"Flight Officer Jessica Nguyen, currently working on attachment with NORAD out of Cheyenne."
Of course... Sun wondered where she had left her head. Probably back home, with Liam's stroller. Usually she had no issues knowing non-US ranks, but today was not usual at all.
"I'm sorry." Slowly, Sun got up, dusting off her skirt. "Major Desiree Sharpe, I work upstairs from you." For a moment, she wanted to extend her hand, but it did not feel proper. Not because she outranked the other woman, but because she had just disturbed her on her day off. Things were embarrassing enough already. And the little one was not helping. "And this is Liam."
On hearing his name, her son waved at the other woman, beaming as though Christmas had just fallen on Easter. He almost seemed enamored of her, whyever. Children were weird like that, not caring about manners or reservations. In the meanwhile, the two adults were carefully circling each other. Nguyen was still polite, probably because she had a major before her, but it was clear she wanted to be left in peace.
"Was there something you wanted, ma'am? Other than to stop your son from attempting to start a conversation in a foreign language with random passers by, I mean." But then again, she was sending other signals as well. Liam seemed to have made an impression on her after all. "Either way, may I say your son is adorable. He'll have everyone wrapped around his fingers before too long I should imagine."
"Not really, no. Please forgive the intrusion. And thank you. He can be the sweetest kid in the world when he chooses to. But sometimes, he just completely forgets his manners. Don't you, chou-chou ?" Sort of expecting Liam to agree, she looked down at him. But he had paid no attention to their conversation at all. "Uhh..." he muttered, while his gaze traveled back and forth between the sweets at the counter and his new acquaintance, as though he could not quite decide which he liked best.
Sun was starting to feel awkward. They could not go on like this. "I think we better find a table." Slowly she looked around, realizing that the place was packed. It was Saturday after all and half the city seemed to have stormed downtown today. Finding a place to sit would prove hard.
Seeing that his mother was a bit distraught, Liam took matters into his own tiny hands. Before she could protest, he stormed forward again and hopped on the sofa adjacent to Nguyen. Wonderful. Sun rolled her eyes. For his age, he was a bit too good at producing accomplished facts sometimes. "Liam, no", she said sternly.
But the little one could not have cared less. He merely folded his short arm, pouting at her. He was asking for an argument, knowing full well how much she hated to quarrel in public. Smart little shit... Yet it did not mean he would get away with it. "Honey, you can't just sit at someone else's table. You have to ask first..." she said, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks. Maybe, if he realized that he had embarrassed her, he would get back up.
It was a vain hope. Liam knew very well how to wrap adults around his finger and chose to launch a charm offensive instead. Smiling innocently, he got up on his knees to make himself taller. It almost looked as though he was going to propose to Nguyen. Cocking his head sideways, he offered her his sweetest grin. "May sit here ?" he asked, before pausing to bat his eyelashes at her in the most endearing way. "Pretty please ?"
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