At his sight, she straightened immediately, and the cheerful look she held on her face all the while she spoke with Quincy faded, and she was left with a frown. The vision she had earlier of the purple-eyed man returned, and it made her heart beat at an unsteady pace. Was he the one she saw? Was he behind all the nightmares and hallucinations she had been having? Was that why she felt unsafe whenever she was around him?
There was no way she would have seen this coming. What were the chances that the man she had done her best to keep as far away from her as possible had somehow found a way back into her life, this time using his son? That’s if Quincy was even his son. She didn’t know what his end game was, but using his son just to get himself close to her wasn’t the way to go about doing things.
“That’s my daddy,” Quincy says, snapping her out of her thoughts, and she glances at him before turning back to Davine, who has a small smile on his face.
He looked a little taken aback, not like someone who had planned anything, but she found it hard to believe.
He got to where they all were, and he cleared his throat. “Hello, Zera,” he said, and there seemed to be a little contempt in his voice.
“Zion, show him where your gifts are kept,” Zera told Zion, who nodded, took Quincy’s hand, and moved away from them.
“Really? Even you have to admit this is low.” She began as soon as the boys were gone.
“I do not know what you’re speaking about.”
“Are you going to pretend you didn’t know Zion was my son?”
“Did you know Quincy was mine?” He fired back with an annoyed tone of voice. He didn’t wait for her to answer before continuing, “I know you live in a cloud of your own doing, but not everything revolves around you. And you’re certainly not the centre of my world. My son is. I am a full-time dad, and I work around that. If I knew you were the mother of the Zion he’s been talking about these past months, I would have put an end to that friendship or even changed his school,” he said crudely.
“That would be cruel,” she told him.
“Not as cruel as having you judge him for being my son and treat him horribly,” he answered in a flat tone. This wasn’t the Davine she was used to, and seeing him like this came as a surprise to her. Perhaps because it had to do with his son, and he didn’t find that funny.
“I would never do that,” she said, feeling a little hurt by his accusation.
“Forgive me, but I do not know you well enough to say otherwise. And my encounter with you so far hasn’t shed a positive light on your character and who you are as a person yet,” he answered.
She wanted to say something horrible to him so he would feel as terrible as she did, but she pressed her lips together, kept her mouth shut, and thought about everything he just told her. She had made him a villain for so long, and her paranoia hadn’t helped either. She judged him and always has, not because of what he has done, but rather because of what she feared he would do.
She saw how Zion was with Quincy, and she knew he cherished the friendship a lot. She also now knew that that friendship depended on how good her relationship with Davine was. His son needed friendship, and she needed to do her best and mend burned bridges.
“Then I am sorry for not being the most welcoming and for any harsh treatment you received. I will do better.”
Davine didn’t look a bit convinced by her words, but he nodded anyway, accepting her apology. “It’s fine. Happy birthday to Zion.”
“Thank you.”
“I will be at the back since we came late; I’ll let him stay and play with his friend a little longer.” He said it with a reasonable tone, and that was kind of him.
“Thank you.” She told him, and he walked away.
“Is that Davine?” she heard Aaron ask from behind her, and she turned to him.
She nodded. The surprise on his face was not even close to the one she had when she first saw him. “That is him.”
“And you two are having a civilised conversation?”
She turned away from him. “Why? You do not want that?”
“Well, last time I did, you told me I was bewitched.” He reminded her of what she had told him when he told her Davine wasn’t as bad as she made him out to be.
“That was then, and this is now,” she replied. “He’s Quincy’s father, and I have not been the best person to him. I need to do better.”
As promised, they stayed longer, and even as the guests took their leave, Zion and Quincy stayed talking and laughing. Zera wanted to listen in on them, but knew she shouldn’t.
“If you ask me, I think he has found himself his best friend for life,” Aaron said, nudging his glass at Zion and Quincy, who spoke cheerfully, without a care in the world.
“Did you ever have a friend like that growing up?” she asked, suddenly curious and turning to him.
He did not hesitate: “Pedro, but he died along with his parents just days before I lost mine.” He said, and pain flickered in his eyes for a second.
“I am sorry,” she said as she reached out and stroked his face. “Hopefully, Zion and Quincy’s friendship lasts for a lifetime.”
“I hope for the same as well,” he nodded.
Quincy and Zion approached them, stopping when they stood before them. “Yes, what is it?” Zera asked.
“Quincy wants to take his leave now; he says his father would have to stop by to get dinner on their way home.”
“Oh, that is fine, sweetheart.” She answered before adding, “Did you tell him thank you for coming?”
Zion shook his head before turning to his friend. “Thanks for coming, Quincy, and thank you for the gift.” He hugged him again.
They all walked with Quincy and Davine, seeing them off to the door. They stopped when they got to the door and just watched them go.
After walking away for a while, Quincy suddenly stopped and pulled his hand out of his father’s hold. He turned around and ran backward towards them, and Zera watched quietly, wondering what he had forgotten to tell Zion and wanted to do before leaving. To her surprise, however, he took her hand instead. His grip on her hand was firm, and he stared at her. He didn’t stare at her like the same boy who was in the house earlier playing. He looked serious, like whatever he wanted to say was important and needed to be listened to.
He didn’t open his mouth, but she heard his voice in her head: “The Lionel, you know, doesn’t have much time. Protect the new Lionel with all you have. He needs you.” He released her hand, and she heard no more words.
He ran up to meet up with his waiting father, leaving her in a state of confusion and needing clarification.