“Well, didn’t you make a plan?” my uncle Matthew asks me.
“It’s been two days,” I tell him.
“Exactly,” Max counters, putting his hands on his hips. “How don’t you have a plan?”
“It’s a shock for anyone, I’m sure.” My aunt Allison smiles, giving me an encouraging smile.
“Either way, I want to make a room for Avery,” I inform them of the only thing I’m one thousand percent sure of.
“Yes.” My mother nods her head. “I’m already on it.” She smiles at me and I know she was already on that yesterday as soon as I got off the phone with her.
We walk around the house and go outside, where we talk about putting in a pool, because what kind of a monster doesn’t have a pool for his child. My phone beeps, and I look at the group.
“I’m going to go and get Avery and Addison,” I say nervously, then look at my parents. “I’ll text you when it’s time to meet.” I look at my father, trying to tell him that it would be better going at it slow. He just nods at me as I turn and walk out the door.
I make it to the ice cream shop before them. I park the car and get out, walking over to the little
picnic table in the shade to wait for them. I look to the side where a giant soccer field is in front of a huge jungle gym where kids play in different spots. Some kids are trying to cross the monkey bars while the other kids are screaming as they go down one of the slides.
Older kids are off to the side where there is even a basketball court as they start a game. I start to get really nervous as the seconds tick by, and I look down at my phone every thirty seconds because it feels like it’s been forever. My eyes roam the area, and then I spot them walking toward me. Addison is wearing tan pants that hug every fucking curve she has and a tight black sleeveless shirt showing off her slender arms. The neck is in a circle, and you can see her clavicle. The clavicle I bit into the second I slid inside her as she sat on that hotel desk that no one uses. My cock gets immediately hard, but I shake my head, looking down and then up again toward the both of them. Addison holds Avery’s hand while they talk, or better yet, as Avery tells her a story. Her free hand goes crazy in the air as she tells her the story. I can’t help but smile when I look at them. I also can’t help but feel settled. It’s the strangest feeling I’ve ever felt in my whole life.
Addison must sense someone looking at her, and when she looks up, our eyes meet. “Look.” I see Addison’s mouth move as she points at me, and Avery lets go of her hand and runs the rest of the way to me. I get up from the picnic table and squat down, waiting for her.
“I told my friends I have a dad.” The way she makes the declaration, you can hear the happiness in her voice. She says it, pushing the hair out of her face, and all I can do is smile as I take her hand and pull her into me to hug her as if I’ve been doing this always.
“How was your day?” I ask her when I let her go but then look up at Addison, who just smiles down at us. “Shall we get ice cream?”
“Yes!” Avery shouts as she jumps up and down.
“I think that’s a yes,” Addison says, smiling. “Just a little one, we still have to eat dinner,” she tells her, and I think Avery will agree to anything she says.
“I want the unicorn one,” Avery says to me in a whisper-yell, “please.”
“We will take a small unicorn one,” I tell the girl, then look at Addison, who just shakes her head.
“I’ll have a vanilla cone,” I tell her, even though I don’t really like ice cream. I know I must keep my hands busy or they’ll shake.
I grab the ice cream cone with a small scoop on top of a waffle cone. It looks like it’s pink and blue but also yellow and orange. I grab my cone and pay her before returning to the table. I sit on the bench in front of Avery and Addison.
“So,” I say, taking a lick of my ice cream, “my mom and dad came to visit me.” I look at Avery as she licks her ice cream, her nose even getting some. “And they would like to meet you.”
Avery looks at me. “You have a mom and dad, too?” I look at Addison, who just blinks and looks down at her purse. She fidgets with the zipper for a second before I turn back to Avery.
“I do,” I tell her. “Do you want to meet them?” I ask her, really hoping she says yes, because I don’t know what I’m going to do if she says no, thank you.
“Okay,” she agrees as if her world won’t be turned upside down.