Amusement
Morgan
Addie and I were getting ready for Creed to come home. Getting her into a little summer dress was like pulling teeth, but once she was in it, she liked it. After that she was more open to the idea of doing her hair a little fancier. I curled it but she wanted pigtails, so we compromised, and I gave her low pigtails so her hair would fall down her front in curls.
She watched me curl my hair and apply makeup. I was wearing a summer dress similar to hers and she thought that was fun. She asked for lipstick, but she settled for some clear gloss.
“Its good to feel pretty, but it’s better to feel strong and independent.” I said as I applied the gloss. “We don’t need no darn boys.”
She scrunched her nose. “We don’t need no stinky boys. Yuck!” She acted like she was spitting. I laughed but heard a deep chuckle and turned to see Creed leaning against the doorframe.
“Da big guys home!” Addie went running and jumped into Creed’s arms. We were getting ready for Addie’s first visit to the community center. We were going to have dinner then take her bowling.
We had such a fun day. We started by having a tea party that turned deadly for her stuffed animals. Then took a bike ride down our driveway. She rode her bike with training wheels, and I rode mine. Then after lunch we went downstairs and played music as we danced our hearts out. She had a nap, then we started getting ready to go out to dinner.
“You’re both so beautiful.” He held Addie but bent over to kiss my cheek.
“Auntie Morgan made me wear a stupid dress.” Addie played like she was mad.
“You look so pretty though.” Creed said and she blushed then hid her face in his neck. She liked it but didn’t want to admit it.
Creed already had her car seat in the side by side, and Addie loved it. She squealed with excitement as Creed drove us toward the community center.
I had walked the red carpet with gorgeous men, but never did I feel the kind of pride like I did when I walked into that dining room on the arm of Alistair Creed. He was the most generous lover, kindest man, a borderline genius, and the bravest most handsome man alive, and he was all mine. Of course, Addie had her arms and legs wrapped around him like a monkey, but that was fine. He scanned his palm then led us to a table where one of Felicity’s girls handed him an IPad where he typed something in and signed it before she served us. They even had a booster seat for Addie, but of course she had to sit by Creed.
There was one thing I noticed. It was the first time in my life where not one man looked at me. The room was quiet and even a few turned their chairs, so they weren’t facing me. I leaned into Creed. “Am I in the Twilight Zone or something?” It wasn’t that I missed having fifty pairs of men’s eyes mentally undressing me, but it was just strange. I wasn’t used to it.
Creed looked around and his eyes landed on one of the men that turned his chair. He smiled and muttered under his breath. “Damn straight.”
“What is going on?”
He chuckled. “I claimed you as mine publicly today. Well, that and three boaters faced some harsh disciplinary action this morning. Can’t really blame them for looking though. You’re Morgan Rossi, the most beautiful actress of their generation, if not of all time. So, a few turned their chairs so they wouldn’t be tempted. They’ll adjust with some time.” He acted like it was no big deal.
“How mean we’re you this morning?”
He reached over and patted my hand. “Its cute that you are concerned, but they’re fine. I just taught a lesson through three examples. They will be enjoying a few months of reprogramming.”
I tilted my head. “Reprogramming?”
“Lets just say they will know every line of The Notebook and Titanic in the coming weeks.”
I laughed. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
He nodded. “I am. They will be taking a sensitivity and responsibility course. They are also on probation and lost their access to Club X for a few months.”
“Did you punch them in the face then spit on them?” Addie asked with huge eyes of excitement.
Damn, we might have been facing a little problem.
Creed chuckled. “No, I don’t punch boys in the face just for the fun of it.”
She tilted her head. “Why not? It’s fun when they cry.”
I looked at Creed. He looked from Addie to me, then Addie again, and smiled when he looked at me. “She is absolutely perfect.”
“Umm…Creed, it’s a problem.”
He tilted his head. “How so?”
Unbelievable. I just stared at him and tried to figure out what the hell was going through that head of his. I opened my mouth, looked at Addie who looked way too angelic, then shut my mouth and looked at Creed again. He was waiting for an answer, but I shook my head and took a bite of my Linguine instead.
Addie ate all of her grilled cheese and macaroni, and we were all stuffed by the time we made it to the bowling alley. I helped her into her rental shoes while Creed had the bumpers added to our lane. Then he took her to find a ball, but then I heard Addie’s name.
“Addie!” I noticed Grangers little girl run over and hug my little girl. Stephanie approached and I looked at her for answers.
She laughed as the two girls hugged each other. “I don’t know why I didn’t put two and two together. Addie is the Addie from Mrs. Stenger’s Kindergarten class. I had Addie in my group when we went on their field trip to Prairie Connor.”
“Chloe is Addie’s friend?”
She nodded. “Yeah, and Chloe asked several times for a play date, but I could never reach Addie’s parents.”
I looked back over at the girls, and they looked like two miniature teenagers. They were squealing and jumping up and down as they hugged. Creed stood back with his hands up like he was witnessing something that horrified him.
I laughed. “Look at Creed.”
Stephanie threw her head back and laughed at him. “He looks like someone just shit in his cheerios.”
He might have been horrified by their premature teenage behavior, but I was horrified when I witnessed Addie turn, point at her eyes with two fingers then point at someone behind us. I turned to see Dillon, who was Chloe’s Irish twin, point at himself then look around him as if searching for the person Addie was really pointing at, but there was nobody.
I looked back and saw Creed with his hands on his hips, nodding his approval of her behavior. I pointed at my eyes then pointed at Creed. He pointed at himself then turned to see who I was pointing at, but there was nobody else.
“I don’t know why she doesn’t like boys, but I think we have a problem.”
Stephanie tilted her head then looked at the kids then something must have come to her memory. “I think I might be able to shed some light on this, lets sit and I will explain.” She guided me over to sit at our lane and I saw Creed talking to Granger. Creed shrugged his shoulders and so did Granger as Creed explained. They were both clueless.
“At the beginning of the school year, Chloe was dealing with a little boy picking on her. Addie always came to her aid. This was severe enough for me to ask to meet with the teacher. She tried to separate the boy from my daughter the best she could, but finally during their Christmas program, it all went down. The boy pulled on Chloe’s hair and Addie knocked him off the risers. She proceeded to spit in his face. Keep in mind, this was during their school program and all the parents witnessed it. After that day, all the girls surrounded Addie. She got a lot of attention for it, but then at the end of the night I noticed Addie left with Melissa Peters. She’s a local daycare provider that was involved in a lot of the school’s fundraisers.”
“Yeah, I know Melissa. We went to school together.”
She nodded. “Creed talked to me about hiring her. Anyway, neither one of Addie’s parents came to the Christmas program. In fact, I never met either of her parents and I was the class mom for the second semester.”
I nodded. “That makes sense. Callie was always working in the evening and Shane couldn’t have given two shits.”
Creed and Granger approached us and suggested we bowl together. I was more than okay with that because I wanted Addie to socialize, and a familiar face was good for her.
It melted my heart when Creed would help Addie when it was her turn to bowl. Granger did the same thing for his kids. Every once in awhile, Creed would walk over and peck my lips, and Addie would also walk over and hug me then return to playing with Chloe. It was like she wanted to remind me she was there so I wouldn’t forget her or something.
After bowling, we said goodbye to the Grangers and returned home. Creed ordered me to take a hot bath and soak while he read Addie her story and tucked her into bed. I wasn’t going to fight him on that one. It wasn’t long before Creed joined me then we finished our night making love in our bed.