Chapter Twenty-Eight
Kennedy
Leaving the hotel room was a sad day for Trinity and I. We both walked around the room, saying goodbye to all the different rooms and elements.
“Goodbye, balcony,” I said.
“Goodbye, lamp,” she replied.
“Goodbye coffee machine.”
“Goodbye, bath.”
“Come on, you two,” Reed said. He was standing in the doorway waiting for us to finish our tour of the hotel room. A smile was playing on his face as he watched us. “Why do I get the feeling that the two of you are trying to prolong this?”
I laughed. “Because we are. We don’t to leave.”
“Neither do I,” Reed admitted. “But sadly, we have a plane to catch. And I have a job to get back to.”
I sighed. “What a pity. Trin and I were just talking about how you should become a doctor at Disney World and how we could spend our days just going on rides and running around like lunatics while you go to work. I would become a chef for one of the restaurants nearby, and Trinity would be my assistant. We will work only a few hours a day of course. I mean, we need maximum time for fun. You see, we have the whole thing planned out.”
Trinity was giggling beside me. “It’s our new dream, Daddy.”
Reed laughed. “Sounds like a good dream to me. Come on, you crazy girls. Let’s go. I’m giving you five seconds. If you don’t come out the door by the time I’ve reached five, I’m going to have to drag you out by your feet. One, two, three . . . .”
“Quick,” I said, and Trinity and I bolted out. Trinity was laughing so hard she was battling to breathe. I smiled at Reed. I had never seen Trinity as happy as she was right then. It had been a good week for all of us.
On the flight home, Trinity could not stop talking. She looked exhausted though, even though she’d gotten a full night’s rest, and I could see the activities from the week were starting to catch up with her. But she was forcing herself to stay awake, talking non-stop and telling us the same stories she’d told us all week. It was hard not to feel happy with her around. It had been a great week, and things between all of us had been wonderful.
My only concern was that we were starting to act like a family. Reed and I had not had the most conventional start to our relationship. We hadn’t gone on dates to get to know another; we hadn’t slowly made our way from kissing to sex. And with Trinity around, we didn’t get the chance to just be boyfriend and girlfriend without any strings attached. She was always on both of our minds, and we were both very aware of the fact that she would get hurt if we were to break up. We hadn’t even officially announced what we were. Not to the world, and not even to each other. It was as if we hadn’t needed any labels to show that we cared for each other. We just fit into each other’s lives perfectly. It was a bit nerve wracking that we had gone from strangers to being a family together, but there was nothing that we could do to slow it down. And I wasn’t sure that we could suddenly start pulling away from each other now. Especially not after the incredible week that we had just experienced together.
When we got out of the plane, we called a cab and all climbed into together. Five minutes later, I saw that Trinity was fast asleep. I motioned to Reed and pointed at her.
“I knew this would happen,” I said. “You could tell she was exhausted. Poor kid didn’t want to miss a thing, though. She’s probably only sleeping now because we’re going home. She had a great time, didn’t she?”
“She told me that it was the best week of her life,” Reed said fondly. “I don’t know about you, but I have to agree with her.”
“Oh, me too. Thanks for taking the week off work. I know it’s not always easy for you to do that.”
“Ah, it was worth it. I’m sad to be home.”
“Me too.”
We spent the next half hour in comfortable silence while the driver took us back home. I looked outside and watched as the streets became more and more familiar. I’d always loved Seattle, so I didn’t mind being home. What I was most sad about wasn’t the fact that we were back home, but rather that we weren’t away on vacation acting like a family. I was going to back home and sleep in my own bed, and in the morning I would wake up without Reed and without Trinity. I was surprised at how sad that made me. I’d always loved being alone. I used to tell Camille that my biggest concern with meeting someone was that I would get sick of them. I had been alone for most of my life, and it was something that I thought was engrained in me. I hadn’t realized just how much I actually needed someone until now. I’d just never met the right person. I turned to Reed and smiled at him. He was looking out the window, a contemplative look on his face, and I resisted the urge to tell him how sexy he was in front of the driver.
We climbed out the car and collected our suitcases, thanking the driver. Reed had Trinity in his arms, and she was still fast asleep. I was just about to open up for us when I saw that someone was waiting for us in the doorway.
“Angela?” Reed said.
I stood there, staring at the woman in front of us. We should’ve known that she wasn’t going to give up so easily. Just like that, the happy feelings from the holiday disappeared.
“What are you doing here?” Reed asked, his voice quiet but livid.
“What do you think? Oh, is that Trinity? Oh, let me see her. Wow, she’s so big now,” Angela said, moving forward.
Reed took a few steps back and looked at me.
“Can you take her inside?” he said to me.
I nodded. I opened the door and took Trinity from Reed, grateful that she was still asleep. I quickly walked in and took her to her bedroom, where I placed her in her bed. The moment her head touched the pillow, she opened her eyes and looked at me in confusion.
“Are we back at the hotel?” she asked me.
I shook my head. “No, we’re back home. You’re in bed now. Come on, get some sleep.”
“What about you and Daddy?” she asked.
“We’ll get some sleep too,” I lied. “I think we all need it. How about I wake you up a bit later with some hot cocoa?”
She smiled. “Okay.”
She closed her eyes, and I waited several minutes to make sure that she was sleeping before switching off the light and walking out. I closed the door behind me and took several breaths before trying to decide what to do. Finally, I decided to go out and see what was going on. I’d been with Reed the entire week, and I felt like I had the right to know what was going on.
I walked outside and closed the door behind me. There were now two closed doors between us and Trinity and the thought made me feel a bit better.
“She’s sleeping,” I said to Reed.
“Who the hell are you? Oh, you’re the nanny!” Angela said.
“Yes, I am,” I answered simply.
“She’s more than that,” Reed said. It probably wasn’t the best time for Reed to be sticking up for me, but it was still nice that he had.
“Oh yeah?” Angela said. “Well, fancy that. I guess you couldn’t find anyone else.”
I shook my head. “Angela, what do you want from Reed? You left him six years ago. Six long years ago. Why are you back?”
Angela looked at me with narrowed eyes. “What does it have to do with you? This is between myself and Reed now. So, if you don’t mind, maybe you should leave. Or go inside and do your nanny duty.”
“Angela, don’t be rude. Kennedy is my girlfriend,” he said. It was the first time he had referred to me as his girlfriend, and even though the situation was a little crazy, I couldn’t help but smile at the word. “And you have not been here for six years. Kennedy has been more of a mother to Trinity in the last few months than you have been in her entire life. So, she can stay.”
Angela laughed. “Is that so?”
“Yes, it’s so.”
Angela turned to look at me again. “Kennedy,” she said. Her voice was calm and steady. “Are you in love with Reed?” she asked.
The question took me by surprise. He’d called me his girlfriend for the first time a few seconds ago. Love was a whole new thing that we hadn’t yet discussed. I looked at Reed, and in that instant, I knew what my answer was going to be.
“Yes,” I said simply.
“Okay, that means you probably know a lot about him.”
“Yes, I think I do,” I answered. I sometimes felt like he was the person I knew best in my life, despite the fact that I hadn’t known him for that long.
“Then you’ll also know that he’s still married to me.”
I stood there, letting the words sink in, as I looked at Angela, and then at Reed, and then back at Angela again.
“What?”
“Ah, so you don’t know everything about him then. I had a funny little feeling that he hadn’t told you that.”
“Is this true?” I asked Reed.
Reed didn’t answer me. Instead, he glared at Angela. “Get off my property.”
“Oh come on, Reed. The fun is just beginning,” Angela said.
“Angela. Get. Off. My. Property. Right. Now.” His words came out scattered, as if he had to take a deep breath between each one.
“Okay, okay, I’m leaving. But this is not the last time you’ll hear from me,” she said to him. Then she turned to look at me and grinned. “Ah, going out with a married man. How could you?” she said and walked off.
We stood there in silence, waiting for her to leave. Then I turned to Reed.
“Is it true?”
Reed sighed. “Yes, I didn’t sign the paperwork. I just . . . I forgot, I guess.”
“You forgot? How could you forget that you were still married? Were you hoping all this time that she would come back and that the two of you would just carry on where you left off? Is that what you wanted?”
“No, no. Of course not. I never thought I’d ever meet anyone again. I never thought I’d even want to get married again. I wanted to stay clear of the whole thing. I . . . I’m so sorry.”
“All this time. Do you even realize that you’ve been calling her your ex-wife to me? That sort of implies that you’re not married anymore, you know.”
“I know. I know. But I’ve thought of her as my ex-wife for such a long time. We’re divorced. We just don’t have the paperwork to prove it. But in my mind, we are divorced.”
I looked at Reed and shook my head. “And in my mind, you’re still married. In my mind, you lied to me. You’ve had plenty of time to open up to me, Reed. Plenty of time to tell me the truth. I’m leaving now. I can’t deal with this right now.”
“No, please don’t go, Ken. Please stay.”
“It’s my day off tomorrow. Do me a favor and don’t contact me,” I said. I picked up my bags and walked straight to my car, not daring to look back.