“We healed together,” she replies, showcasing the genuine affection she has for my kid.
“You came in at the perfect time to recharge this family,” I continue, stroking her cheek reverently. “We needed you. We needed an anti-nanny. Someone to shake things up and get us out of our routine long enough to just see each other.”
Cassandra’s eyes turn glossy as she absorbs the words that I mean with all my heart.
“And you reminded me that forgiving my past to chase after a new future could be fucking worth it. I want a future with you, Cozy. You make me feel young, like I can do the family thing again and make new memories. I didn’t want any of that before I met you.”
“Max,” Cassandra croaks, her eyes wet with unshed tears. “I want that too. I love you.”
She lifts her chin to press her lips to mine, but I pull back, knowing it won’t be enough. I grab her hand and drag her behind me through the house, flicking all the lights off as I go. No more whispered words outside of Everly’s room. I want Cassandra naked in my bed staring into my eyes while I make love to her like I never have before.
I don’t know what exactly our future holds, but if I was a betting man, I’d bet on marriage and babies in no particular order. And sooner rather than later if I have any say in it. It’s about time Everly became a big sister.
“If I was a betting woman, I would have never bet on seeing this,” Jessica exclaims as she strides into the back room of Dakota’s T-shirt shop with Kailey to find me, Everly, and Cassandra covered in aprons with bottles of dye in hand.
“Mommies!” Everly peals and takes off in her rubber gloves, running toward my ex and her wife, who arrived back in the country two weeks ago. They surprised Everly mid-dive into our swimming pool, and she belly-flopped, cried tears of pain, and then cried tears of happiness as they reunited. It was a hot mess.
Everly spent two weeks with them to reconnect, but we’re finally back on schedule now, so I had her all weekend. Cassandra, she and I did a whole lot of nothing together the past forty-eight hours. It was perfect.
Except for tonight. Tonight, before Everly goes to Jessica and Kailey’s, I was somehow coerced into tie-dying a collection of my perfectly good white Tshirts. One bad thing about having a girlfriend who has an incredibly close bond with your kid is that I am now officially outnumbered.
“Stop!” Jessica and Kailey scream as they hold their hands up to Everly.
“Everly…finish the T-shirt, then hug your moms,” Cassandra instructs with a laugh, and our eyes find each other over the table covered in dye. It’s that silent look of understanding that two people who share a child can exchange. The one that says…oh, my God, our kid is a crazy monster but also I love the shit out of her.
And I realize Everly isn’t Cassandra’s child. But it’s a look we started exchanging almost from day one of her nannying position. It’s not something I could fully appreciate until I realized I wanted her to be a part of my life. And I do want her to be a part of my life. I want her to be a part of my family. I want her to be my family.
So I’m exchanging that knowing look with her whenever the fuck I want. It feels good to be parenting a kid with a partner. I didn’t realize what I was missing all these years.
“The hoodies Everly made you guys are hanging up right behind me.” Cassandra gestures with her head as she squirts a bottle of blue dye over a rolled-up sweatshirt.
Jessica and Kailey walk over to the rack and pull the rainbow tie-dyed hoodies down to admire them. Dakota printed “I Heart my Moms” on the front.
“Do you like them?” Everly asks, smiling at Cassandra because they made them sometime over the summer.
“I love them,” Jess answers excitedly.
“They are perfect!” Kailey agrees.
“Dad, should I make one of those for Cozy too?” Everly inquires, her big blue eyes blinking at me curiously.
The room goes silent as Jess and I exchange a look this time.
Cassandra’s reply saves us all, “The hoodie you make me should say Bestie on it, Sea Monster.”
Everly nods, but her brows are pinched together. “But when you and Daddy get married, then I’ll get to call you a mom, right?”
Jessica sputters out a knowing laugh, and I shoot her a lethal glare that silently tells her in no uncertain terms to shut the fuck up. She’s the only person who knows I have a ring stashed in the freezer of the recently vacated tiny house, and she better pull it together and act cool right now.