Chapter Twenty-Four
Kennedy
With everything that had been going on, I was looking forward to spending the morning with Camille. She was working at the office, and she asked me to join her there for lunch and a catch-up. I think she could sense that I needed to talk because when she’d called me earlier that week, she said I hadn’t been myself. I still hadn’t told her about Angela coming into the picture, but it wasn’t something I hadn’t really dealt with myself. I needed a few days to internalize what was happening before talking about it with someone else.
When I arrived, she gave me a big squeeze and told me that we were going to have a picnic in the garden area.
“A picnic? That sounds amazing,” I said. “What’s going on?”
“Well, we’re testing out a new picnic idea that we’ve created for guests who want to do a smaller and more intimate wedding. Not everyone wants to do these big events, and I thought it would be nice to offer them a picnic style wedding instead. I love the idea of everyone chilling on the floor with incredible food and drinks, don’t you?”
“Are you kidding me? I love that idea.” My first thought was that I couldn’t wait to tell Trinity about it too.
“I knew you’d like it too. I think it’s going to be a big hit. We’re going to be offering a generic hamper, which we’ll be trying now, and then we can customize it according to whatever the wedding party wants on the day. Basically, what it really boils down to is that we get to have free food and spend the day together. There are times when I really love this job. And how perfect is this day for it?”
It was one of those days that happened so rarely. A day that was not too hot, not too cold, no wind other than a small breeze. She was right; it was perfect. We made our way to the picnic area, which had already been set up. There were options to sit on the floor or on the little wooden tables, but we chose the floor. Picnics were something that we had always done together, so it was only natural for us to go immediately to the floor. There was something about being so close to the ground that made you feel at one with the earth. We sat down, and Camille poured each of us a glass of champagne.
“I love that you’re drinking champagne at work right now.”
She giggled. “After the week I’ve had, I need it.”
I took a sip. “Tell me about it. Same here.”
“So, what’s going on with you? You haven’t seemed yourself this week.”
I sighed. She knew me too well. “I’m glad to be here, Cam. I definitely feel like I need to talk to you about this. I just didn’t tell you over the phone because I’m still trying to wrap my own head around it.”
“What? This sounds serious.”
“Reed’s ex-wife came back.”
“What? Are you serious? How long has she been away for?”
“Six years. She left when Trinity was only a few months old. She left him a note, and she just left. Poor Reed was devastated. I mean, all of a sudden he was left to bring up a child on his own. And you know what a busy man he is. His job requires him to be there all the time. It wasn’t easy for him. And then, all of a sudden, she just shows up again.”
“Have you seen her?”
“Well, she came on the night of the banquet. I turned around when I saw Reed’s face go white. I haven’t met her, but I saw her standing in the doorway looking for him. Thankfully Trinity didn’t notice at all. Right now she’s still none the wiser as to what is going on. I think Reed is trying to figure out if he must tell her or not.”
“What do you think he should do?”
“I don’t know. I guess I think he should tell her. But I can understand why he hasn’t done it yet. Also, I think he wants to know exactly what she is after first, before getting his daughter involved. He’s been shielding his daughter for six years, and suddenly he feels helpless. I feel so bad for him.”
“That’s awful. I wonder what she wants. Has she said anything to him?”
“Oh yeah. She says she wants him back. She wants Trinity back too. It took her six years to realize that she is ready to be a wife and a mother again. Can you believe it? How can she do that to him? The woman is obviously not all right in the head. Reed told her that there was no way that he wanted her back after what she did.”
“And how are things going between the two of you? You looked very close at the wedding.”
I blushed. “Yeah, we are. Things are going well. We’re together, sort of. I mean, we’re being careful because of Trinity. We wanted to first see how things were going to pan out between us before getting her involved. But I really like him, Cam. And I think he really likes me. The two of us just get along so well. There’s something between us that I have never felt with anyone else before.”
Camille sighed heavily and took a glass of her champagne. She looked deep in thought. I frowned.
“What’s going on? Why the heavy sigh?”
She shook her head. “It’s just that I’ve been trying to get you to fall in love for a very long time. You’ve always been so difficult with men. And don’t get me wrong, that’s a good thing. It’s good to hold out for the right one. But now that you’ve finally met someone, he comes with all this baggage. Having a child is fine. He’s a great father, and that’s pretty clear for all to see. It says a lot about who he is as a person. But this whole thing with the ex-wife worries me. She doesn’t sound mentally stable, to be honest. I’m just worried that you are going to be stuck in the middle of a really nasty situation. I just don’t want to see you getting hurt.”
“I don’t want to get hurt, either. And I don’t want to make things worse by being there. But at the same time, it’s not like I can just walk away.”
“Just promise me you’ll be careful, Kennedy. Promise me you’ll also think about your own well-being in all of this.”
I sighed. “I promise, Cam.”
I spent the next few hours with Camille, testing out the food hamper and then sitting down with their team to discuss what worked and what didn’t work with the picnic idea. It ended up being a lot of fun, and it helped keep my mind off what was going on with Reed. It was exactly what I needed for the day. When I left, I gave Camille a big hug, and she reminded me once again to be careful and to look after myself.
I got home and tried to busy myself around the apartment. I spent an hour cleaning and listening to music to help keep my mind off of what was happening. It helped, but the moment I stopped cleaning I was back to thinking about Reed again. I just couldn’t stop wondering if Camille was right. Was I being silly to get so involved with Reed and his family? It was a messy situation and probably something that they needed to figure out without me. But how could I suddenly walk away from Trinity? I thought of her little face, and how it always lit up when I was around.
“My friends all have mothers,” she’d said to me recently during one of our drawing sessions. The art always seemed to bring out a contemplative side out of her. “And this one girl, Susie, she’s not my friend really, but she told me that there was something wrong with me for only having a father. She said I was an orphan.”
“No, you’re not! You have your father. And he’s amazing,” I’d replied. Kids could be mean, I remember thinking.
“Yeah, that’s what I said. And anyway, you didn’t have a mom or a dad, and there’s nothing wrong with you. Plus, I have you now, and you’re the coolest.”
I smiled thinking about the conversation. Nobody had ever made me feel as special as she had. I supposed that was what it felt like to have a child. I didn’t realize how powerful it could be. There was no way I could leave her. Not after that conversation. Not after I had promised her that I would always be in her life. No matter what happened with myself and Reed, and no matter what happened with Reed and his ex-wife, I was going to be there for Trinity. She came first.
I hadn’t heard from Reed in a while, so I decided to call him and see how he was coping with everything. He wasn’t used to having someone that he could just call up, and he sometimes forgot that he could do that with me. For six years he had kept everything to himself.
“Hey, handsome,” I said when he answered the phone.
“Ken, this is a nice surprise. Good day?”
“Actually, great day. I had a picnic with Camille. We were testing out some wedding ideas for her clients. I love that she included me in on it. I got to test out a picnic hamper and champagne. I’m not complaining.”
“Sounds like fun! And it also sounds like the kind of wedding I would want to go to.”
“That’s what I said to her. I think most people would find this better than normal weddings.”
“I wonder if Peter and Petunia would enjoy it?” he said and laughed.
I chuckled. “Oh, you know what they’re like. They love weddings.”
“It’s nice to hear your voice, Ken,” he said. “And it’s really good to laugh again.”
“Are you okay?”
He sighed. “I’m okay I guess. I’m just worried about what Angela is going to do. It’s been stressing me out quite a bit. All I can think about is whether or not I should say something to Trinity. Right now, I’m leaning on not saying anything to her. I’m still hoping Angela will just go away. I know she’s Trinity’s real mother, but she hasn’t been a mother at all to her. And I know she’s only to break my daughter’s heart. I don’t know, Ken, am I being a bad father?”
“Are you kidding me? You’re the best father there is. Look, there’s no right or wrong here. You must just do whatever it is that you feel is best for both you and Trinity. Don’t worry; it’s all going to be fine. But if there’s one thing for certain, it’s that you are an amazing father. Trinity knows that too. And I promise to be there for you through it all, no matter what happens. And I’m not leaving Trinity, that I promise you. She’s my number one priority in all of this, no matter what happens.”
I wasn’t sure when my job of a personal chef had turned into something more, but it had. And it wasn’t about the food anymore. I loved Trinity more and more each day, and I wouldn’t do anything to harm her.
“Thank you, Ken. I can’t tell you how much that means to me right now. I needed to hear that. You’re the calm in this very crazy storm. I miss you.”
I chuckled. “You miss me? You saw me yesterday.”
“I still miss you.”
“I miss you too.”
“Want to come over tomorrow night? For dinner.”
“I’d love to. You cooking?”
He laughed. “How do eggs on toast sound? Or oats? Or pancakes?”
I laughed. “Or how about I cook for you?”
“I’m inviting you over for dinner, though. That doesn’t seem right.”
“It’s my job,” I said. “And anyway, I’d love to cook for the two of you.”
“You just don’t want my cooking, do you?” he teased.
“That might be part of the reason,” I said and laughed. “But, I’ll be there.”