Chapter Thirty-One

Elijah

 

I woke up surprisingly well-rested. I stretched out on the new bed, stared around the freshly painted room that used to belong to my father, and felt at ease, almost an ‘at home’ feeling, but not quite. I rolled over expecting to see Taylor snuggled under the sheets beside me, but the bed was empty.

I sat up and looked around the room for any signs of her clothing, but everything was gone. “Taylor,” I called out as my feet hit the smooth hardwood floors. My voice echoed down the hall in the practically empty house, but I didn’t get a response. In the kitchen, there was a note on the table. I picked it up, rubbed my eyes, and started to read.

Dear Elijah,

I realize things in your world have changed, but they haven’t in mine. I started this sexual relationship with the belief you would be going back to the States, not staying here to make a life and home.

I understand that we have grown close, but it was easy to let go when there was no fear of commitment. This isn’t what I signed up for, and not what I want.

Since this has caused you grief with your new family situation, it’s best we end it now before anyone gets hurt.

Taylor

I let the paper slip from my fingers as I soaked in the words she’d written. It didn’t sound like Taylor, not the Taylor I knew. We had grown close, or at least I had. My heart was aching at the thought of what we had between us being fake, unimportant, and disposable. What the fuck?

My knees buckled slightly beneath me, causing me to grab the chair next to the small table. I sat down, thought about her note, and realized maybe I was just caught up in the game. It was easy, no strings, no pressure. I’d thought about staying and not returning to Miami, especially after that night in the tent. I knew she’d said she loved me, and I’d said it too, even though she didn’t hear it. I never told her I was staying. I never made any arrangements back home with anyone to take care of my place, or possibly put it up for sale. Was I serious about her? Did I love her, or was I just enjoying the comfort of a relationship without the actual commitment?

Anger started boiling inside of me as I thought about the words on her note. Fuck her if she wanted to be that way. Now that I was staying, there was nothing she wanted to explore, no desire at all to maybe find out of we’d work? I didn’t need this shit. Relationships weren’t my thing. I’d said that over and over again. I wasn’t going to let this woman get under my skin, no matter how much I really liked her.

I gathered my clothes, quickly dressed, and headed out the front door. A part of me wanted to head to Taylor’s, to tell her she was a coward for writing me a note and not telling me to my face. Nah, she doesn’t deserve to have me chasing after her. I used to hate it when women did that to me. Fuck!

I climbed into my car and drove to Kellie’s. I banged on the front door without bothering to use the bell. When she opened it, I took a deep breath and pulled back my anger. I wasn’t happy with her either, making demands on my personal life like she had any fucking right. “I’m here to see Bailey,” I announced firmly.

Her eyes narrowed as she puckered her lips in boredom. “Oh yeah? I thought we discussed that last night,” she sassed.

I could reach out and strangle her little fucking neck. I was in no mood for her games too. I’d been played enough already. “Taylor left me a note this morning; she’s gone,” I snapped. “There’s nothing to worry about; I’m alone just like you wanted.”

My tone had grown to a deep growl, one I could tell Kellie didn’t like. “I’m sorry. I’m just irritated. But, the fact remains, Taylor is out of the picture, never to return. So, it’s just me and Bailey, and I’d like to spend some time with her,” I said much calmer.

Kellie moved out of the doorway and motioned me inside. “She’s just finishing breakfast,” she pointed towards the kitchen.

Before I made it into the room, Bailey was already on her feet and running towards me. Her little hands gripped around my knees with a tight embrace. “Daddy,” she exclaimed cheerfully. That was a name I never imagined being called. Daddy: it did have a nice sound to it coming from Bailey.

“I was going to see if you wanted to hang out with me today, if that’s okay with your mom,” I looked towards Kellie with a pouted lip and my best sad puppy dog eyes.

“Please, mommy, can I?” Bailey whined in her mother’s high-pitched voice.

I chuckled at the thought of how much pleasure it brought me when it came from Bailey, and how much anguish it caused when coming from her mother.

“Oh, okay,” Kellie gave in to her child’s pleas, or possibly my pitiful look. Either way, I was going to spend the day with my daughter, just me and her. Who needed Taylor anyway? I had everything I needed right here, in this little girl with juice-stained lips that called me daddy.

“Where are you going to go?” Kellie asked.

I hadn’t really thought about where we would go or what we would do. She was only three, and a little girl. I had no idea what three-year-old little girls liked to do. “Go to the beach, maybe down by the harbor,” I suggested.

Kellie seemed fine with the plan, nodding and then sending Bailey to her room to change into her swimsuit. “I’ll pack her a bag,” Kellie said, moving past me to the other room.

I stood there, still stunned by the news I’d received from Taylor, and irritated by Kellie’s aggression, but my heart felt full at that moment. I had my daughter. It would all be fine.

“I’m ready,” Bailey chanted, running out of her room. Kellie was behind her, barely keeping up.

“Here,” she handed me a purple bag with a bright blue whale on the front. I’ll look adorable with this on my arm.

We left the house with Kellie watching. It was easy to see she was nervous letting me take Bailey on my own, but there was no way she was as nervous as I was. What am I going to do with this kid?

Bailey helped strap in her car seat and immediately asked to listen to the radio. I turned it on as we pulled away, and laughed proudly as she sang along to an AC/DC song. “You know this song?” I questioned.

She nodded with a wide grin and then continued to sing along with the chorus. She was certainly mine.

At the beach, Bailey ran ahead while I spread out the blanket in the bag Kellie provided. I watched as she started her sand castle, again in the soft, dry sand. “Let me show you,” I told her, taking her bucket and moving it towards the damp sand. She helped me fill it up several times, and then dump it into a perfect shape for the castle walls. “Wow,” she exclaimed.

The way she looked at me with such admiration made me feel ten feet tall. Her giant eyes widened each time I showed her something new, and by the time we made it to the water’s edge, it felt as though I’d known her since birth. “Ice cream,” she said, running from a large wave breaking near her feet.

“Okay,” I agreed, ready to get out of the sun. We packed up, walked to the ice cream shop near the beach entrance, and stood at the window where it said to place your order. My eyes drifted over to the bakery, Madison’s bakery, and I scanned the parking lot for Taylor’s car. I don’t know what I hoped to see, or what I planned to do if she was there, but I was relieved she wasn’t.

“What can I get you?” the woman appeared in the window and immediately turned her attention to Bailey.

“I want blue ice cream with a sugar cone, and sprinkles, lots of them,” she boasted, bouncing as she spoke.

“And you?” the woman turned to me.

“Just a vanilla cone, two scoops,” I smiled, still distracted by thoughts of Taylor.

We sat at a table where we could watch the waves slap into the shore. I was glad she picked the farthest one away from Madison’s store. My heart was heavy as I thought about Taylor. There weren't any clues that she was in it for just the sex, none.

Bailey wanted to watch the boats come into the harbor, so we drove to the pier and watched for about an hour. It was starting to get late, and I knew Kellie would be worried, so I packed up Bailey with her corndog in her hand and headed back to her house.

Her little body was limp as I lifted her from the seat and carried her to the front door. Kellie must’ve been watching, waiting for us to pull up, because she had the front door open before I could make it to the porch. “Looks like you wore her out,” she laughed.

I hated to let her go, the warmth of her body was so soothing. Kellie slid her from my arms, thanked me, and then went inside, closing the door, and me from their daily life.

As my heart ached for the little girl that called me daddy, I realized I’d made the right decision. There was no doubt in my mind. I just couldn’t help but wonder what it could’ve been like if Taylor didn’t bail. What it would be like to be a family.