Twenty-Seven

 

 

“Oh!  Gumdrop mountain!  Yay!” Lily said as she moved her game marker ahead.  “I wish there really was a gumdrop mountain.  That would be my favorite place!”

“It would?  Do you like gumdrops?” Aleksy said as he drew a card.

She nodded her head, “Oh yes.  They’re my favorite!”

Her eyes widened when she saw his card, “Ice Cream!  You got my other favorite thing!  Oh!  We should make ice cream!  We can do that, you know.  My daddies showed me how!” she said as she jumped to her feet and started dancing around.

Her youthful energy was both amazing and overwhelming.  Just watching her was exhausting.

They both looked up when Kendry walked out.

“He’s sleeping,” the exhausted looking man said.

Aleksy stood up and motioned to his vacated seat on the couch, “Here, sit down.  Can I make you something to eat?”

Kendry sat, let out a huge sigh, leaned his head back and closed his eyes, “That would be awesome,” he mumbled.

By the time Aleksy walked the ten feet into the kitchen, Kendry’s soft snoring was echoing throughout the large room.

When Lily started giggling, Trent picked her up and carried her to the counter.

“How about you, little lady?  Are you hungry?” he said as he tucked her into the chair.

“Basketti!  I want basketti!!!” she said.

Trent chuckled, “Shhh, sweetie.  You’re going to wake up Kendry.  Of course, I’ll make you spaghetti. That sounds perfect.  Will you help me?”

She put her hands on the counter and wiggled back and forth in her seat, “Oh,” she started to say but then quieted to a loud whisper when Trent put his finger to his lips, “yes, I want to make meatballs!”

“Meatballs sound perfect.”

Trent walked over and pulled open the freezer drawer, “I think ground beef and Italian sausage mixed together sound good, what do you think, Aleksy?”

“Can you thaw that fast enough?  I thought thawing in the microwave wasn’t good.”

“Ah, my fine city friend.  Let me give you a country lesson on the proper way of thawing your meat,” he said with a grin and a wink.

God damn.  One sentence out of this man’s mouth and Aleksy was hard and wanting.  If he wasn’t such a stubborn Greek - thanks to his father and uncle - he might even admit to being a little…..intimidated.  Not afraid, because Aleksy Constantino wasn’t scared of anything.  Usually nothing phased him.  He’d walked into dangerous situations, knowing his life could be on the line, without his heartbeat raising.  But one word from Trent Dragon and his heart was trying to beat out of his chest.

He watched as Trent pulled a bowl out of the cupboard, filled it with hot water and then placed the meat in a plastic bag, zipped it closed and then set it in the water.

He walked up behind him, placing his hand on Trent’s lower back, leaning in so his chest was pressing against him, his lips against Trent’s neck as he said, “I see.  You like to warm your meat up slowly until it’s just right.  Very nice.”

He smiled when he felt Trent shiver.  As he stepped back he let his hand slide down over the firm round globe of Trent’s sweet ass and then he turned towards Lily.

“What should we have to drink, angel?”

Her big blue eyes blinked at Aleksy for a few seconds.  He was about to ask her if something was wrong when she whispered, “Did you know my daddy?”

He frowned, “You mean Liam?”

She shook her head, “No.  Daddy Luke.”

“No, I’m sorry honey but I never got to meet him.  Why?”

“Because he called me angel, too.  He said I was his perfect little angel,” she said with a proud grin.

Aleksy felt his heart falling even harder for this sweet little girl.  “Your daddy Luke was a very smart man.”

“He was the smartest daddy ever!” she declared but then she frowned, “Except for my daddy Liam.  He’s the smartest too.”

“You’re very lucky to have such smart daddies,” Aleksy said.

“I’m the luckiest girl in the whole wide world!” she declared with a smile that lit up the entire cabin.

Thirty minutes, three drawings and one glass of spilled milk later, the delicious aromas of garlic, tomatoes and parmesan cheese filled the room.

There was a grunt, a snort and then Kendry rubbed his hand over his face and looked around, “Oh, man.  I’m so sorry I conked out on you.”

“No worries.  You needed the sleep.  Can I get you something to drink?”

Kendry walked towards the kitchen, “Yeah, some water would be nice.”  He stopped at the stool next to Lily.  “Is this seat taken?” he said to her.

Lily looked over to Trent and Aleksy, as if she were silently asking them if Kendry was okay. Aleksy nodded at her.

She shrugged her shoulder, “I guess you can sit there.  But make sure you behave!”

“Cross my heart,” he said as he drew his finger across his chest.

 

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Aleksy shoved his plate forward as he sat back in his chair, “If you repeat this to my Mama, I’ll deny it until my last breath, but that was almost as good as her pastitsio,” he said as he rubbed his flat belly.

“Is that a Greek dish?” Trent asked.

“Yeah.  It’s a baked pasta dish with spiced ground minced meat filling and a Bechamel sauce on top.  I’ll have to make it for you someday.”

“I’d like that,” Trent said.

A thump from the other room had them all turning their heads.  As one they all moved towards the bedroom, with Aleksy grabbing Lily out of her chair and hefting her onto his hip so she didn’t get left behind.

They were greeted with an empty bed when they stepped into the bedroom.

“Liam?” Kendry said.

A hand stuck into the air from the floor between the bed and the wall, “Here,” he said with a groan right before his arm thumped back down on the floor.

Kendry rushed forward, “What the f….fudge are you doing?” he said as he knelt on the floor by Liam.

“Had to piss.  Didn’t want to wet the bed.”

“Well, let’s get you to the bathroom so you can take care of business,” Kendry said.

“Uh, too late.  Apologies to whoever owns this place.  That fall fucking hurt.”

Trent stepped forward, “No worries, Liam.  There are hardwood floors for a reason.  Easy clean up.”

Aleksy walked into the bathroom to grab a few towels.

“Daddy?  Did you have an accident?” Lily said as she stepped forward.

Liam sighed, “Yeah, princess, I did.”

“Oh, that’s okay.  Everybody makes mistakes, but you don’t get mad or sad about them.  You learn from them, right?”

“Yeah, princess, you’re right.”

“What did you learn from your mistake, daddy?”

“Not to try to get out of bed yet without help, princess.”

She jumped up and down as she clapped her hands, “See?  It worked, it worked!”

Aleksy, Trent and Kendry all chuckled.  Liam tried to, but it hurt too much.

“All right.  That’s enough fun for you.  Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Kendry and Aleksy lifted Liam upright and carried him into the bathroom while Trent dropped the towels onto the puddle on the floor.  “Want to help me mop, buttercup?”

“Sure!” she said as she slid her hand into Trent’s.  As they walked out to the pantry, she said, “What’s a, um, buttercup?”

“It’s a very pretty yellow flower, just like you.  If you’d like, when we’re done in the bedroom, I’ll show you what it looks like.”

“Oooo, I like lellow, it’s my favorite color.”

“I can see why.  It matches your pretty hair.”

Trent watched her dance around the small space in the laundry room, lost in her own little world as he filled the bucket with warm water.  He’d never thought about having kids before, but since meeting this amazing little girl, for the first time in his life he was.  He was thinking what it might be like to be somebody’s father.  He was wondering if he’d be any good at it.  And he was kind of hoping that someday he’d be able to find out.