Chapter Thirty-Nine
Reed
The next day I went to Trinity’s room before she had woken up. I walked in and sat on the bed, and she immediately opened her eyes.
“Daddy, what’s wrong?” she asked in a panic.
I stroked her hair. “Nothing is wrong. I just wanted to say good morning.”
She gave me a strange look. “Is that all?”
“Actually, I have a surprise for you.”
She sat up. “You do? What is it?”
I chuckled. “Come with me.”
She climbed out of bed and took my hand, and together we walked into my bedroom.
“There’s someone here that wants to see you,” I said.
Trinity gasped when she saw Kennedy lying in bed, and jumped onto the bed to join her.
“You slept over!” she said. Other than the night that we had all slept in the living room, Kennedy had continued going home at the end of the day. We didn’t want to jump back into anything too quickly, especially after what had happened. But it was starting to feel futile. It was impossible for the two of us not to be together.
Kennedy chuckled. “I sure did; want to join me in bed?”
Trinity climbed under the covers and crawled in beside Kennedy, and I smiled as the two of them embraced.
“Are you joining us, Daddy?”
“No, I think I’m going to make you girls breakfast today. What do you think?”
“Yes! Breakfast in bed; that’s so cool!”
I laughed. “Don’t go getting used to this now.”
I walked out the room to the sound of them giggling together, and I made my way down the stairs to get breakfast started. I decided to make scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon, with the toast cut into a heart shape. My first attempts didn’t go too well, with the hearts not looking the right shape at all, but I eventually got it right. With that, I made coffee for myself and Kennedy and a cup of tea for Trinity. It took me two trips, but I eventually got everything to the room.
“Okay, who is ready for breakfast?” I said.
“Me!”
“Me!”
I handed them each a tray and watched as Trinity’s face took in the heart shaped toast.
“It’s a heart!” she exclaimed.
I laughed. “Phew, I’m glad you can tell what it is. My shape making skills aren’t the best.”
“This is great, Reed,” Kennedy said.
We spent the next hour in bed together. I put the trays to the side once we had all finished and we all snuggled up in bed together to talk.
“Maybe I can stay at home tomorrow instead of going to school?” Trinity suggested sweetly.
“No skipping school,” I said to her. “But why do you want to stay at home?”
“To be with Kennedy,” she said honestly.
“Angel, you don’t have to worry about that. Kennedy isn’t going anywhere.”
Trinity looked up at Kennedy. “You’re not?”
“I’m not. I promise. Now, what do you want to do today?”
“Visit Merlot,” she said.
Kennedy chuckled. “That’s a wonderful idea. Merlot is going to be so happy to see you again.”
“Can I bring him a present?”
“You sure can. How about we go and buy him some of his favorite food before going back to my place?”
While Trinity and Kennedy went back to her place to spend some time with the cat, I stayed at home. I had quite a bit of admin to catch up on, and the hours alone gave me time to get it done. I was used to juggling family and work life, but I used to feel so guilty every time I would do either one of them. Either I’d feel bad that I was neglecting my work, or I’d feel bad that I wasn’t with Trinity. Now, I could do my work without the guilt. I knew that right now Trinity was in her element spending girl time with Kennedy. The two of them probably didn’t even miss me at all.
I called Kennedy to tell her that I had to go into the office and that I’d see her a bit later that evening. She didn’t seem to mind at all. But I wasn’t telling the truth entirely. I decided that it was about time I finally made dinner for the family. I had a vague idea of how to make the spaghetti and meatballs that she had shown me, so I went to the grocery store to get all the ingredients.
It was the same grocery store where I had first met Kennedy and the thought filled me with an overwhelming sense of joy. I couldn’t believe just how much things had changed since that day. We’d lost Linda, and Angela had come and gone from our lives. And let’s not forget about the fact that I had fallen in love with the most amazing woman in the world. Once I was finished with the shopping, I popped into another shop to buy Kennedy a present, and then made my way home.
Surprisingly, I was home before them. I unloaded all the items out of the bag and placed them on the counter. I took a bottle out of the wine rack and poured a glass for myself and Kennedy, and a small glass of juice for Trinity. Then I started cooking the food.
Kennedy and Trinity came home moments later, both of them giving me a very funny look as they walked in and saw me in the kitchen.
“Hey, handsome,” Kennedy said. “What’s cooking, good looking?”
Trinity laughed at that. “Are you cooking?”
“I certainly am. I thought I’d give you girls the night off. And anyway, I owe you spaghetti and meatballs, remember?”
Kennedy grinned. “You sure do. Wow, breakfast in the morning and now dinner. I could get used to this. So, you got all the ingredients?” she asked.
“I did. And don’t worry about me; I know what I’m doing. The two of you can just relax. Oh, I poured you some wine. Trin, here’s your juice.”
The two of them sat in the living room while I cooked, and Trinity told me all about her day with Merlot.
“He’s the best cat ever,” she said. “He let me play with him, and I gave him some of his food, and he loved me after that. Then we watched a movie together, and he curled up on my lap. He didn’t want to move even when the movie was finished. Daddy, can we also get a cat?”
I chuckled. I knew this was coming. “I’ll think about it.”
“For now you can just be Merlot’s second mommy if you like,” Kennedy suggested.
“Really?”
“Really.”
I shot her a grateful smile. “Isn’t that nice, Trin?”
“So nice!” she said and seemed satisfied. Then she looked at me and frowned. “Daddy, why are you crying?”
I laughed. “I’m not crying. It’s these damn onions. I don’t know how you do that without crying, Ken.” I wiped my eyes with my sleeve and continued to chop.
She laughed. “I cry too. Some days are worse than others. But maybe my eyes are used to it now or something because it definitely doesn’t affect me like it used to.”
“Are you saying that I don’t cook enough?” I said.
She giggled. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“You better not mess with the cook,” I said and waved my wooden spoon in the air. Then I looked around at my counter and realized I had no idea what to do next. I was sure that something was missing but I couldn’t out what it was.
“Uh, lovely Kennedy, would you care to assist me?”
She turned around. “I thought you had it all under control?”
I chuckled. “Clearly not. I suddenly don’t know what to do next.”
She got up and joined me in the kitchen, surveying the ingredients in front of me.
“All right, so you’re making meatballs aren’t you?” she said.
“Yes. And I’m sure I have everything. But I just can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong. Hey, are you laughing at me?” I asked when I heard a giggle escape from her mouth.
She laughed again, and then doubled over as the laughter got louder. “I’m sorry,” she said between gasps. She stood up and tried to compose herself. “Uh, I think I know what the problem is,” she said.
“What?”
“Uh, where’s the ground beef?”
I burst out laughing too. “Oh, it’s in the fridge. Uh, yeah, that would probably be a very important part of today’s meal.”
“How about I stay here and help you cook tonight?” she suggested.
I thought about saying no but if I had forgotten to include the meat in the meatballs than I wasn’t sure I should be left alone to do the rest. I nodded. “I think that’s wise.”
In the end, the dinner was made primarily by Kennedy, and we all sat in the living room to enjoy it together.
“This is delicious. Wow, I can’t believe you made this, Daddy,” Trinity said as she took a bite. She’d been watching a movie the whole time and hadn’t noticed that Kennedy had come to help.
I was just about to tell her otherwise when Kennedy stopped me.
“I must be a good teacher then. You’re right, Trin. This stuff is amazing. Thanks, Reed.”
I grinned at her. “It’s my pleasure. And you know what part of the meal is particularly good?” I said.
“What’s that?”
“The meat,” I said and she burst out laughing.
Later on, we all went to bed, and Trinity was delighted that Kennedy was going to be spending another night. Kennedy had promised to take her to school the next morning. I was in bed with Kennedy when I got out the present that I had bought for her.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“A present.”
“For me? But it’s not my birthday.”
“So? I can still give you a gift even if it’s not your birthday. Go on, open it,” I said.
One of the things I loved most about Kennedy was how excited she always got about things, even the little things. Sometimes she was so childlike in her behavior that it almost broke my heart. I had a feeling that she didn’t get many gifts growing up. She stared at the present for a while, then she opened it slowly, making sure not to rip any of the paper. She gasped when she saw what was inside.
“You got the picture framed,” she whispered as she stared at the photo of myself and Trinity on the balcony from Florida. Her eyes began to well up, making them sparkle with a sentimental joy.
I smiled. “Do you like it?”
“Oh Reed, this is the best present that I’ve ever gotten in my whole life.”
“Really?”
“Really. Thank you so much.”
I bent down to kiss her and immediately felt myself stir. It was hard not to feel excited about Kennedy. My hands began to trail up her leg, and then—
“Daddy?”
I froze at the sound of Trinity’s voice and turned around to see her standing at the door. Thankfully we’d had the duvet over us, so she hadn’t seen a thing.
“Trin, what’s wrong?”
“I couldn’t sleep. I thought I heard Kennedy leaving.”
“Look, Kennedy is still here. Maybe you just had a bad dream. Everything is fine my girl.”
“Trin, I’m here. Everything is fine. Do you want to sleep here for a little while?” Kennedy asked.
Trinity nodded. “Yes please.”
Kennedy whispered “I’m sorry” to me, but I shook my head to let her know that it was okay. The fact that Kennedy had put Trinity before anything else spoke volumes to me.
“I love you, Trin. I love you, Ken.”
“I love you too, Daddy. I love you, Kennedy.”
“And I love you, Trin,” Kennedy said. Then she looked at me. “And I love you, Reed.”
“And we love you, Merlot,” Trinity shouted, and we all burst out laughing.