TWWW...TWESPASSING

 Another Brownie story... dedicated in memory of a special and beloved dog. 

LIAM…

Liam woke up to the sound of the outer kitchen door banging. It took him a minute to orient himself to his surroundings. His mother had sweet-talked him into home-sitting their old 2-story house in Queens to tend to the plants, the cats, and the parakeets.

So, for the whole month that she vacations in Florida, her son was ordered to abandon his swank condo in Manhattan and commute from his job as a successful surgeon in the city. He decided to take a much-needed staycation to take a breather from his hectic life as Chief of Orthopedic Surgery in his hospital.

If only his surgical residents could see him now. His reputation as a tough task-master would definitely suffer. His gruff talk usually caused his junior residents to buckle and fumble, and he took great delight in it. But he could not say "No" to his dear old Irish Mum or she would beat his arse, as she threatened with that impish twinkle in her eyes.

As luck would have it, the blizzard came and blanketed the city in 3 feet of snow. His body ached from shoveling the snow on his mom’s front yard, as well as the adjoining neighbor’s house, as per her mom’s latest phone text. He had expected his neighbor’s thank you but had not seen anybody in their house as yet.

And to top it all off, he almost hit a lady jogger just a block from his mom’s house. He saw her slip on the ice almost past the crosswalk. His Expedition braked just in time, its tires squealed in protest. 

He had the right of way, so of course, he yelled at the woman in anger. When he looked at her face, he could not help but smile.

The woman promptly gave her a middle finger. She also cursed her out in whatever language it was.

Liam found her attractive enough despite her belligerent attitude. Her lovely almond eyes flashed in anger, and her brown, smooth skin glistened from the sweat. Her beautiful face captivated him, with a pert nose and full pink lips. A spunky, feisty woman. 

His physical reaction to the woman surprised Liam. He wanted to reach out to her and to know her more, but she was fuming mad. Just before she walked off, she threw a snowball towards his SUV, directly splattering his license plate. Liam shrugged it off; he really didn't care about the customized licensed plate that his teenage nephew had ordered online for him.

Over the years, Liam had to fend off advances from subservient, fawning females; this woman was so different from them, seemingly immune to his charms. That woman was inexcusably rude. Her dislike was almost irrational, but surprisingly, challenging.

Liam continued on to his errands to the grocery store. He needed to buy more winter salts; he meant to shovel his mom's and the unknown neighbor's sidewalks. 

A muffled sound from the back of the house brought him to the present. Liam went into full survival mode and ran to the kitchen door. Through the kitchen window, Liam saw tiny footprints on the almost virgin snow, leading away from the house.

Armed with a bat, Liam gingerly followed the footprints to the side of the house. The culprit was a medium-sized dog frolicking in the snow while a little boy put a carrot nose on a small snowman.

“Stop! What are you doing here?”, Liam shouted, startling the little boy.

Both boy and dog froze in their tracks. Liam's hulking presence was intimidating. The boy's brown eyes were wide with fear. When Liam approached, the boy grabbed a slat from the wooden fence that separated the neighbor’s property. It looked like that was to be his escape hatch.

Liam was out in the yard when the dog growled at him, in full protection mode for his owner. The dog’s brown fur gleamed in the sunlight, but he didn’t look cuddly at all as he glared at Liam, his tail raised and his teeth bared in a warning. He looked like a beagle mix but sounded like a ferocious Rotweiller.

The boy was already halfway through the fence opening and turned around to call his dog, “Hurry Brownie.”

Seeing his master almost safely out through the escape hatch, the dog snorted at Liam and paused to ensure that Liam looked, then boldly pooped on the snow.

The boy started to chuckle at his dog’s audacity to despoil the virgin snow but stopped when he saw Liam’s astounded face.

“Mister, so sorry. Brownie never pooped in here before!”, the boy’s voice cracked.

Liam cocked an eyebrow. “Never? Before?”

The boy bravely said, “Grandma Mary always let me come to this yard to play. Our yard is smaller because my mom has her garden.” He patted his dog’s brown fur. “And Brownie only poops in our yard.”

“Grandma Mary is my mother.”, Liam tried to sound stern, but there was something about the boy and his dog that made him smile. The boy looked appropriately dressed in a thick winter coat and gloves. His red sweater matched the dog’s body sweater. They looked cute together. Except for the poop.

The boy visibly relaxed when he saw that Liam was trying to hide a smile. He must have decided that Liam is trustworthy because he eased himself back to Liam’s yard and seemed ready to engage his new friend in a conversation.

“Oh, you’re watching the house for Grandma Mary? My name is Jordy.”

Jordy turned out to be a chatterbox. His animated face and gestures amused Liam. The boy’s features hinted of a mixed parentage; maybe of Asian and white heritage, but his beautiful brown eyes looked familiar. He lives with his mother Kim and grandmother Delia who actually went with Grandma Mary to Florida. He was only six years old, and he was excited to go back to school next September.

“You know, I’m very smart. Just like my mom. She’s a nurse. She takes care of people with sick hearts and broken arms.” Jordy added as he proudly declared. “My mom is an ER nurse.”

“Really, that’s interesting, Jordy. I’m a doctor, too. I operate on people.”

“O-op-rate? My mom told me that some doctors are not nice. Especially those who o-op-rate”.

Liam smiled. “I think I am an exception.” He thought that if the mom is most ER nurses, she’s probably one of those feisty nurses who give his surgery residents a hard time.

“My dad left us so it’s just me, Mom, and grandma. Brownie’s smart too. Just like me.” The boy’s words rolled over as if he was in a hurry to impress his new friend.

“He’s so smart that this Brownie chose to poop here instead of in your yard?”

Brownie barked when he heard his name. When Liam pointed to his poop, the dog averted his brown eyes and walked slowly back to the fence opening. The dog’s down-trodden face looked so comical that Liam couldn’t help but laugh out heartily.

The dog sensed that Liam would not be wielding the bat, so he sidled over Liam’s side and nuzzled him with his cold nose as if apologizing for the offending poop. Brownie's face shone in the sunlight and his mouth was open in a wide grin.

From inside the other house, they heard a woman calling for Jordy.

“Mister Liam, please don’t tell my mom that I.. twespassed.”

Both boy and dog went through the opening, as they must have done countless times before. Jordy put back the wood in place, almost hitting Liam on his face.

Through a little hole in the fence, Liam saw the mother step out into the yard. She had lovely almond-shaped eyes, a cute, pert nose, and brown smooth skin.

She was lovely. She was the one who flipped him the middle finger.



KIM...

It was so uncharacteristic of her to be so juvenile and so rude. Her mom would cut her finger if she just knew what she did to that man yesterday. Her own son Jordy would be so shocked too at her childish gesture.

Yesterday afternoon, Brownie was pulling on his leash as soon as they reached the street where her son Jordy was on a playdate with his friend. On the crosswalk, Brownie got excited as they reached the corner and ran across the street. That darn dog safely crossed over, but Kim slipped on ice and was narrowly missed by a passing car.

The monstrous Expedition screeched to a stop. The driver yelled at her. Kim was ready to apologize but stopped when she beheld the most gorgeous man that she had ever seen. Brown hair, green eyes, and the perfect 5'oclock shadow. The man raised one thick eyebrow and looked at her with what she could only surmise as amusement at her acrobatic fall on her butt. What arrogance.

Then she saw the customized license plate on his Expedition: “SRGN 1”.  That’s when her antipathy toward all surgeons came to the fore and made her flip her middle finger at the driver. Another surgeon, just like her ex. 

The man just laughed. For a minute, he looked like her ex-husband, Jordy's irresponsible father. Paul divorced Kim as soon as he finished his surgical residency, much to her mother-in-law's happiness to find a better-suited trophy wife for her son.

Kim cursed at the man in Tagalog, then threw a snowball at the man's car. The immediate gratification from that inappropriate behavior served as a great excuse. "That arrogant man deserves it," Kim justified. 

That was yesterday afternoon. Brownie looked guilty when Kim finally caught up to him at her friend's gate. She picked up her son Jordy from his playdate, fed him and the dog then tucked the boy in for an early bedtime. By 8 pm, Kim laid down on the sofa for a quick nap, fully intending to wake up in two hours to start the grueling task of shoveling the sidewalk.

She woke up the next morning to find her son and the dog missing. Frantic, she ran to the front door. It was still locked. She looked outside the window and saw her front steps and her sidewalk had been shoveled.

Kim whooped with joy. Mrs. O’Donnell must have volunteered her son’s shoveling services. Ever since they had moved to the house she inherited from her departed aunt, the O'Donnells had welcomed Kim's family with open arms. She had met all the sons except for the one who lives in the city. She thought of bringing her neighbor’s son her famous cassava cake as a thank you.

Kim heard Brownie bark in the backyard. Heaving a sigh of relief, she started to go towards the kitchen door. Kim went out to the backyard and saw her son and Brownie go through the hole in the fence.

Jordy had a guilty look on his face. "Sorry, mom, Brownie and I twww... twespassed." Brownie looked away, with the same guilty look as his master.

Kim started to caution her son against going off on his own, then she heard somebody chuckle from behind the fence.

Jordy pulled the man into her backyard, the same man with the “SRGN 1” license plate. The gorgeous man with the green smoldering eyes.

“You!”. Kim muttered with all the disgust that she could muster.

 

 

LIAM AND KIM

The tension in the air was tight as Kim and Liam eyed each other. Liam’s expression was curious, as he took in the strong resemblance between mother and child. But he was secretly amused at Kim’s hostile look. 

Liam turned to Jordy and patted the dog’s head to cover the awkward moment. The boy was oblivious to the tension and chattered about how nice Grandma Mary’s son is despite Brownie pooping in their backyard.

The mention of poop pulled Kim to the present and broke through her muddled thoughts, and she swiveled her head to look at her son and her dog.

“Brownie!” The dog in question slinked away and walked over to the kitchen door. Brownie plopped himself on the rug, yawned, and proceeded to sleep, seemingly bored by the commotion.

Remembering her clean sidewalks, Kim stammered her apology. “I’m sorry about the mess. I’ll clean it up. And… thank you for shoveling all that snow.”

And because she's an adult, Kim added, "I am sorry for what happened yesterday, too. That was my just evil twin."

Liam smiled, “I think we’re even now. Don’t worry about the poop. I will clean it up. That’s how much I can do for almost hitting you.”

Willing to drop the subject before Jordy start asking questions, Kim nodded reluctantly.

“I’m Liam. My mum wanted me to keep an eye on her house, as well as what she told me as the nice lady next door."

“I’m Kim.” To fill the silence that followed the introductions, and since she did not want to respond to the little dig, Kim told him to wait for a second. She returned with the Filipino cassava cake that she baked yesterday.

For now, the cassava cake sealed the truce. Liam left after and went back the way he came in.

The morning after…

Kim was just coming out of the shower when she heard the doorbell ring. With just a towel wrapped around her, she was turning to rush to her bedroom to change when she heard Jordy calling out.

“Okay, I’m opening the door.”

Horrified that her son would disobey her previous warnings about not opening the door to strangers, Kim ran down the stairs hoping to stop her son. “No, Jordy.”

But it was too late. Kim was midway through the stairs when she saw Liam was standing inside the living room looking at her in her too-brief towel. He looked dashing in a suit, and she looked…

A strange expression crossed Liam’s face and he muttered something beneath his breath. Kim thought she heard “Wow.”

Kim was transfixed. Her pink towel reached up to the middle of her thighs, her hands clutching the front to provide more cover to her cleavage (or lack of it).

Her hair was still wet and covered her right eye when she came down. Conscious of how wanton she must look, Kim tried to ignore that Liam was looking her over and seemed to be entertained by her discomfort.

“I’m just returning the plate. The cassava cake was delicious. I called Jordy to open the front door for me rather than go through the backyard.” The explanation did not mollify Kim, and she glared at her son for putting her in this predicament.

Kim did not answer but started to turn around to walk up the stairs. She was embarrassed, but she also felt her heart beating fast when she saw Liam’s eyes light up in appreciation.

She muttered, “Men, maniacs.” Trying to preserve her dignity, she walked up the stairs rather than running in shame.

Brownie came from nowhere and tugged at her towel. Kim grabbed at the towel but lost her footing. She started to fall back and felt her left foot twist as she tried to correct her steps. Before landing painfully on her buttocks, a strong pair of arms caught her from behind as she tumbled to the bottom of the stairs.

It was all in slow motion. Jordy cried in alarm, and Brownie darted out of the way.  Kim’s death grip on her towel was not unnoticed, and Liam raised an eyebrow.

“I’m a surgeon.” As if that was supposed to lessen her embarrassment. He walked with Kim in his arms and deposited her on the sofa. In his defense, Liam did not ogle Kim and averted his eyes, although Kim suspected, in her paranoia, that his lips twitched.

Kim grabbed at some throw pillows for more coverage as she instructed her son to fetch her bathrobe behind the upstairs bathroom door, but Jordy remained rooted to her side, his eyes worried upon seeing his mom in pain.

All her emotions were in turmoil at the moment when another man’s arms were around her that she forgot that her ankle had twisted and was now throbbing and swollen. Kim was sure that she was blushing all over.

Liam grabbed an afghan blanket from the other chair and bundled Kim in it. Jordy guffawed, “Hahaha, Mom, you’re like a mummy! Like a burrito.” Even Brownie was grinning.

Liam sat on the ottoman and put her left ankle on his lap. Kim tried to pull her leg off but winced in pain. He was in full doctor’s mode as he examined her foot. Kim watched as his capable hands touched her left ankle, his brows furrowed in thought.

He smelled nice, he looked great, especially with his stubble, and his biceps flexed impressively. But he’s a surgeon. Obviously not her type.

She smelled nice and clean, Liam thought. She probably flavored the Chinese sandalwood soap that his mum was raving about, a gift from Kim’s mom who she was vacationing with in Florida. But she’s too prickly. Obviously not his type.

“Hmmm, your ankle is not broken. Just a sprain. Just need ice and some rest.” He put her foot down on the ottoman, presumably to look for ice.

Jordy was teary-eyed next to her, alarmed that his mother had hurt herself. Brownie was on Kim’s left side, whimpering as if he could sense her pain.

“Bad dog.” Kim wagged at Brownie and felt guilty right away when the dog licked her ankle as if trying to ease her pain.

Liam came back with a bag of frozen peas. “No ice, but this would do.”

Jordy gasped in amazement that the frozen peas could serve another purpose. He listened in rapt attention as Liam explained the rationale as he arranged the bag on his mom’s ankle.

Liam put on his serious face as Jordy listened raptly, “So for a sprained ankle, Jordy, I prescribe RICE. Rest, Ice, Compression, that’s with an ace bandage, and then Elevate to reduce the swelling.”

“Wow, how did you know all these?”, Jordy was regarding Liam with an awed expression.

Liam responded, “I’m an orthopedist, a bone doctor”. He turned to Kim, “This would do for now. You need an ace wrap to immobilize it. Do you have one?”

“I have one in my bathroom. But don’t worry, I will put it on myself.” With her left hand in a death grip on the afghan blanket, Kim started to get up, and she tried to hop on her right foot towards the stairs.

Before she could resist, Liam carried Kim up the stairs effortlessly with her posse of son and dog trailing behind. In her bedroom, Liam sat her up on the edge of her bed and soon left to rummage at her medicine cabinet.

Kim instructed her son to fetch her bathrobe behind the door. The voluminous bathrobe reached up to her legs and provided extra coverage than the blanket.

Liam’s brows shot up but he didn’t say anything as he expertly applied the ace bandage. Although she was better covered, it seemed more intimate because they were in her bedroom. She was grateful that her son hovered over as if to protect her, but she soon realized that Jordy was enjoying his new friend’s attention.

Liam then gave her Motrin for the pain and issued instructions as if he was her personal doctor. “Rest, rest, rest, okay? Elevate your leg, and Jordy here will change your bag of peas with the bag of frozen carrots.”

Jordy beamed with pride as he was placed in charge. Liam was his hero and he would do everything he ordered.

With a suspicious twitch on his lips, Liam patted Kim’s cheek. Kim flinched, not because the touch was repulsive but because she felt herself drowning in the unwelcome emotions. 

Liam shrugged and because she did not thank him yet, with a mocking grin said, “You’re welcome.”

At the bedroom door, Liam patted Brownie’s head and whispered, “Good dog.”

 

JORDY

Jordy was having the time of his life. He had a new friend and a new superhero. Liam could do no wrong and he was funny too.

Liam took care of mom’s sprained ankle, even though she was pouting and glaring all the while. Especially since he insisted to carry Jordy’s mom down the stairs again after she changed into her normal clothes of a T-shirt and jogging pants. He suggested that Kim stay downstairs on the first floor to avoid the stairs while her ankle healed.

Then Jordy’s stomach gurgled. He looked at his mom and tried to remember the new word that Mom taught him. Recently, Jordy loved to experiment with big words. He told his mom that he wanted to be a writer “because a doctor is too busy for his kids.”

“Mommy, I have bor-bor.. What do you call it again, Mom?”

“Borborygmi, Jordy. That’s your stomach growling.”

“Yup, I had borborygmi in church, hahaha!”.

Liam interjected, “Now, I’m hungry too. I just came from an early meeting in Manhattan. Let’s get food. Any preference?”

Jordy’s eyes rounded in delight. “Let’s get Jollibee!”

Liam looked confused so Kim interjected, “It’s a popular fast-food chain in the Philippines. Jordy’s favorite restaurant. There’s one in Queens”.

Lunch and dinner were every Filipino kid’s dreams. For lunch, Jollibee chicken, Yumburger, spaghetti, peach mango pie, and the delicious halo-halo. Dinner was Filipino barbecue, egg roll, and more halo-halo.

Jordy sat up tall in the rear passenger seat of Liam’s monstrous car, an Expedition with a fancy license plate.  Liam even allowed Brownie to ride along, not minding dog fur in his car.

That afternoon, Liam played the Clue Junior board game with him, a whodunnit (another of his newly-discovered words) mystery. Jordy had tired of the childish games that his other friends preferred.

Jordy thought, Yes, his new friend is a hero. Cool.

 

KIM

It has been three days of pure torture for Kim. She had to hobble around the house on crutches, so it was a good idea to sleep in her mother's bedroom on the house's first floor. To keep Jordy and Brownie out of her way, Liam offered to entertain the both of them in his mother's house. Mrs. O'Donnell and Kim's mother will be returning home from their Florida vacation in a few days.

Since she was just a per diem nurse in an ER, she was able to stay home while her ankle healed. It turned out that Liam also had a one-week vacation from work; he had canceled a trip out-of-state and decided to do some minor repairs in the house as a surprise to his Mum.

That Saturday morning, Kim heard the muted sounds of the morning cartoons in the basement den. She padded softly downstairs to call everybody for lunch.

Liam was back from his morning jog, his muscular body stretched out on the sofa but his eyes were closed. Jordy was sprawled sleeping with his head on Liam’s lap. Brownie's snores filled the air as he lay spread-eagled on his back on the floor.

Kim felt a prickle of tears threatening to flood her eyes. She knew that Jordy was getting attached to Liam, which was worrisome. The separation from his father, Paul, was difficult for Jordy. He was just four years old when Paul left. He was an absentee father even before, as he was busy with his surgical residency, but was even more neglectful after becoming a full-fledged cardiac surgeon.

Suddenly, Paul wanted a trophy wife, someone from a wealthy family who could ease his way to the top of the world. Kim did not have time to grieve for the failed relationship. She was too busy to put her life together again. Thankfully, she inherited her aunt's house and managed to get substantial alimony from Paul. Her mother traveled from the Philippines to help care for Jordy.

Jordy missed having a father that was active in his life, and Liam would not be able to take his father's place. Liam will then return to his life as a top surgeon, as a bachelor, with his choice of women falling all over him.

Kim’s initial dislike dissolved in a mere few days after seeing Liam’s down-to-earth personality and his unexpected bonding with Jordy. Even Brownie, that disloyal dog, preferred Liam’s attention.

Last night, after two hours of Disney movies, Jordy finally ceded the remote control to the adults. To their surprise, both Liam and Kim agreed on an Avengers movie together. They laughed together and screamed during the fight scenes. At a particularly sad moment, Liam offered his T-shirt to wipe Kim’s eyes, which of course, horrified her until she saw Liam surreptitiously also wipe his own tears.

Kim burst out laughing. Their eyes held and her heart fluttered.

And now, in the basement den, this would probably be the last time they will all be together. The vacationers will be back and Liam will be going back to his prestigious work in Manhattan.

She cannot allow Jordy to be heartbroken again. Truth be told, she was also worried about herself. Lost in her sadness that there will be no future with the man she learned to love, against all odds. She could not get her heart torn to pieces again.

 

LIAM

Liam had his eyes closed in contentment. Jordy was asleep at his side, the dog was snoring, and Kim was cooking lunch, with a mouth-watering aroma of whatever she was cooking wafting down to the basement den.

He never thought this moment will be a blissful experience. He was supposed to be a confirmed bachelor, but he enjoyed this whole week away from the hospital. Away from the politics, away from his immature residents’ whining about everything. Away from all those females flirting with him.

He enjoyed being with Jordy and Brownie. And with Kim.

His life was changed by that woman with those almond eyes and feisty personality. It was like a bulldozer that slammed him flat. How could just one week of their company shatter his prior resolve to avoid emotional entanglement?

He is in love. Utterly, irrevocably, unexpectedly in love.

Liam heard a sniffle behind him. He gently repositioned Jordy on the sofa and rose to face Kim.

Fat tears flowed down Kim’s cheeks. She was leaning against the wall, eyes closed, with misery written all over her face. 

Liam’s heart broke to see Kim crying. His arms reached out to envelop Kim in a tight hug. Startled, Kim opened her eyes, then continued sobbing.

Liam pulled Kim down on an armchair to sit on his lap, his arms around her, and murmured soothing but unintelligible sounds near Kim’s ears.

“Acushla, why are you crying?”, Liam’s left arm caressed Kim’s back as he kissed her on the forehead.

Kim sat up straight, but remained on Liam’s lap, reluctant to leave the comfort of his arms, her face flushed and her back tingling from the warm caress. His arms felt right.

“Nothing, I just finished chopping onions.”, Kim stammered. To divert Liam’s attention, she asked, “What did you say earlier? What is Acushla?”

Liam’s green eyes softened, and his smile radiant, he softly said, “Sweetheart. It’s Irish for sweetheart. I have fallen in love with you, Kim. Head over heels in love.”

Stunned, Kim searched Liam’s face, as if she could not believe what she just heard. Then she smiled, “Me, too.”

“Tá mé i ngrá leat. That’s Irish for ‘I love you’, so me too.”.

BROWNIE

A bark interrupted a kiss. Brownie was grinning as he sat on the floor, his tail thumping wildly. 

He nudged Jordy awake. When the boy saw Kim and Liam in an embrace, he smiled.

THE END