a genius," Jamal said with a proud smile, and they both laughed.

"I bet they do. Perhaps I should call you that henceforth," Aaron said as he watched the kid whose presence was oddly making him feel better.

"I have to ease myself," Jamal said as he tried to get off the bed.

"Major or minor?" She asked as she helped him get down.

"Minor. Don't worry, I can take care of myself. You need to relax," Jamal said, and Candace smiled at his thoughtfulness as she ruffled his hair.

"Don't do that mom! I'm too grown for that now," he complained as he rearranged his hair and made his way to the restroom, while both Candace and Aaron smiled as they watched him.

"They grow fast, don't they?" Aaron asked with a sigh, and Candace bobbed her head.

"Too fast I'd say," she said, and Aaron smiled.

"By the way, are you a lawyer or a cop? The little genius earlier mentioned that you went to catch some bad guys with Jade," Aaron explained when Candace looked at him in confusion.

He had deduced that the lawyer lady Jamal had talked about was Jade seeing as both she and Jade were back at the same time, and she had left her son in the care of Jade's elder brother.

"Oh! It's complicated," she said, not sure she wanted to give him all that detail about her yet, but after a while she decided to just go right ahead and talk to him.

That way she would be able to tell from his reaction the kind of person he truly was and if he was going to be embarrassed to have a daughter like her when eventually he realized she was actually his daughter.

"Although, I'm studying law at the moment..."

"You want to be a lawyer? That's brilliant! It must not be easy raising your kid alone and returning to school to study such a course," Aaron said, looking at her with a proud smile even though Candace could still see the sadness lurking in his eyes.

"It's not like I'm returning to school. It's more like I'm only just going to college now," she said, feeling slightly embarrassed by the admission, but Aaron waved it away dismissively.

"It doesn't make any difference what age you go to college. All you have to do is know what you want in life," Aaron assured her when he noticed that she seemed embarrassed.

"So how do you cope?"

Candace shrugged, "I had my sister Andy with me. She and the babysitter looked after Jamal in my absence," Candace said with a wistful smile when she remembered Andy once again.

"Had? You no longer have her?" Aaron asked when he heard the sadness in her tone and she sighed.

"It's not like she's dead or anything. Hopefully not. We got involved with some bad people and she was abducted. Jade was the lawyer in charge of the case..."

"Was?" Aaron asked, and Candace's lips twitched in amusement at the way he seemed to listen and take note of the words she used.

"Which of the was are you asking about?" Candace asked, and Aaron smiled.

"Both. Has your sister been found yet? And is Jade still in charge of the case?" Aaron asked, and Candace glanced in the direction of the restroom.

"Give me a moment. I need to check on Jamal," Candace said as she stood up and went to the restroom.

She knocked on the door, "Jamal? Is everything okay in there?" She asked as she turned the knob.

"Yes. I decided to do major instead. Don't worry about me. Go keep him company so he doesn't go back to being sad," Jamal called back, and Candace smiled as she returned to join Aaron.

"Is he alright?" Aaron asked, and she gave him a nod.

"Yes, he is," Candace assured him.

"Andy has not been found yet. Not that we are searching for her. Cassidy, the guy who abducted her promised to reach out to me after they're settled," Candace explained, and Aaron looked at her with concerned eyes.

"Do you trust him?" He asked, and she shrugged.

"I sort of do. It's thanks to him that we will be able to close the case," she said, and Aaron looked at her with interest.

"Do you mind if I ask what the case is about?" Aaron asked, oddly interested in knowing more about her.

"If I tell you about the case, will you tell me why you look so sad?" Candace asked as she gazed into his amber eyes.

She was surprised that she was getting along with him and conversing with him this way already. Talking with him was just so easy.

Despite the pain and sadness in his eyes he exuded the sort of warmth that naturally drew people in and made a person feel safe in his company and want to trust him.

Aaron looked at her for a moment and then he smiled, "Are you saying I have to tell you about myself if I want to know about your case?" He asked, and Candace shrugged.

"We don't have to tell each other anything," Candace said, and Aaron chuckled.

"So what am I supposed to do about my curiosity which has been piqued?"

"You can make up a story that satisfies you. That's what I do some times when I'm curious about something but can't get answers," Candace suggested, and Aaron sighed.

"So what story are you going to come up with concerning the reason I'm sad?" Aaron asked, and Candace looked at him for some time without saying anything and then she sighed.

"Jamal already told me someone hurt you," she said, and Aaron gave her a nod.

"He has been in there for a while. Shouldn't you check on him?" Aaron asked, and Candace shook her head.

"He takes quite some time when he's doing the major," Candace explained, and Aaron smiled.

"I see. Like you I have a son who I had to raise singlehandedly. It wasn't an easy task," Aaron said, while Candace leaned forward in her seat as she watched him.

"Yeah. Harry. I've heard about him from Jade. You must have done a good job seeing how all I heard was how nice he is," Candace said, and Aaron smiled as she expected him to, but she didn't expect the tears that gathered in his eyes.

"He's such a good son. I wish I was a better father to him," he cried, and Candace felt tears gather in her own eyes.

"I guess it's natural for parents to doubt themselves in this manner. I do so myself most times. But one thing I believe is that Harry loves you the way you are," Candace said as she reached a hand to him and squeezed his hand softly.

Aaron gave her a wobbly smile as he tried to wear his tears, "I can't believe I'm crying in front of a pretty lady like you. I've been so emotional lately, crying like a pregnant woman over everything. Not that I've ever been pregnant though," he joked, and Candace laughed.

She was relieved to see that Jade was right about Aaron. This man here was not only loveable but adorable too.

"By the way, Jamal told me he doesn't know where his father is," Aaron said, and Candace tried not to cuss Jamal's loudmouth inwardly as she looked behind her to make sure Jamal wasn't coming out yet.

"He died this morning," Candace said, and Aaron's brows pulled together.

"I'm so sorry..."

"Don't be. I'm not sorry. I would have killed him myself if I could," Candace said, not knowing why she was admitting such a thing to a man who was going to realize soon that she was his daughter.

"Oh, I'm not sorry then," Aaron said with a slight frown, and she smiled.

"You're not going to ask me any questions about him?" Candace asked, and Aaron shook his head.

"Why? So you can ask me to tell you something else?" Aaron asked, eyeing her with suspicious eyes that made Candace smile.

They both turned to the door when it opened and both Tom and Lucy entered carrying a takeout. Their gaze moved between Aaron and Candace before they asked in unison, "Where is Jamal?"

"He's in the restroom. I should probably check on him," Candace said as she stood to check on him, but Lucy waved her off.

"You can remain seated. I will check on him myself," Lucy said as she walked over to the door and knocked on it.

"Jamal?" Lucy called softly.

"Lucy?" Jamal called back as he opened the door and peered at Lucy.

"What are you doing in there?" She asked when she noticed how he looked behind her as though wanting to confirm if she was alone.

"I was doing all the talking so I got tired and needed a break. Don't tell them I said that," Jamal said, and Lucy giggled.

"You can come out now. Your ice cream is here," she said as she pushed the door open, and waited for Jamal to flush the toilet and wash his hand before leading him into the room to join the others.

"Harry called while we were away," Tom was telling Aaron as Lucy joined them.

"I guess he's awake now," Aaron said, and Jamal gave him a funny look as he received the chocolate ice cream which Tom passed to him.

"There is no way he could have sleep called them," Jamal said, and when Candace sent him a warning look, he quick turned to Tom and Lucy, "Thank you."

"You're right, Einstein," Aaron said, and Jamal looked at him curiously as he ate from his ice cream.

"What's the meaning of eyestan?" Jamal asked after swallowing.

"It's another name for genius," Aaron said before shifting his gaze from Jamal to Lucy who was holding her phone to her ear.

"She's calling Harry back. He wants to speak with you," Tom explained.