揥e better go,?I say, breaking the moment and gently pulling my arm from his. 揝eda抯 hungry.?
He nods, turning away with a mumbled, 揙kay.?
The two of us are quiet on the drive to the diner, but Seda entertains us telling Thayer stories about her school and her best friend Maddy. He takes in every word, memorizing every detail she gives him.
Thayer parks behind the diner. Almost immediately Seda is unbuckling herself, reaching for the door but it has kid safety locks so she can抰 get out.
揙pen sesame,?she groans, trying to force the door open. 揑 want pancakes in my tummy!?
Soberly, I warn Thayer, 揝he抯 a monster when she抯 hungry.?
揑t抯 too bad I ate my emergency Snickers.?
揅hocolate chip pancakes, please!?She shakes the door handle again.
Putting her out of her misery, I get out of the truck and open her door. She climbs down, staying by my side since she knows better than to run off.
Thayer locks up the truck, the three of us heading inside the diner. This might be a small town, but this place is always busy. Several people look our way, and I know they抮e probably figuring out what抯 going on here.
It抣l be all over town soon that not only did I just come back to town, but I had Thayer抯 love child at nineteen. This will fill the town抯 gossip quota for the next five years梐t least.
You seat yourself, so Thayer leads us to a booth in the back. He slides in one side and I know he抯 expecting Seda to sit opposite him with me, but instead she chooses his side. His eyes dart from her to me with surprise.
I take my spot across from them and I know this is one of those times I抦 taking a snapshot in my mind. I don抰 want to forget this, how perfect they look side by side.
揅an someone get me chocolate chip pancakes in this place??Seda asks loud enough that almost the entire building hears. If they weren抰 already staring, they would be now.
揝eda, that抯 not how we ask for things we want.?
揙h, I forgot the please. Sorry.?
I shake my head, she抯 right on forgetting that but I was thinking more along the lines of using her inside voice.
揥ell, well, well look at you. I thought I抎 never lay my eyes on the Salem Matthews again.?
I smile up at Darla who was always my favorite waitress here. 揌i, how are you??
揑抦 good.?She nods, her eyes bouncing around the three of us. 揟his one yours??She points at Seda.
揧eah.?I grin proudly. 揝he抯 mine.?
揂nd ?Caleb抯？？It抯 a presumptuous question, rather rude actually, but I know she doesn抰 mean any harm. That抯 how people in small town抯 are梱our business is everyone抯 business.
揑 assume you mean biologically??
揧-Yes??She stutters it out as a question.
揟hen the answer is no. Thayer,?I wave my hand at him, 搃s her biological father. If everyone must know he wasn抰 aware of that until very recently. Caleb is her dad too, he抯 raised her, and that抯 that.?
I keep my chin high, refusing to cower from these people.
Across from me, Seda抯 lips puff out with frustration. 揥hy do all these old people care who my daddy is? I have two daddies because I抦 twice as special as all of you. Now can I have my chocolate chip pancakes??
And with that statement from her, the volume in the diner picks up as people return to their food and coffee. Leave it to Seda to put people in their place.
CHAPTER 28
THAYER
The situation at the diner wasn抰 the best, but Salem handled it like a champ just like she does everything.
Once all of us are full, I take my girls to the local flower shop to let Seda pick out flowers for Forrest抯 grave. I expect her to run around excitedly looking at all the pretty flowers, but I抦 learning Seda rarely does what I expect. Instead, she quietly meanders the tiny shop, carefully peering at every flower and being careful not to touch.
揧ou抮e smiling,?Salem says at my side. 揥hat are you thinking about??
Tilting my head her way, I tell her, 揟hat I抦 a lucky bastard. I got to have breakfast with my girls梐nd I fucking love the sound of that. My girls,?I repeat, my smile growing when Salem blushes.
She tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. 揧ou think I抦 yours, huh??
揟hink? No, baby, I know. I knew then and I know now梱ou抮e mine in the same way I抦 yours. I don抰 own you, but you抮e my perfect fit梩he puzzle piece I didn抰 know I was missing.?
Her eyes soften, lips curling into a soft shy smile. She likes what I said and I meant every word.
Up ahead, Seda points at a bunch of flowers. 揟hese.?
It抯 a ready-made bouquet filled with sunflowers, eucalyptus, and small purple wildflowers similar to the one I suspect Salem left on Forrest抯 grave.
I grab up the bunch and carry it to the checkout counter. 揥e抣l take these.?
After it抯 paid for, I hand them over to Seda for safe keeping.
Salem stands off to the side, watching me interact with our daughter. I can see the guilt in her eyes, the worry that she really fucked things up. I wish I could get rid of those thoughts for her. Because no matter what happened before, we抮e here now.
Caleb has her past, but I have her future. That抯 all that matters to me.
揅ome on, ladies, we don抰 have much time.?
We load back into my truck, heading the short distance to the cemetery. We were at the diner longer than I expected and since Caleb is picking Seda up at noon I want to make sure we抮e back on time. It irks me to know I have to hand off my kid, but I don抰 want to step on Caleb抯 toes. I know in the long run it抯 better to keep our relationship cordial.
At the cemetery Seda hops out of the truck and stands there stoically. 揑t抯 quiet here,?she whispers.
揅emeteries are almost always quiet. I guess that抯 why they call it the final resting place.?
揌mm,?she hums. Salem reaches across Seda抯 car seat and grabs the flowers, passing them to her. 揅an you hold them??My little girl asks me. 揟hey抮e too big for my little hands.?She holds up her hands, wiggling her fingers.
I take the flowers from Salem, surprised when Seda fits her hand into my empty one and her other into one of her mom抯。
Seda doesn抰 know me梟ot really, anyway梑ut she has such an open loving heart that she doesn抰 hesitate to show affection.
The three of us walk hand in hand through the freshly mowed grass. I spot Forrest抯 grave up ahead and point it out to Seda.
揟hat one right there. That抯 your brother.?
She looks up at me with big brown eyes梞y eyes. I抦 not sure I抣l ever get used to that.
揇o you think he would have liked me??She抯 already asked this before. It must be a question weighing on her mind.
揑 know he would have loved having a little sister like you.?
揑 wish I knew him,?she says softly as we finally reach the gravestone. She lets go of our hands and takes the flowers from me with a grunt. 揌ere you go, Forrest.?She puts the flowers beside the grave. 揑 picked these out just for you. They抮e so pretty. I hope you like them.?Seda looks up at us for support, like she抯 questioning whether or not she抯 doing this right. When I nod, she goes on. 揑 love dinosaurs梞y mommy says you loved them too. That抯 cool. Do you have TV where you are? You probably don抰， but if you do there抯 this show棓
Salem and I sit down in the grass a few feet away, giving Seda space to talk to her brother. I stretch my legs out, Salem scooting close enough to me that our legs touch and she rests her head on my shoulder.
This ?it feels like a dream.
I accepted my fate, that she抎 never be mine, but the universe has given us another chance and I can抰 help but think it抯 because it was always supposed to be us.