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03. Promises-Schwomises

Summary: Ororo has to make amends for her actions…or lack there of.

“…Ted Kopell and this…”

As on the side of the screen, the ‘news correspondant’ on this side too, dressed in a cool blue cotton shirt and a pair of plain white shorts, was bidding farewell to her listeners, her ‘not-so-captive’ audience…numbering a grand total of one. Her mother.

“I am Ororo Monroe and this has bin th’ evenin’noose. Until next time, gudnight and hav a gud day…an’ there betta be a next time, an’ you betta be here.”

The last comment was followed by a wide, toothed grin, one which was answered by a slightly exasperated and equally amused shake of the head. For N’dare, she didn’t understand her child’s obsession with the talking box, the TeeVee. She, herself, did not understand or care about the things they showed on it, satisfied with knowing and living her little corner of the world. After all, what use did she have with how the elections turned out in any of the places they named on it….or for that matter in America itself. Having become a citizen only a few years back, she had yet to….to vote. Nor did she care much about it.

But Ororo. Even her husband would give up at the rapid fire and seemingly non-ending volley of questions that the kid brought up with increasing frequency. While he answered some of the questions, David mostly tried to avoid answering them….rather worded his explanation in such a way that Ororo would not only get confused but do so to such an extent, that she would give him a look as if he had grown a second head. It wasn’t that he wanted to lie to her, or that he did not know the answers to her queries….almost all of them. He just wanted her to shield her from the harsh realities of life…wanted her to enjoy her childhood, something that he never got to do. On the job since he was not even fifteen years old, he had always had to struggle to eke out a living for himself. Had it not been for the year and a half long, oversees contract labor job that he had managed to get about ten years back, he never would have met N’dare, got the money to think about a possible marriage and to bring her to America. There would have been no Ororo, or his current job for that matter, the one he not only got but also had progressed in…in spite of his skin color.


And speaking of David, “Ororo. Ororo Monroe. You get your…yourself right here this very instant missy.”

Happy to hear her father's voice, Ororo let out a comedic whine at use of her complete name, running through her mental roster to try to make out what had she done now to make her pappa to use her complete name. And not only that but also to call her missy.

One look at her mother’s raised eyebrows, the questioning look on her face and that hand on hip pose told her that not only had she too caught onto that tone in her husband’s voice, she too was interested as to what had caused it…what Ororo had done to cause it.

“Pappa!” The usually lively greeting petered out to a low mumble as, taking off his shoes and slipping out of his worn wifebeater, the imposing form of David Monroe appeared through the space leading to the front door. Not only did he look tired, his face sporting the fatigue of having worked a full shift…and then some, he also sported a mild frown, one directed towards his daughter.

“Girlie! You just did it today.” ‘Ulp,’ Ororo gulped, now practically tearing through her ‘what did I do wrong today’ list. “You are in a whole lot of trouble. More ‘en that, you got me in trouble.”

“Ororo!” N’dare coming forth from the kitchen, hugged her husband, casting a pointed look at her the squirming Ororo.

“What’d I do?” Try as she might, Ororo hadn’t been able to find one thing wrong (in her parents’ eyes) that she had done today….especially today. Today she had sat almost the whole day home and right in front of the TV. The only time she gone out was with Mamma, an’ even then she had stayed close by her.

Her brave front, bolstered by her shimmering ‘puppy dog’ eyes and trademark ‘pick me up and hug me’ pout, seemingly not having any affect, Ororo feel back on a much…straighter approach. “I didn’t done nothing daddy.” The ‘daddy’ reserved for special occasions, slipped out all on its own…after all this did count as a special occasion. Boy did it ever.

“What day is today?” David stepped up and flopped on the couch. Springy once, it wasn’t that no more. All that was left was a sofa which necessitated one to take care while sitting on it, lest they wanted to have their behind sprung up.

“Uh-Sa-Saturday.”

“Good, at least she remembers that,” complemented David, not so much to Ororo but to N’dare too. Turning back to face the snow haired child, he inquired, “Where’d we go last Saturday?”

“Your fac-fa-fact’ree.”

“Remembers that too,” Once again it was spoken to both the women. “Wanna tell me then, what you told to Master James then, and why didn’t you tell me or your mamma about it?”

‘James?’ Confused for a second, a (proverbial) bulb lit up within Ororo as she recalled the kid that had given her that Batm’an and Supaman to go with her W’nder Wo’mn and to whom she had in return made a picture of her W’nder Wo’mn doll.

“I didn’t say nothin’ to him.” Ororo vigorously shook her head, even pinching at her throat to swear. “Pwomise daddy.” And there, that ‘Daddy’ slipped in again.

“You didn’t huh?” David arched a brow, getting yet another head shaking dance in return. “You mean that you didn’t tell him that you’d bring your toys…all of ‘em to play with him next time?”

‘Uh-Oh.’

---

//Flashback//

“You sure ‘bout this?” Sending surreptitious glances towards the two plastic figurines lying within arms reach of her, her fingers crossed under the table, Ororo, repeated her query for the third….and the last time. They looked nice and even though they were smaller than her Wonder Woman doll, would go great with her. And it wasn’t like she was taking it forcibly from him, he was giving…gifting it to her.

“Uh-huh,” his rosy cheeks scrunched up due to the grin on his face, James nodded in affirmation. “See, you gave me this in return,” he held up Ororo’s rendition of Wonder Woman, which accounted to basically a little more than a stick figure, with four rounds in total, one each for the head and hips and two to cover the chest area. Other than that, there was a tiara which looked much too pointed to be safe for the Amazonian Princess, a girdle, which, following the same ‘point’ set by the tiara, looked precariously close to skewering the poor warrior superhero, is she even so much as moved a limb, let alone bend or fight. Then there were the boots, one ending at the just the proper calf level while its partner went half past the thigh, both complete with what appeared to be white socks. The bracelets, bustier and shorts were bearable enough, but it was the ‘lasso of truth’ that took the cake. Drawn in bright yellow color, it not only covered almost half of Wondy’s right leg, its size also made it seem as if it were hanging from her tiara than from her waist.

“Hmm. I did, didn’t I?” Ororo flashed her own grin, marveling at her artistic prowess, not finding anything odd in that her Wonder Woman was sporting an Afro, one so puffed up that even Janeeyce (her neighbor downstairs) with her foot high ‘fro, would feel ashamed in front of it.

“Umm-Hmm.” James mirrored her head nodding. “’sides, when you come next time you can ‘ring it and we can pway together.”

“Okay,” and just like that there went Batman and Superman, grabbed in small slightly chubby hands, laid down on either side of the imposing Woman of Wonder.

“You can bring your other toys too,” James carried on, happy that he had made a new friend and won’t have to play alone anymore. “I’ll bring more of mine. I got lot more, Batman, Bob…Robin, Superman, Phan-Tom, Mand’ake” he prattled on, naming characters and ‘places’ that Ororo had no idea about. Finally, he ended on, “Green Lantun. I even have a ring of him, it really works…shines. What about you?”

‘So many!’ Ororo wondered to herself, her eyes wide at the sheer number James had just recited. Compared to him all she had were her…. “O’ course I have,” she put on her brave front and twist. “But they are all of Wond’r Wo’man. I gots a lion, two horseys, no, no, one horse and one pony. I got a car for her. It also works, and it goes sooooo fast…you cannot even catch it.”

“Then how do you stop it?”

“Huh?”

“You said you cannot even catch it,” James piped up. “Then how do you stop it. Doesn’t it just go away?”

“No, you dummy,” in a flash of dramatic flair, Ororo slapped her forehead. “You gotta turn the key. Five-six times. Then as soon as you leave it, it goes….zoommmm. Even makes sounds, just like a real car. Its sooo big.”

“Oh.” Having never seen such a toy and already more than a little impressed, James stared wide eyed as his new friend held her hands apart, leaving more than a foot of space between them. All he had was that small ree-mote car. And it didn’t even make any sounds. “Bring that next week.”

“Hmm. ‘kay.” In the flow and enjoying herself, it slipped out Ororo’s mind that she wouldn’t be coming next week. After all, even by coming today, she had missed her Supa’friends caa’toon.

“Pwomise.” A thick gloved hand thrust forward at her, one that she accepted.

“Promise.”

//End Flashback//

---

“Well?” David straight at the young girl standing in front of him. “Got an answer?”

Not knowing what exactly had transpired between Ororo and Master James, he didn’t think too much of it when the owner, Mr. Howlett called him to this office. Once there, he wasn’t surprised to see the young Master there, dressed as ever in clothes too seemed a bit too large for someone as him and definitely too hot for the weather.

However, he was surprised when John Howlett inquired about the whereabouts of ‘Roro, the name that James had told him. That surprise changed into shock when it was revealed that Ororo and James had promised each other that they would come this week too, and it was for the same reason that two medium sized chests stood in the corner of the room…all in accordance with their pact to bring more toys, or in James cases, as many as he could pack into those two boxes.

Grasping for straws, he somehow came up with some goddamned excuse about both N’dare and Ororo gone away, visiting….helping a friend who was just moving into a new place.

Moreover, seeing the fallen expression on the kid’s face and also on his father’s (at his son’s reaction), he had even blurted out that he would try to make sure that Ororo came next week. His words meant as a consolation were picked up by James, and the kid…he ran with them, finally managing to get both his father and David to agree to him, to what he proposed.

Come next Saturday, Ororo wasn’t going to the Howlett’s factory…but to their house, their mansion.

---

The next Saturday,

Once again being dressed in yet another dress, her second and last one, her cheeks puffed to the max, her lips stretched out in a pouting frown, Ororo ‘Sullen Face’ Monroe, stood still as a sculpture, as her mother braided yet another intricate but solid style into her long silky hair.

Just about done and waiting for her pappa to finish his shower and get ready, both Ororo and N’dare stopped short at the sharp rap on the door. It was only seven in the morning. Who could come at this time? Everyone they knew, they would cry or yell out to announce themselves, especially with the out of order bell.

A second ‘three rap’ knock and N’dare moved Ororo aside, got up and headed towards the front, passing David as he stepped out of the bathroom and shrugging her shoulders at his near silent, “Who is it?”


Sliding the chain out, and flicking the lock open, she turned the knob to open the door…only to find a white, smartly dressed, balding, aging man with a thick bushy moustache, standing in front of her.

“The Monroe residence?” The man inquired with a rather thick British accent, his query getting a nodded confirmation. “Mr. David Monroe?”

“Inside,” N’dare gestured over her shoulder, moving aside as her surprise broke.

“Who is it?” Coming around the bend from his and N’dare’s room, having quickly pulled on a fresh shirt and yesterday’s pajama bottoms, David repeated his earlier question, more for the stranger’s benefit that of N’dare’s. “Oh, Mr. Kenneth,” he exclaimed, recognizing the Howlett’s ‘family’ driver.

Not bothering with pleasantries, the stranger got directly to business, “The master informed me to drive you and a certain Ms. Roro...”

“Ororo.” N’dare cut in, getting a raised questioning eyebrow in return. “Ororo. Her name is Ororo.”

“O-roro…Ororo,” repeating the name a couple of times so as to get the current feel and pronunciation of it, the visitor carried on. “I have to drive you and Ms…Ororo,” he deliberated, getting a smile and nod from the shorter N’dare, “first to the factory and then drive the young Miss to the mansion.”

To say that both David and N’dare were surprised would be an understatement, their ‘reaction time’ being cut short as Ororo poked her head from between her parents, her large blue eyes catching the attention of the slightly portly Kenneth. However, as soon as his gaze turned to her, did the young girl duck back inside.


“Give me five minutes. I just….” David started, mentally calculating how long it would it take him to get ready, shove a couple of slice of bread into his mouth, grab Ororo and get down the stairs. Even keeping the forty-five minutes for bus, there was still almost a hour and a half till his shift began, seeing that Mr. Hewlett had sent the senior-most of his three drivers, was enough for him to get a hurry on.

“Please take your time,” Kenneth cut him off. “Come down when you are ready. The car is parked just around the corner.”

“Oh-okay.”

The message given, with a slight tipping of his bowler hat and a “Good morning Madams,” to both N’dare and to the bright blue eyes peeking out from behind her, the older man started down the corridor, heading for the stairs, but not without arching at a bushy eyebrow and shaking his head at the ‘Out of Order’ elevators.

---

It would be almost an hour and fifteen minutes before Ororo would reach her destination, having spent more than forty five minutes in the lap of luxury.

She had seen cars before, even sat in them, twice. But never had she seen or looked into one such as this one….forget about sitting in it. It also looked soooo beautiful. It was as white as her hair and the lining on it, Oooh, just like W’nder Wo’man’s lasso and tiara, an’ same golden color as the ribbon mamma had tied on her today. Even the seats inside, so soft that by the time she reached the Hewlett mansion, Ororo had fallen asleep…twice, once during the drive from home to Pappa’s work place and then from there to here.

However, one look at the imposing structure looming in the distance, rising even higher as the Rolls’ traversed the kilometer or so of a driveway, and all the sleep vanished from Ororo’s eyes, eyes that had gone as wide as saucers.

Somehow managing to pick her lower jaw from the floor of the car, she expressed her awe with two very appropriate words.

“Great HERA!!”

Note: No CATS allowed here….Grrr, especially not ones toting a whip (Cat-o-nine-tails) with them. Hmph.

Ahem…Please Review.





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