Chapter Twenty-Nine
James
One month later
I arrived at work just as I had on most days for the last month, with two cups of coffee in my hand. One with two sugars, and a vanilla latte for Rachel. I knew how she liked her coffee sweet. I brought it to her, and she had really enjoyed it. She mentioned that she would mind if I brought her one again, and from that moment forward, I brought her one almost every day, without her even asking me.
Rachel got up and greeted me with a hug before taking the coffee, which I appreciated. She set the coffees down, then turned back around, and I pulled her into me for a big kiss.
“I missed you,” I said.
“I missed you, too. But I spent the night last night, remember? You literally just saw me thirty minutes ago.” She laughed and kissed me again; then I gave her the latte.
“Thank you,” Rachel said, taking a sip. “Mmm. I love these so much. Thank you. I probably would have been dosing black coffee with creamer. We all know that doesn’t really taste that good,” she said with a laugh.
I took a sip of my coffee, “Well, you just needed to find somebody that could introduce you to the finer things, like good coffee,” I told her. Under my breath, I added, “If you can even consider that coffee.”
“Hey!” Rachel said, laughing at me. “It’s still coffee. It’s just really watered down flavored coffee. And some of us can only drink weak coffee, you know. Some of us don’t have badass taste buds like you.”
“Badass taste buds?” I asked her with a laugh.
“You know, people who like spicy stuff and drink strong black coffee. And chew on nails, and all that stuff.” She laughed again, and this time I laughed with her. She really was something else. She always kept me on my toes with the things she said to me.
I set my coffee down and wrapped my arms around her. “I am happier than I have ever been before. This last month has been so amazing,” I said to her. It was true; I had never felt this way about anyone else before.
“Aw, that’s sweet.” She gave me a smile that told me she appreciated what I’d said.
“I am happier than I’ve been in such a long time, and I owe it all to you and Nell,” she said. Her smile warmed my heart.
“I think the last month has been really good for Nell, too. Having you in her life, it somehow—I’ve seen her change. In a good way,” I told her.
“I’m glad to hear that. Because Nell has changed me, too. I enjoy every moment I spend with both of you,” Rachel said.
Nell had taken quite a liking to Rachel right away. But over the last month, I’d seen her get closer to Rachel in a way that she’d never even been to me. She would tell Rachel things that she wouldn’t tell me, and at first, it kind of bothered me, but when I thought about it, I realized it was because she didn’t have a mom. She needed someone that she could vent to. She needed someone that she could talk to, and she finally had that in Rachel.
I kissed Rachel’s head, “I’m serious. You’ve been so amazing and her and me; thank you.”
I still couldn’t believe she was mine. We’d been together for just about a month now, and we’d been spending so much time together at work and in our personal lives; I really felt like I couldn’t picture my life without her. I’ve never been more thankful for an employee that I was for her. Because she wasn’t just an employee. She had started out that way, and if she wouldn’t have, I would’ve never been able to experience the best thing that’s ever happened to me besides my daughter.
“You’re welcome. But I owe all things to you. You changed me. You helped pull me out of a really dark place,” she said.
I kissed her until the phone started ringing. She walked over and answered it, sitting at her desk. I studied her while she talked on the phone. She spoke with such ease and confidence, you wouldn’t think that Rachel ever had a moment of insecurity.
Since I’d hired Rachel, my profits had skyrocketed, and I’d increased my client intake. I was doing two shows a week now, and I owed it all to Rachel. I watched as she took notes during the call. The way she was talking, I could tell the customer was looking to pick up a piece of art they had purchased the previous weekend. They had never been here, so must have either made the purchase over the phone, or had someone else come in and buy it for them. She gave them the directions flawlessly. I never met anybody who could give direction so well. I usually just talked people into turning at another adjacent building with the red flag outside. Or, if you reach the giant oak tree, you’ve gone too far, and you should turn back and look for the Dunkin’ Donuts. But Rachel explained it to where people understood it without having to point out landmarks. Everything she did was amazing, and I was head over heels in love.
She got off the phone, and I asked her if it was a customer looking to pick up something. She told me that it was and I gave her another kiss.
“Listen, Rachel. I was thinking I could take you and Nell out to dinner tonight,” I said.
Rachel’s face lit up, “I’d love that.she said.
I felt relief flooded through me. I don’t know why, but I still felt nervous when I asked her questions. She still gave me butterflies. After that, I went upstairs into my office, then sat down and did some work for the morning before had to leave to go pick up Nell.
When Nell got in the car, I could tell there was something wrong right away.
“What’s wrong, sweetie?” I asked her.
She didn’t respond.
“Nell? Are you alright?” I asked her, again.
She didn’t answer me. She just stared out the window, which only made me wonder what was wrong even more. I had no idea what was going on in her mind, and I didn’t know if something it happened at school or not. I would’ve liked for her to tell me so I could fix the problem. I wanted her to talk to me, to lean on me. I wanted her to feel like she needed me. But I wondered if maybe I wasn’t the person to talk to.
“Nell, what’s wrong? You know you can talk to me,” I said to her.
Nell just nodded her head. She didn’t say anything else, and I was beginning to really worry. But, I decided the best thing to do for now was to take her mind off of it.
“We are going to dinner with Rachel tonight after work,” I told her.
I watch the rearview mirror as her face lit up. “Really?” she asked.
“Yes, really,” I said with a laugh.
“I’m so excited,” Nell said.
I could tell that she really was excited, and for the first time since she got in the car, she genuinely looked happy. I wanted to know what was bothering her, and I was glad that she was happy. Even if it was only going to make her happy for a little while.
The rest the day went by fast, and the three of us went out to dinner. Nell seemed to be more upbeat at dinner. She ate all of her food and chit-chatted away. I was happy to see that she was so happy and excited. It made me feel a lot better, but I knew that something was still bothering her from school. I needed to figure out, but I knew she didn’t really want to talk to me.
“Is your spaghetti good?” I asked Nell, as she put a large forkful into her mouth.
She smiled and nodded her head as she slurped up the stray noodles.
“Don’t do that,” I said. I hated when she did that, especially in public. Pasta sauce would get everywhere, plus, it was kind of gross.
“Okay, Daddy,” she said, then turned her attention to Rachel. “Can you spend the night with us tonight?”
Rachel looked at me first for confirmation, and I nodded my head.
“Of course, if that’s what you want,” Rachel said.
“You know I like it when you spend the night,” I said, with a wink and a laugh.
She lightly hit me on the arm, “Oh, you’re horrible,” she laughed. “Not the place or company.” She was still smiling though, which told me she liked my flirting and didn’t actually mean that she wanted me to stop.
“What? I’m only speaking the truth,” I said.
She rolled her eyes, just as the waiter approached our table to take everyone’s plates.
“Is anyone up for dessert?” I asked them.
“Me!” both of the girls said, at exactly the same time, making me laugh.
“Do you like chocolate?” Nell asked Rachel.
Rachel smiled broadly, just as a large slice of chocolate cake came out to our table. “Yes, I do,” she said with a laugh. The waiter set the slice of chocolate cake down in front of us. Rachel and Nell were both practically drooling.
The three of us picked up our spoons, put them into the cake, and took a big bite. Then we all stared at each other in disbelief. It was the best damn cake I had ever tasted.
“Wow. This is so good,” Rachel said, sticking her spoon back into the cake for another bite. Nell quickly followed suit, and I did the same, figuring that if I waited too long, the girls would eat the entire thing.
After we finished the last few bites of the cake, I think the three of us may have been fuller than ever before.
“My tummy hurts,” Nell said, as we were getting into the car.
“Mine too,” I said, and rubbed my belly. We both turned and looked at Rachel who then repeated the same thing.
“Me three.”
The three of us laughed, and I drove on toward our home. By the time we got back to our house, it was time for Nell to go to bed. But she didn’t want me to put her to bed; she asked if Rachel could do it.
Rachel looked at me as if asking if it was okay. I nodded my assent, then I got down to Nell’s level.
“Good night, sweetheart. Have sweet dreams. I love you,” I said to her.
Good night, Daddy. You too. I love you, too,” she said back to me.
I gave her a big kiss and a hug.
“I’ll be right back,” Rachel said to me, and then let Nell grab her hand and lead her off to her room.
I tried not to let it bother me that Nell wanted Rachel to put her to bed, but I held on to the hope that maybe Nell would tell Rachel what was bothering her. At least then she’d be able to tell somebody how she felt. I didn’t want her to hold her emotions all the time; it just wasn’t healthy. If her outlet was talking to Rachel, then I was more than happy, even if I never found out what was going on with her today. At least somebody I was close to would know what was going on with my daughter, and I held onto the comfort in that.