Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine. Well, some of them are. But the important ones are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this . . . . Blah, blah, blah. You know the drill. True Reflection of Love Chapter 4 Miss Parker sits in stunned silence, not sure how to deal with the latest revelation from the little girl sitting next to her. "Wh..what did you say, Imani?" she finally asks. "I'm talking to my mommy," Imani whispers again. "But don't tell Daddy." "Imani, Sweetie. How old are you?" "Two halves," she says with a smile. "I'm gonna be three soon." "Two and a half?" Miss Parker corrects with a little smile at the girl's cuteness. "Almost three? So you're pretty grown up, huh?" "Yep. Daddy says I'm his little lady," Imani says. "So, you're old enough to know what it means when someone dies." "Granny said that Mommy is up to Heaven," Imani tells her. "I miss her so much. Sometimes she comes and talks to me when no one else is here." "Imani, your Mommy loved you very much. But she can't come back from where she is now," Miss Parker tries to explain. "My mommy is in Heaven, too, Imani. And as much as I wish I could talk to her . . ." "I know that she is," Imani interrupts. "She's there with my mommy. They're friends." Imani gets out of her chair and walks over to Miss Parker, climbing up in her lap. "I was talking to them both when you came in. They told me that they brought you here to help Daddy take care of me and that we were going to be friends forever." "Imani, that's impossible," Miss Parker insists. "As much as we want to talk to our mommies, we can't anymore." "At first, I was scared. Because she looked exactly like you. I thought something bad happened to you and you had to go to Heaven like my mommy. But she was really nice. She said not to worry. Because you were her little girl." "Imani, that's impossible," Miss Parker repeats, this time with tears threatening to fall. Not so much because she didn't believe Imani, but because she was starting to get frightened that what the little girl was saying could possibly be true. How else would Imani know what her mother looked like? "Oh, don't cry Angel Girl," Imani tries to comfort. But it only frightens Miss Parker even more. "What did you say? Imani, why did you call me that?" Miss Parker cries. It was a name she hadn't heard in a long, long time. Since she was a little girl. A name only her mother used. "Hey, what are you two ladies up to?" Jarod's sudden appearance startles Miss Parker. But Imani's happy to see him as usual. She jumps up into his arms, giving Miss Parker enough time to wipe away the newest set of tears streaming down her face before pasting on a fake smile. "Not much, Daddy. Just girl stuff," the little girl giggles. "Girl stuff, huh? You okay, Parker?" Jarod asks, concerned that she's visibly upset about something. "What? Oh yeah. Just like Imani said. Girl stuff," she says distantly. "Actually, I was just about to ask Imani if I could take you guys out for some ice cream or something." "Ooh, Daddy please. Please can we go?" Imani begs. "I'm not so sure," Jarod starts, looking at Miss Parker suspiciously. "I need to see what else Miss Parker had in mind. Where else she wanted to go." "Just for ice cream," she assures. "My car is in the shop and they said it would be ready around six. I figured we could get some ice cream and hang out awhile before I had to leave." "Your car's in the shop?" Jarod asks, starting to get a little confused. But also relieved that she hasn't mentioned anything about calling sweepers. "Yeah, the funniest thing. I was just passing through. My rental broke down. It's being fixed now." "So finding me was just . . . " "Purely a coincidence, Jarod," she admits. "And . . . " "And it's going to stay that way," she says finally. "As far as I'm concerned, my car broke down and I stopped here to get it fixed. End of story." "Thank you," he mouths to her, grateful that she wasn't taking him in. "Ice cream would be great. Imani, grab your jacket in case it's a little chilly on the way home." "Yeah!" Imani screams. She runs to get her jacket while Jarod and Miss Parker goes downstairs to wait for her. "I really don't know how to thank you," Jarod repeats. "I knew I wouldn't be able to fight you if you were here to take me in. Not with Imani. Things are different now." "No need to thank me, Jarod. You really don't belong there. I should be thanking you for making me see that. You two just be careful. And make sure you take good care of that little girl. Her being my namesake and all," Miss Parker says with a smile. "Oh, and speak of the little devil. There she is now." Imani finally comes down and the three of them head towards the ice cream shop. It's a only a couple of blocks from the house, so they decide to walk. When they get there, Jarod goes to place the order while Miss Parker and Imani find a booth. It doesn't take long, and soon he joins them, his hands full of the confectionary treat. "This really is a nice little town," Miss Parker sighs, looking out the window at the happy little town. "Just the kind of place I always pictured myself living. The kind of life I always dreamed of having." "I know," Jarod remarks. "I remember thinking how much you'd love it here when Sharisse and I came. And the house was just like something out of one of your dreams. The little two story brick house surrounded by a perfectly manicured lawn and a white picket fence. A swing on the porch and kids running up and down the street." "You remember all that?" she asks, blushing at her silly childhood fantasies. "Of course, Parker. Those were our dreams. Ones we made together. I'd never forget them," he says with a smile. The smile distracts her and makes her lose all train of thought. It made her feel kind of funny, causing her heart to skip a beat and her cheeks to grow even redder. It's crazy how he could do that to her. She felt her stomach start fluttering and her hands get sweaty. She felt her senses take leave while her heart took over. It was no denying it. She was in love. In that one instant it all became clear. She starts to nervously fidget around the table, looking for anything to get her mind off of Jarod and the sudden realization of her feelings for him. She finally spots a target in Imani. "Look at you, Baby Girl. You're a mess," Miss Parker says, getting a napkin to clean Imani's face. "You're pretty good at that. The mothering thing. I guess it's just a natural instinct or something," Jarod comments. He smiles at them and notices with pleasure how at ease they are with each other. He never really pictured Miss Parker as the maternal type. But seeing her with Imani sheds new light on her personality. She seemed so happy for once in her life. Carefree almost. Almost like the girl he once knew that long time ago. "There you go, Imani. All clean." Miss Parker smiles at the girl and can't resist planting a little kiss on her forehead. "Now, can you be a big girl and go put this stuff in the trash for me? It's right over there." She points Imani in the right direction of the trash can and then turns back around to finish her dessert. But she finds that Jarod is finishing it for her. "Sorry," he says sheepishly with a little grin. "Were you going to finish this? A banana split is huge. I didn't think a little woman like you could eat it all." "You better watch it, Oh Sexist One," she teases. "This little woman can kick your butt. Which is what's going to happen if you don't get your spoon out of my ice cream." "Okay, okay. I give up," he says, throwing up his hands in mock surrender. "How about we share?" "Me? Share? I don't think so." She gets a spoonful of ice cream and very seductively begins to eat it. "Hmmm. This is so good," she purrs. "You want some?" Jarod just nods his head enthusiastically, getting more and more drawn in by the little game they were playing. Miss Parker gets another spoon of ice cream and moves it towards Jarod's mouth in a teasingly slow fashion. "This is good," he agrees once the ice cream finally reaches his mouth. "Much better than mine." "Yeah, I can see that," she says trying hard to stifle a laugh, but without much luck. "What?" he asks, wondering why she's suddenly giggling. "Nothing," she says, still laughing. "It's just you have a little fudge on your chin. You're about as bad as the baby. Let me get you all cleaned up." She slides across the booth until she's right next to him. She reaches up and grabs his face with one hand while gently wiping the fudge from his chin with the thumb of her other hand. "Thanks," he whispers, suddenly aware of how close she was to him. Suddenly aware of the warmth coming from her hands as they still stroked his face. And suddenly aware of their lips drawing closer and closer together. He leans in, ready to close his eyes and kiss her when something outside the window catches his attention. Two black towncars pull in front of the hardware store across the street. Men in dark glasses get out and follow an impeccably dressed Lyle into the store. "You liar," Jarod growls. "And to think I actually believed you. I actually believed you cared." "Jarod, what are you talking about?" she asks, suddenly very confused. "I do care. What's going on here?" He looks outside again and she follows his gaze to the cars. "Oh no. Lyle," she whispers. "Jarod, I don't know what's going on here, but . . . " She stops abruptly when she notices that the seat next to her is empty. Jarod is gone. And so is Imani. She looks around the ice cream parlor in hopes of spotting them through her tear- blurred eyes. But she knows it's no hope. They're gone. And she'll probably never see them again. * * * * * * * * * She walks down the halls of the Centre the same way she's been doing the month since Jarod's been gone. Dazed and distracted. Not seeming to care anymore about much of anything. Except for Jarod. But, he wasn't there. He took Imani and vanished without a trace. All ties and communication cut. But can she blame him? It was something she totally expected. Why would he contact her and risk his daughter's safety? She was sad, nevertheless. With an empty feeling on the inside that was eating away at her heart. Jarod always had a way of reaching her the way nobody else could. Those few hours she spent with him and Imani changed her life in a way she could have never imagined. They made her realize things she thought she had long forgotten. Her dreams of love and happiness. Her dreams of being someone's mother. Someone's wife. But, she realized too late that that someone was Jarod. And who knew she could grow to love a child in such a short amount of time. She sighs heavily as she slips into Sydney's office and plops down on his couch. "Parker, why don't you talk to me," the doctor pleads. "I know something is wrong. You haven't been yourself in almost a month." He walks across the room and sits down next to her, placing a reassuring hand on her back. "I think that's a good thing," she whispers, laying her head in his lap like she used to do when she was much younger. Back then, her problems were so simple, but Sydney always treated them like they were as important as any other business he had. She draws her knees up to her chest and starts sobbing. Sydney's a bit shocked, but goes with it. She hadn't come to him for comfort or advice in many, many years. He moves his hand from her back up to her hair and gently strokes it, soothing her until he feels that she's stopped shaking. "Why do you say that, Parker?" he gently prods, not wanting to press her for any information she wasn't ready to give. "Do you think I'm a bad person, Syd?" "You're the strongest person I know, Parker. You've had a lot to overcome growing up and you dealt with it the best way you knew how given the circumstances. And though I think you could have made some different choices along the way, that's not really my place to say. This is your life. You need to do what's going to make you happy. Not what you think others would want you to do." "I'm tired of doing what others expect me to do," she admits. "I'm tired of being a product of this place. I know the horrible, horrible things that go on, yet I do nothing to stop them. It's time for all of that to change." "What do you have in mind?" Syndey asks her tentatively, afraid that she was about to do something foolish. But also immensely proud that she was about to do something courageous. "Nothing right now. I just have to wait. Until the time is right. And my heart will tell me when the time is right." "Parker, since when do you listen to your heart? You always said that sentiment was for fools," Sydney laughs. "I was the fool Sydney. I said that because I didn't understand before. But I understand now. I now know the difference between the looks of contempt my father would give me when I failed him and the looks of disappointment you'd give me when I failed you. His came from hate. Yours came from love," she says to him with a small smile starting to grow on her face. She sits up to face him. "Thank you, Sydney. Thank you for loving me all this time. No matter how many times I disappoint you. I love you too. I could just never say it." "You never failed me, Parker," he says, pulling her into a hug. "I thought I failed you. Because I knew how much you needed someone to love you, but I never told you." "Syd, even if you did tell me, I wouldn't have believed it. I just couldn't have believed that someone could love someone else's child. I didn't think it was possible. Until it happened to me," she says with an even bigger smile, remembering the short time she had with Imani and feelings she developed. " I didn't know love worked that way. I always thought you loved the child born to you. Because they were a part of you. And because you can see yourself in their eys. But love can make strange things happen. I've seen how a parent and child can look so different, but at the same time look exactly the same because of the reflection of true love in each other's eyes." "Miss Parker, something tells me you aren't this lovesick over a little girl. I'm sure her father has something to do with it as well," Sydney says knowingly. "Are you . . . in love with him? Are you in love with Jarod?" he whispers, afraid of anyone hearing. "It doesn't really matter," she says sadly. "Because he's gone. He's never coming back. I missed my chance, Syd. I blew it." "Are you sure about that? I've known him about as long as I've know you. He might just need some time to cool off. He'll realize you had nothing to do with Lyle showing up that day . . ." A knock at the door interrupts him. They both look up and sees the door slowly swing open as Broots pokes his head in. "Sorry for interrupting. But this just came. I thought you'd want to see it, Miss Parker," Broots says. He hands an envelope over to her and has to do a double take when he hears two words escape her lips. "Thank you," she says quietly, surprising herself as much as Broots. "No problem. I think it's from Jarod," he adds. "Well, there's only one way to find out." She carefully opens the envelope, not wanting to damage the contents. She's shocked to find only a piece of paper inside. No gift. No joke. No cryptic message. Just a note: THEY TOOK MY LOVE. THEY TOOK MY TRUST. I'M QUITTING BEFORE THEY CAN GET MY FAITH. CONGRATULATIONS, MISS PARKER. YOU WIN. GAME OVER. "Game over," she whispers the last line, letting the note slip from her hand. "I blew it. I blew it." Imani was everything to him. All he had left. She was his faith. And he'd give up everything for her. Miss Parker was more certain than ever that she'd never see them again. Jarod was right about one thing in his note. The game was over. But, why did it feel like she was the one who lost? The End.