Monday, September 19, 2022

"Pack everything, Noah. We're moving home tonight." Nataley calls to her son as he steps from the bathroom after showering like he'd promised his papa. She tosses the sheets and towels from the master bedroom into the washing machine, adding soap and pressing the button to start the water gushing into the basin. She'll have to wash Noah's sheets too before they leave the house. She hears Harry outside playing some sort of game with Chuck, and it brings her joy as she hears her boyfriend calling to the dog, "Chuck! Prince Charles! Get back here, you mangy mutt! That's mine!" But there's laughter in his voice, so she knows all is well.

"I don't wanna go home," Noah whines as he haphazardly and lethargically stuffs his clothes and toys into his bag.

"I know," Nat agrees. "We've had a lovely time here, haven't we?"

"Yeah. Like a real family." His voice is pitched low and slow, and she knows he's dejected by the return to reality.

"Hey," she walks to his side, running her fingers through his hair until she slides both hands to cup his cheeks and tilt his head up to her. Reluctantly, his eyes meet hers. "We are a real family. You, me, Harry. Always have been. Always will be."

Her son's face conveys confusion and concern. "Always? But Mama, what if Papa leaves again?"

"Truthfully, Noah, Harry will continue to be your papa no matter what. He stayed in your life the whole time he and I were separated."

"Yeah, but it wasn't the same." He wraps his arms around her, and Nataley pulls her son in for a hug. "I want him to be part of our family all the time."

"I know, sweet boy. I know." Pressing a kiss to the top of his head, she places her hands on his shoulders. "Now, you need to finish packing up in here so we can get you to school on time."

Chuck's feet racing on the floors alert Nataley to the cavachon's return to the house -- and Harry's too.

"What are you doing, love?" Harry asks from behind her as she gathers the sheets from Noah's bed.

"The laundry." She wants to roll her eyes and add a 'duh' on the end, but on the other hand, she doesn't want to be snarky.

"Not what I meant," Harry smiled. "I thought we would hire a cleaning service to take care of this place."

"Oh." Nataley blinked. "I suppose we could. It never occurred to me." Holding the sheets to her chest, she twists to face Harry.

The way his features soften and his dimple appears reminds her why she loves this man so dearly. "I love that you don't ever think about throwing money at a problem as the solution." He leans his shoulder on the door jam as he observes her, and the sparkle in his eyes is enough to make her want to drop the sheets and jump into his arms.

"I suppose it makes sense for us to hire someone for the deep cleaning," she admits. "But I would feel awful if I left the place a mess. The least I can do is wash the sheets and towels, empty the trash, and make sure we take everything that belongs to us." Stepping towards him, she tilts her head in anticipation of his kiss, and he obliges as he stands tall. "Did you clean up the poop or are you hiring someone for that?"

"Who do you think I am?" Harry demands, crossing his arms and smirking.

"Mhmmmm."

As soon as she moves away from him towards the laundry room, she hears him calling to her son. "Noah! We've got to clean up after your dog."

"When did he become my dog?" Noah taunts. "I thought he was Mama's."

"Only when she wants cuddles. Otherwise, he's yours. Come on. I'll help you."

"Ugh. Okay. Fine." Nat smiles at the grin she hears in her son's voice. As much as he hates picking up after the cavachon, he loves spending time with Harry -- even for such a distasteful chore.

She hears the two of them exiting to the backyard as she moves the master bedroom sheets to the dryer and loads Noah's sheets into the washing machine. Chuck's barks reach her ears, and she can picture him hopping around while the two humans collect his waste.

"Cindy!" Noah yells excitedly, and Nataley pauses in the act of adding detergent to the washing machine. How had she managed to forget the bodyguard's plan to start training her today? After all, it's why they're packing up to return to the condo.

Pressing the button to start the second load of laundry, she wipes her hands on her jeans as she plods down the hallway towards the kitchen.

"Mama said you might teach me too," Noah declares.

"Yes, sir," Cindy states, slinging her backpack onto the table. "Lesson one for both you and your mama --" Glancing at Nat, she withdraws some items from her backpack, "always keep a cell phone on your person." Modeling, she places her own mobile in her back pocket.

"Mama says I'm too young to have one," Nat's son pouts.

"Oh," Nat responds, "I hadn't thought about it being a tool. Can I get one that only allows him to call certain people? And maybe doesn't have internet?"

"One like this?" Cindy asks, holding up a watch. "It's a GizmoWatch."

Noah's eyes widen. "That's a cell phone?"

"Yes, sir. It allows your parents --" She pauses, glancing first to Harry and then to Nataley as if to check the title. When Nat nods, Cindy continues, "to track where you are all the time, and they can program a few phone numbers in it."

"Cool! Does it have games?" Noah reaches for the watch, but Cindy holds it over her head.

"No games, and your parents have to agree to it."

Harry shuffles to stand next to Nataley, wrapping an arm around her waist. "What do you think, love?"

Conscious that she can't ask about the cost right after Harry's recent comment about money, she contemplates what it would mean. "Well, we would always know where he is. And he could call us or my family -- or yours I suppose -- if he needed someone."

Cindy adds, "Plus it works as a watch with reminders. You can set it up to remind him to brush his teeth at a certain time. Or set an alarm to wake him in the morning."

"Sold!" Nataley laughed, raising her hand triumphantly in the air.

"The watch itself costs about $100, and then you have to add it to your monthly service plan."

Nat can't hold back her surprise over the minor price. "Seriously? That's it? For my peace of mind? To know he's safe? Absolutely worth it."

"Wait. Really, Mama? I get a phone?"

"No." She tweaks his nose. "You get a watch."

"Woo hoo!" her son screams, dancing around the kitchen, gyrating his hips. Nat grins at Harry. She can't get over the inexpensive cost for such a simple solution.

Cindy passes the watch to Nataley. "I'll add the cost of the watch to the bill. You'll have to activate it on your account."

When Harry takes it from her hands and stuffs it in his pocket, she complains lamely. "Hey, why do you get to pay for it?"

"Because I'm the reason he needs it," Harry firmly states, and Nataley drops the topic. After all, his assessment of the situation is kind of accurate.

"Where's your cell phone, Nataley?" Cindy inquires.

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry. I forgot this is about training me." Scrambling for her phone, she holds it up before placing it in her pocket.

"Woah. Wait just a minute. Have you got a password successfully set?"

"Of course," Nat scoffs. No one is crazy enough to leave a mobile phone unlocked. How lame did Cindy think she was?

"And do you have it set to erase your data after 10 incorrect password attempts?"

"Huh? No. Why would I do that? What if Noah is playing around with my phone and deletes everything?" Feeling defensive, Nat removes her phone from her pocket and stares at it.

"Much harder to do than you think. After five attempts, your phone requires a 1 minute timeout. The only thing you can do during that timeout is call 911, which would be helpful if someone was trying to get you to unlock your phone. When your sixth attempt is wrong, it locks you out for five minutes, and after your seventh incorrect passcode, you're locked out for 15 minutes."

"Huh. I didn't know that. Did you know that, H?" Nataley asks, glancing from her phone to Harry and back.

"Nope. I wish I had known it when I got robbed that time." Pouting, Harry withdraws his phone too.

"For someone in your position, unlocking a phone would be bad. They would have access to your private information and all of your contacts."

"And my new music," Harry agrees.

"How do I set it up?" Nat wonders, unlocking her iPhone.

"Go to Settings. Scroll down to FaceID and Passcode. It will ask for your passcode. Then scroll down to the bottom to the Erase Data setting and flip it from off to on. It's that easy." Cindy watches as both of them adjust their operating systems. "Perfect."

"Wow," Nat breathes. "She's worth every penny you're paying, H."

"Agreed. Makes me want to join in on the fun." His grin is filled with wonder and his eyebrow raises so that Nat recognizes he's only half teasing.

"What's next?" Nat turns her attention back to Cindy.

"This isn't your house, right?"

"No. It belongs to a friend. Someone who is connected to H, but way down the list of people's guesses."

"That's good. We won't spend time preparing the house then. What time do we need to leave?"

"As soon as I move the second set of sheets into the dryer and the car is loaded."

Chuck shuffles over, sniffing Cindy's leg before pushing his head into her palm. Kneeling down, she pets the cavachon. "Not much of a watchdog, are you, friend?"

"Let's pack up the car," Harry ruffles Noah's hair. "We've still got to take Chuck home before school and work."

Noah's eyes widen. "We better hustle then!"

As the boys exit, carrying bags of stuff with Chuck padding along behind them, Cindy rises and follows Nataley into the laundry room. Folding the sheets from the dryer, Nat attempts to make small talk with the bodyguard.

"Have you lived in California long?"

"I was a military brat, so I grew up at bases around the world. This just happened to be the last place my dad was stationed, so it's where I landed."

"You like the work?"

"It's interesting. Never boring actually. But Nataley...you don't have to do this."

Confusion causes Nat to twist her head in Cindy's direction. "Fold the sheets? I know. Harry said we should have hired someone, but I feel obligated to leave the house mostly clean, you know?"

The laughter that springs from Cindy is comforting. "No. I meant chatting with me. I'm here for a job."

"A job that will last two months," Nataley reminds her. "Is there a reason we can't get to know each other better? Other than you would feel extra guilty if someone actually hurt me during that time?"

Placing her hands on her hips, the lithesome bodyguard glares at Nat. "Listen, I get that it makes you uncomfortable to have to hire someone like me --" She pauses until her client nods. "--but we don't joke about that. I did my research, you know. After you hired me. You and Harry had a few adventures together a while back. With Noah too."

"If by 'adventures' you mean that we were photographed together a lot, that would be accurate. It was a feeding frenzy after the picture of us, uhm, kissing appeared. During the rest of Harry's time here in Los Angeles and his album promo, we were papped everywhere. The scariest was outside of Noah's school. I did not like that. We got captured as a trio before and after his One Night Only at the Forum. Those were to be expected, of course."

"Yes. In his professional capacity, one could reasonably predict getting featured in a variety of photos, tabloids, magazines, and websites. And I have to say, you seem to have handled those moments without any issues. You were graceful and never let the paps affect you or Noah. You appeared unflappable."

The woman stops speaking, watching Nat carefully as the sheets get moved from the washer to the dryer.

"I got training from his public relations team when we first started officially dating." Blowing a strand of hair to the side with a puff of air from her mouth, Nat examines the room to make sure everything appears fairly clean. Stepping down the hallway to the room where Noah had slept, she sweeps open every door and drawer before checking under the bed for anything that might have been accidentally left behind. "The truth is that the paps never bothered me. I get that it's their job, and as annoying they might be, they don't intentionally set out to hurt anyone. They're just trying to get paid for their labor."

"Mhm. That's rather gracious of you." Cindy follows her client into Noah's bathroom as Nataley scoops up towels from the floor.

"Dammit. I won't have time to wash these. I'll have to just leave them in the laundry room. I hate that. Should have cleaned up better last night." Carrying the towels to the laundry room, she returns to the master bedroom, gathering those towels and placing them with the others. "I don't know that it's gracious. Just accepting of that part of being with Harry."

As Nataley searches the master bedroom's drawers and closets before gazing under the bed, she gathers a charging cord, Harry's journal, and an empty bottle of lotion. Quietly, blocking the door, Cindy quirks an eyebrow, "Oddly enough, in all of my research, I couldn't find anything in the papers about a stalker related to you."

Nataley's head whips up. "What are you implying? Are you trying to suggest that I don't have one? Cause I can show you the notes and the messages she has sent. I have pictures of the damage she caused to my condo when she threw red paint at my front door. You can talk to..."

Cindy holds up a hand. "Hold on, Nat. I'm not questioning your stalker. It's clear from the way you behave that you have one. Also, I had a friend at the LAPD get me a copy of the police reports.

"You did? So you believe me?"

"Of course! I'm curious, though. How did you keep it out of the press?"

Shaking her head, Nataley bites her lower lip. "Not just out of the press, but from some of our closest friends and family members. I felt... still feel... embarrassed."

"Huh? Why on earth would you be ashamed of something you cannot control?"

Nat's shoulders start shaking as she laughs. "Because it sounds absolutely ridiculous for someone of my background and lifestyle to say, 'I have a stalker'. People look at me like I've lost my mind. Like I've made it up for attention."

"Let's go," Harry calls. "I think we're going to have to drop Noah at school before we take Chuck home. Cindy, can you follow us to Nat's place? There's no more room in the car between the guitar, the dog, and our luggage."

"No problem." The bodyguard doesn't break her eye contact with Nataley. In silence, they continue to stare at each other for several seconds. "We're going to have to work on that then, Nataley. It's hard to feel empowered when you've made yourself into a victim."

Outraged, Nataley straightened her back to her tallest height. "Excuse me? I didn't make myself into a victim. That bitch threatening me is the one who made me a victim."

A single nod accompanies the woman's words. "You're her victim, yes. But you've made yourself a victim by not trusting your friends and family to help you out of this situation. I don't know anyone other than the three of you, but I suspect the people in your life would close ranks and stand next to you in any battle. If you let them."

With that pronouncement, the dynamo exits the bedroom, leaving Nataley reeling at the words and ideas circling the room like a cyclone.