Chapter 27

Ryan

 

 

Though I wanted Alissa there all the time, she wasn’t quite in the routine of staying the night every single night. She had stayed a few times, either getting up and helping Kayla on the bus or waiting until she was already gone for school. I had to admit, there was something really amazing about waking up next to her, having our morning coffee quietly together at the kitchen table, and then kissing passionately before parting ways to go to work. I was having a hard time concentrating on anything but her, only this time it was for a good reason, instead of pining over losing her. As far as our sleepovers were concerned, I would never tell her no again, trusting her judgment when it came to Kayla and enjoying every second of being around her. Her messy hair and the way she would stand in the bathroom on her tiptoes to put on her makeup was sexy in a way I could have never imagined.

As far as Kayla was concerned, she hadn’t commented either way on Alissa staying over at the house, so I took that as a good sign and moved forward. Alissa was the only other woman Kayla had ever seen me with, so it only made sense that it wouldn’t be weird for her to know we were dating and think she was staying over. As far as her seven-year-old mind worked, there was no real difference between dating and being married, and though I knew there was a huge difference, I wasn’t going to add tension to the situation and explain it to her at that point.

Kayla really seemed to enjoy the time she was getting to spend with Alissa, and I knew that was a really good sign. At first, I felt like she was trying really hard because she knew it made me happy, but once she let go, she treated Alissa like her best friend. She would even come home from school looking for her to tell her all about something that happened at school. It was sweet and endearing, and I felt very lucky that Kayla had Alissa there since her mother couldn’t be.

I walked downstairs, missing hearing Alissa in the house, since she decided that she needed to stay at her place for the night to get caught up on work. I offered for her to use my office space, but she said that the temptation to be with us was more than she could handle. She was pretty positive the sound of Kayla’s voice would draw her right out, and she would abandon all hope of finishing up her work for the next day. Personally, I didn’t like the fact that she was gone, but with Kayla upstairs listening to music and relaxing, I took the opportunity to spruce up my Facebook page and get rid of all the pictures of Christina and me. I knew it would bother my ex,  but I had to get rid of her and everything on my Facebook about her. I blocked her from my page before removing everything. When I was done, I felt so much better, and I wiped my hands against each other, shaking my head in pride.

As I stood up from the chair, I heard my phone, and I walked over and picked it up. I smiled, seeing my father’s name appear on the screen, something I didn’t get to see very often anymore. With him being gone, jetting across the world, it was rare that he took the time to call.

“Hey there, adventure seeker,” I said happily.

“Son,” he replied with excitement. “It’s really good to hear your voice.”

“Man,” I said with a laugh. “It’s really good to hear yours as well. How are you enjoying that honeymoon?”

“It’s been absolutely amazing,” he said with emotion. “But I think we’re both ready to start heading back home. We miss you, Kayla, the girls, and our house. I have to say, this was definitely an adventure of a lifetime, and I’ve definitely had a hard time convincing myself that a life traveling like this wouldn’t be something that was feasible. Sometimes, though, when the wind was just right, and the sunset was perfect, I considered starting up some crazy internet business like the new generation and becoming a nomad.”

“I bet,” I said, chuckling. “I’m pretty sure if it weren’t for Kayla, I would already be a nomad.”

“We are going to be back home for Kayla’s birthday on the Fourth of July,” he said. “Is that all right?”

“Of course, it is,” I said excitedly.

I was really happy to hear that they were ready to come home, and just in time to watch Kayla turn eight. I knew that she was going to be so excited to see her grandpa and grandma. They had become such a huge part of her life, and I could tell that she missed them from the way she talked about them and hung all their postcards on the wall above her desk. I could see my little dreamer traveling the world like them one day, only she would be figuring out the best way to take over the world as she moved from city to city.

As far as them coming to the party, I had no worries of it being awkward at all. I hadn’t heard anything from Christina to indicate that she would actually be showing up to her birthday party. I had called and extended the invitation via voicemail, but she never responded back in any way. At that point, I had just given up on Christina, just letting her make her own decisions and focusing on our lives there at home.

“So, what was your favorite place?” I asked.

“I would have to say the Maldives, hands down,” he replied. “The water was bluer than anything I had ever seen, the air was warm, the water was warm, and you could just lay there all day, soaking in the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. We rented a sailboat when we were there and learned how to scuba dive. We saw some really beautiful parts of the ocean, places that I thought only existed on television.”

“That sounds amazing,” I replied. “What about Greece? Kayla went nuts over that postcard, and I could tell that she really wanted to go there someday.”

“It was so beautiful,” he said. “And the people there were so friendly, all of them. They laughed, joked, and really showed us some amazing hospitality. How have things there been?”

“Okay,” I said, trying not to get into the discussion that we would eventually have to have.

“Well, that is convincing.” He chuckled. “All right, spill it. I know something is up, just from the way you said ‘okay’ and tried to divert the conversation.”

“I wanted to talk to you about it in person,” I said with a sigh.

“Well, that’s not possible right now, so tell me over the phone,” he said.

“All right. Alissa and I have been dating,” I blurted out, pausing and waiting for his response.

Instantly, I flinched, feeling awkward again about the fact that Alissa was my stepsister. I had completely forgotten about that whole thing, but now that I was having to admit my relationship to my father, it was rearing its ugly head all over again. I didn’t want to have that come creeping back into our relationship. It was the reason that we almost didn’t take the chance on each other in the first place. I thought I had come to peace with it, but as I sat there waiting for my father to speak, I realized that I might have buried it instead of making peace with it. Either way, it wasn’t going to affect whether I continued dating Alissa or not. I just knew that it would make things a hell of a lot easier if my father didn’t have those insecurities as well. I really didn’t want this conversation to turn into an argument.

“You know, it’s crazy how we can sometimes find things we didn’t even know we needed until they hit us over the head,” he said. “I didn’t realize how much I needed my wife until she looked me straight in the eyes and told me that I was either all in or all out. I had to choose. In reality, there was no choice to be made. By that point, I was already head over heels and couldn’t imagine my life without her in it. She really pulled me out of the depression that I had trapped myself in for years after your mother died. Again, I didn’t realize I needed love until it was hitting me straight over the head.”

“Very true,” I replied. “You don’t feel strange about it, though?”

“Look, son,” he said seriously. “You need to open yourself up to love. You have gone far too long without it. After what Christina did, it makes me wonder how long you had actually gone without love in your life without even realizing it. Your heart needs to be completely healed, and you deserve to find love with whoever makes you smile and gets you up every day. Knowing your stepmother, it doesn’t surprise me at all that you were able to find love in my new wife’s daughter. They are loving and caring people. I am happy for you, and I hope that Kayla is taking it very well because it is good for her, too.”

“She struggled at first.” I chuckled. “But we can talk about all that when you get back. I don’t want to take over the last few days you have on vacation.”

“All right, son,” he said happily. “We will see you on the Fourth then!”

“I can’t wait,” I replied, saying my goodbyes and hanging up the phone.

I stood there for several minutes, running that conversation through my mind. All that fear and unknowing turned out perfectly fine in the end. My father understood that Alissa and I were good for each other and good for Kayla. Out of all the people I expected to be against our relationship, I figured he would be high on that list. Apparently, that wasn’t the case, and I was happy to see that his travels had softened him quite a bit. I let out a deep breath and shook my head, walking over to the fruit bowl and grabbing an apple. I felt so much better knowing that the hardest person in my life to please, supported Alissa and my relationship. It was just more confirmation that the whole stepsibling things was nothing to worry about at all.

I tapped my fingers on the table, listening as Kayla walked around upstairs, probably dancing to the music coming out of her new stereo. The kid was a trip, and I had walked in more than one time to see her dancing like a mad woman to some English boy band or to old school Michael Jackson. She was someone who marched to the sound of her own beat. I put the apple core in the trash and headed upstairs to let Kayla know that her grandma and grandpa would be bright and happily there for her eighth birthday party. I knew that she was stressing about it a lot, and though I wanted to make it a surprise, I didn’t want her to miss out on even a second of her birthday party, wondering where the people she loved were.

As I climbed the stairs, I felt even calmer than I did before, knowing now that the weight of telling everyone about Alissa and me had been lifted off my shoulders. Now, all there really was to do was live life to the fullest. There wasn’t anything that I could see ruining the perfect place that I had found myself in with one of the most beautiful women I had ever met.