Chapter Nineteen
Reed
It was Friday night, and I’d just told Trinity about the banquet the next day. I thought she’d be excited at the prospect of spending yet another Saturday with Kennedy. She smiled politely but didn’t say too much, and when I looked at her, I saw that her head was down and her face was somber.
“Oh, darling, what’s wrong? Don’t you want to go? I know it doesn’t sound like much fun,” I said.
I groaned. Perhaps I should’ve gone alone and asked Kennedy to look after Trinity. I thought I was doing the right thing, but maybe I was just thinking of myself because I was the one that wanted to see Kennedy. I should’ve known that a medical banquet wouldn’t exactly be something that would interest Trinity. She wanted to spend time with me but not necessarily like this.
“It does sound like fun,” she insisted. But she still didn’t look happy.
“Trin, you can talk to me. If you don’t want to come, I’m sure Kennedy won’t mind staying behind with you,” I said even though I didn’t really want to do that to Kennedy, either. I had been so looking forward to spending the evening with my two favorite girls. And, admittedly, I had wanted them both to be there if I got a prize. I wanted them to see that I was doing something good with my life.
“I do want to come,” she insisted again.
“Then what’s wrong? Because you don’t look very happy about it. You must just tell me Trin. I’m your dad; you can tell me anything remember?”
She nodded. “I just . . . I don’t have anything to wear. I wore my nice dress to the wedding, and all my other dresses are too small for me now. And I don’t want to go there wearing the same thing I always wear. But I do want to come. I promise.”
I groaned. What an idiot I was. Why had I not noticed this before? “Oh darling, I didn’t realize. I’m so sorry. I’m sometimes not very good at all this. But I am trying, and I’m glad that you told me. I have an idea. Why don’t we go shopping tomorrow? That way you can have a brand new dress for the banquet. And we can get you a few other things as well that you need.”
She brightened up. “Really?”
“Of course. And you must just tell me when you need new clothes. Goodness, I had no idea. I thought Linda did that stuff with you. I asked her to take you shopping about two months ago; didn’t you go?”
She shook her head. “No, she said she was too busy that day.”
Linda, as I was slowly discovering, had not been as into her job in the past few months as she was before. She obviously knew that she was going to leave way before she had told me. She wasn’t a bad person, but I wish she had at least told me that she was losing interest. She should’ve told me that she hadn’t taken Trinity shopping. Although, truthfully, I probably should have realized myself.
“Ah, you should’ve told me. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. That’s not important anymore. I’m glad that I know now. A morning of shopping sounds like fun. And it’s a nice excuse for the two of us to spend some time together, don’t you think?”
“Yes, thank you, Daddy,” she said.
I looked at her and smiled. How did I get so lucky? After everything that she had been through, she was still the happiest and sweetest girl alive.
The following morning I took Trinity to go shopping, and she was delighted with her purchases. She came home with two new dresses, two pairs of shoes, three shirts, and a pair of jeans. It was only when rummaging through her closet that morning I realized how few of the clothes hanging inside it actually still fit her. I felt like an awful father, but at least she was happy again. I promised that I would take her again the following month too.
“Can I get ready now, Daddy?” she said. It was about the fifth time she had asked me the same question since we’d gotten home. All she wanted to do was put on her new dress.
I looked at my watch and smiled at her. “Yes. You can get ready. We’ll leave in half an hour.”
She ran with excitement up to her room to get changed, and she came back down half an hour later in her new dress. She gave me twirl and giggled.
“You look like a princess,” I said.
“And you are my handsome father.”
“Wow, I could get used to these kinds of compliments. Come on, let’s go and get Kennedy. She is going to love your dress.”
I’d called Kennedy earlier that day to let her know what Trinity would be wearing and to see if she had something similar or at least in the same color. I figured Trinity would be delighted if they matched. I smiled when she came out of her apartment dressed in a pretty pale yellow dress that basically looked like the adult version of Trinity’s. She was absolutely beautiful. With her dark red hair and pale skin, she looked like something out of a fairy tale.
Trinity gasped when she saw Kennedy. “Kennedy! You have the same dress as me.”
Kennedy winked at me before looking at Trinity. “What? Oh wow, you’re right. That’s crazy. We must have the same great taste. You look absolutely beautiful.”
“So do you,” Trinity said. Then she turned to look at me. “It’s the same color! I can’t believe it. We’re like twins now.”
“Amazing. Well, you both look wonderful,” I said. “And I’m very proud to be taking you both with me today.”
I walked into the banquet feeling proud of two beautiful women with me. I hadn’t felt that way in a long time. I’d gotten used to going everywhere alone.
“Daddy, look! Look! Wow!” Trinity said as we walked into the banquet hall. I had seen the hall before it was done up and it was hard to imagine that it was the same place. It had been transformed into something that looked almost magical. It had a bit of wedding feel to it, and so naturally Trinity was in her element. She kept pointing at all the small décor details that I wouldn’t have even noticed myself. At six, she really had an eye for things that most people didn’t. Perhaps she really would end up working for Camille one day. But I tried not to think of that. Thinking of her working meant imagining her all grown up. I preferred to be of the belief that she was going to stay my little girl forever.
I looked at the board to see where we were seated and quickly made our way over to the table. I spotted Warren and wondered what Kennedy would think about him. Warren had always been much better around women than me, so I hoped that she didn’t instantly fall in love with him. It had happened to me once before, and I’d never really gotten over that feeling. Warren was beaming at me when he saw us approaching, and I could immediately tell what he was thinking. I had already told him how pretty Kennedy was, but it was clear from his face that he was now assessing her. And it was even clearer that he found her as beautiful as I did.
“Hey, Warren,” I said.
“Hey, Reed. Hi, Trinity. You look so beautiful today,” he said, and Trinity smiled at him. Then he looked at Kennedy and beamed. “And you must be the lovely Kennedy that I’ve heard so much about.” I groaned. Why did Warren have to always charm the woman while at the same time making me look like a fool?
“You’ve heard about me?” Kennedy asked in surprise.
“Of course, I’ve heard nothing but the name Kennedy these days,” Warren said and flashed me a smile. I narrowed my eyes and sent daggers his way.
Kennedy chuckled. “Well, that’s always good to hear. It’s a pleasure to meet you. And you must be Warren. I’ve also heard a lot about you.”
“Only bad things I hope,” Warren said.
“Naturally,” she replied, and they both laughed.
We took a seat, and Warren winked his approval at me. Moments later, the ceremony started, and we were served drinks and snacks in between the speakers. Trinity was excited by all the little plates of food that kept coming our way. She was an adventurous eater for someone her age and took delight in every morsel that was served. She did, however, still take the time to tell Kennedy that her food was better.
When my name got called out, both Trinity and Kennedy gasped beside me. I went up to collect my award and saw them smiling happily from the table at me in excitement. Little Trinity was up on her feet clapping, and I felt a surge of happiness run through me. When I got back to my seat, Trinity gave me a huge hug.
“You got a prize!” she said.
I showed her the trophy and the certificate. “Cool, huh?”
“So cool.”
“Wow, I had no idea you were getting something today,” Kennedy said. “This is amazing Reed. And well deserved.”
“Thank you,” I said with pride, and we turned to watch the rest of the speakers.
It was nearing the end of the night, and I was having a great time sitting with Kennedy and Trinity. They were surprisingly really interested in all the talks, and Trinity asked me a multitude of questions as the evening went on. I’m still not sure why I turned around when I did. But it was as if I felt someone staring at me. For a while, I couldn’t quite figure out who the woman in the doorway was. She was looking around, clearly looking for someone in particular, and something about her seemed familiar to me. And then it hit me. It was Angela. I felt the entire room start to spin out of control, and I steadied myself by holding onto the table for support. Kennedy gave me a curious look. I supposed the shock was written all over my face.
“What’s wrong?” she whispered.
I gulped. All I could think about was the fact that my daughter was sitting next to me. I leaned in toward Kennedy so that Trinity wouldn’t overhear us.
“Angela is here,” I said.
“Who?” she said, frowning back at me.
“My ex-wife. She’s here.”
“What? Where?” Kennedy asked.
“She’s at the door, and she’s looking for me.”