Chapter 36 Can't climb, don't swim
"What's going on, Enel?" She asked, turning to look at Nelson with a small pout on her face.
Enel...
His breathing hitched, and he froze for a second after hearing her call him that. He couldn't get used to it.
It took him a few more seconds to regain himself, and then he shook his head. "We can't go any further."
Irene's frown deepened. "What? Why?"
Just a minute ago she had been dreaming of buddying up with the queen!
"Apparently, something happened here yesterday, and visitors are not allowed to go past here," Nelson explained.
His explanation was nice, but Irene still didn't get it.
She gestured towards him, "But you're... You know, Nelson Clark." Her tone dropped to a whisper when she mentioned his name, and she watched as the smirk on Nelson's face grew. "Even you can't get in?"
In other words...
She was asking...
'Can't you use your influence to get us in here?'
Nelson's smirk grew even more and she snorted.
This was why she didn't like complimenting him.
"This is the first..." Nelson tilted his head to the side, a side of his lips hooked up. "No, the second time you want to use my influence to get away with something. No, the first time you actually got away."
The first time, she had shamelessly said that she was his wife... Nelson Clark's wife is in front of Lawrence just to get away.
The past Irene had been shameless, but not like this... She shamelessly tried to destroy him.
This was shamelessly cute, trying to use him.
And he adored it.
After a few seconds and she said nothing, he continued. "We only got this far because of it."
It was only after he suggested that he remembered that the place was off limits for now. But he had gotten them close enough because of his influence.
"..." Irene crossed her hands around her chest, a small pout on her lips.
She really wanted to see the inside of the palace.
"That's alright mummy." William gently rubbed her shoulder.
Since his mother was already acting like the child, he could be the grown-up... Though William, and he acted like one.
"We have other places to go to. Right daddy?" He asked looking at Nelson, who immediately nodded.
"Yeah." He picked up his phone and began going through the itinerary Hillard had sent him earlier. "There is a nice garden not too far from here, and then there is also a museum and... And a hill with a great view of the city."
"A hill?" Irene's ears picked up the word 'hill,' and she immediately shook her head. "I'm not so good at climbing."
Both father and son stared at her, their eyes slightly wide.
Irene shrugged, suddenly feeling watched.
"What?" She asked, and then shrugged. "I hate being away from the ground."
William blinked. "But we flew here." He stated in an as-a-matter-of-fact, tone.
"That is different." Irene rolled her eyes, unhooking her hand. "At least I have a huge metal supporting my weight and I can sleep on it if I ever get too afraid. But climbing? What I look down and my hands slip? What if I fall?"
"But mummy, you're a really good mountaineer," William stated again, his head bent slightly to the side as he stared at his mother.
Irene was not expecting that.
"What?" She asked shocked.
"Yeah." Nelson supported his son and nodded. "You... Used to be afraid of climbing until after high school, when all of a sudden, I picked it as my favourite sport. Together with swimming, you said they helped you relax."
"Swimming?" Irene repeated, she placed a hand on her chest, "Me? No way." She shook her head. "That is not me. I am terrified of the water. I know that there is a shallow part where I could stay, but I can't get the fact that there could be a shark in there out of my head, even if it's a bathtub."
Again... Father and son just stared at her.
They were probably thinking she was front about the planet, which wasn't too far from the truth.
"I don't swim, and I definitely don't climb. Maybe she does, but not me. Another reason why I know this isn't my universe." She muttered the last sentence under her breath, but Nelson caught it.
It was a reason that made Irene sure that this wasn't her universe, but... It made Nelson doubt that maybe, maybe it was.
He already doubted it from the start that she was from a different universe, and the things she kept mentioning were from when she was in high school. She was also acting like a high schooler.
His two theories were back on.
Either she hit her head too hard and lost her memories... The theory he was truly leaning towards, or... Or she was from the past.
Nelson wasn't the type to believe in the supernatural. But for Irene to just change, in the blink of an eye, like that after a fall... It was possible that something like that could have happened.
But he kept his theories to himself. Irene already had what she believed. Until he was sure, Nelson didn't think of telling her.
Also... One of the reasons she thought this wasn't her universe was that she said she could never get married to him.
The words hurt... A lot.
He would hate to pop that bubble.
"Let's go to the garden then." William's joyful tone broke the silence. He would go anywhere, and everywhere, as long as it was with his parents... Both of them.
Irene nodded. That was a splendid idea.
Only that...
Her stomach grumbled slightly. "Em..." Her cheeks turned slightly pink.
Why was she always hungry?
Both Nelson and William stared at her, waiting for her to finish speaking.
Irene looked down, slightly embarrassed. "Maybe... Maybe we should go to a restaurant first?" She suggested, her words coming out as a question.
She had no reason to be embarrassed. Hadn't they eaten anything... Or wait, have they?
Oh... She couldn't remember, all she knew was that she was hungry. And it was a terrible thing to keep her hungry.
Nelson chuckled and William giggled.
His mummy was really cute.
"Alright." Nelson's soft voice flowed into Irene's ears, and she raised her head. She caught him staring at her and he didn't even bother to look away.
Her breathing hitched... Her heart skipped a beat as she heard him say. "Let's go to a restaurant first."