17. Reed
Ihad never been an emotional person. No, I didn’t think there was anything wrong with a man crying, but I felt like a little ho for damn near tearing up as I listened to Faith explain to administration at Jada’s school that I was her father.
I pretty much sat there in silence, signing my name on the necessary lines to give me permission to pick her up from school and participate in school events.
Not that she was going to be here much longer; the school was not in my district.
Soon, my babies would be living with me. That didn’t mean I didn’t feel honored.
We walked out into the hall to wait on Jada. Within minutes, my heart nearly stopped. They might as well had yelled out open the flood gates when Jada burst through the door.
“Daddy!” she squealed, running into my arms.
I swept her up, hugging her little body to mine. I was so in love with that little girl that I thought my heart would explode. I absolutely loved how eager she was to see me. I was really a dad out here.
“Hey, baby. Did you have a good day in school?” I asked as I followed Faith outside.
“Yes. My teacher was reading a book. Then they said my parents were here to pick me up. I didn’t know you were here. I thought it was Mommy. How did you find my school?” she asked, pulling back to look at me.
“Your mom brought me here.”
“You don’t see me standing right here?” Faith interjected.
“Oh, hey, Mommy!” she sang.
“I’m glad you finally noticed me. You just threw me away since your daddy is here.”
“Aww, baby. Come here,” I said, pulling Faith into a hug and practically smashing Jada between us.
“You’re squishing me, Daddy.” Jada giggled.
“I’m sorry. I just love cuddles with my girls. I don’t care if I have to share,” I explained, placing her on her feet.
“Where are we going, Mama?” Jada asked, looking at Faith.
“Your dad wants to take you to his house,” Faith replied to my surprise.
“Yes!” Jada shouted, jumping up and down.
I wondered if there was such a thing as feeling too good. I felt like I was overdosing on serotonin, and I didn’t even care. This was really my life. The chaos going on at Cashville was pushed to the furthest parts of my mind as my girls and I loaded up in my truck.
“Whoa.” Jada’s voice was barely over a whisper as we pulled through the gates to my property.
I couldn’t hide my smile. As many times as I had been home, I had never felt so proud to pull up to my spot.
My daughter’s admiration made my chest tight.
I wanted to look back so I could see the look on her face.
Instead, I glanced up into the rearview mirror and caught a glimpse of her wide-eyed smile.
I would be a damn fool to let this little girl down. I didn’t know shit about being a father, but I was going to do everything I knew to do to make her a well-adjusted young adult in the future. Right now, she was just my baby.
“Mommy, look!” Jada squealed.
“I’m looking, baby,” Faith said, tittering softly.
Slowly, I crept up the long winding driveway letting my daughter admire the ridiculously massive plot of land I stayed on.
Sometimes I got bored and just bought shit, which would explain the fountain with two angels spitting water out in front of my eight thousand square foot home.
Faith didn’t know yet, but there were six empty bedrooms that we needed to fill inside.
I couldn’t wait to grow our family; right now, I was enjoying the one I already had.
“Mama, is my daddy rich?”
I laughed, but Faith didn’t seem to find our daughter’s question funny. Her eyes grew wild as she whipped her head around to the back seat.
“Jada!”
“Well, is he?” She pressed.
“You don’t ask things like that. That’s rude.”
“I wasn’t being rude, Mama. I was being observant, like you.”
Her statement only made me laugh harder. I didn’t even realize that I was in trouble until I rolled to a stop at my front door and looked over to find Faith’s eyes already on me.
“Don’t encourage her, Reed. I’m already working with her and that mouth. She does not need an audience.”
“She’s exactly like you, Faith. What six-year-old says observant?”
“I got it from my mommy. She’s smart!” Jada chimed in, making Faith’s scowl morph into a sheepish smile.
“See,” I said, pointing at Faith. “That’s definitely your child.”
“Can we go inside?” Jada asked as we climbed out of the car.
“Of course, Jada Baby. I’ll take you on a little tour. I guess we’ll start with the movie theater,” I said, unlocking the door with my middle fingerprint. I made a mental note to have Paula create a sign in for Faith.
“You have a movie theater in your house?” Jada quizzed.
“Well, a movie room. Let me rephrase that. I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”
I took my time showing my girls around. After the theater room that both Jada and Faith were impressed with, I continued with the tour.
I showed them my home gym and the oversized kitchen I never used.
I had most of my meals at Cashville. Thankfully, there were plenty of healthy options, because I spent less and less time in the gym these days.
“Oh, and I have a game room,” I told Jada, opening the door.
“Ooo, do you have Candyland?” Jada asked, looking up at me expectantly.
“Not yet. I guess I’ll have to get it now that you’re teaching me how to play.”
“OK, that’s good because you need to practice.”
Faith and I laughed at the same time, as Jada skipped further down the hall.
“That’s your daughter,” Faith said, shaking her head.
“And I would trade this whole house and everything I got to see her grow up.”
Faith’s expression grew somber. Her eyes dropped to her hands as I stepped closer, closing the space between us.
“Don’t do that. I don’t mean like that. I don’t want you to think that I resent you for keeping her from me.
Do I wish we had done things differently?
Yes. I’m sure we are in agreement on that.
We can’t change the past. The only thing I want to do now is raise our daughter together under the same roof.
You’re already wearing my ring. Now I need you here with me,” I said, kissing her forehead before following Jada down the hall.
“All the way to the end, Jada Baby.” Showing my wife and daughter my house was exciting, but we hadn’t even gotten to the best part. “I saved the best room for last,” I explained, resting my hand on the door handle.
“Better than the game room?” Jada asked.
“Way better. This is your room,” I said, slowly pushing the door open.
Jada dashed into the room and flew right over to the bookshelf. She was definitely Faith’s child. From the bookshelf she moved to the big, pink canopy bed. For a while, we just stood there watching her move around the room touching everything. Pink wasn’t my color, but Jada seemed to love it.
“This is so pretty, Daddy!”
“What do you say, Jada?”
“Thank you! I love it.”
“You’re welcome, baby. Anything for you.”
Bouncing on the bed, Jada looked between Faith and me before settling on Faith. “Mommy, can we live here?”
Faith sighed. “Jada.”
“Please? Can we, Daddy?” she asked, turning to me.
“Whenever your mom is ready.”
“See, my daddy said we can.”
“We will have to see, Jada. Not today, though.”
Hours later, we found ourselves in the backyard.
Somehow, I let Jada convince me that I could build a damn tent.
I offered to buy one. Buying shit was my area of expertise.
I wasn’t a hands-on guy unless it came to getting active.
I take that back. For my daughter, I would be any kind of guy that I needed to be.
Hence the reason why I was tangled in pink sheets after spending forever putting wooden stakes in the ground.
“That is not glamping,” Faith called from her position in a lounge chair by the pool. After discovering my wine cellar, my baby poured herself a drink and camped out poolside to watch us struggle.
“We’re making a fort!” Jada yelled.
“Yeah!” I doubled down on her statement.
“Looking good. I’m almost ready for a refill,” Faith announced.
For the next half hour, we worked quietly, tying and strapping things down the way we’d learned online. Eventually, we had a standing structure. I almost tore it all down stepping back to see our handiwork.
“That’s actually pretty good,” Faith called out.
“Now we just need to get our sleeping bags,” I told Jada, referring to the supplies I’d had delivered with the pink sheets and wooden stakes.
“It’s really cute, but can I sleep in my new room tonight?” Jada asked, clasping her hands.
“After I spent three hours building this thing?” I asked, shaking my head.
“Please? I never had a new room before. I want to sleep in my princess bed.”
I looked over at our finished product with its saggy roof and missing wall and shook my head. I wouldn’t admit it, but I was relieved that we wouldn’t have to rough it tonight.
“Either way, we did it!” I said, stooping to high-five my girl.
“You’re the best daddy ever!”
That did it. I burst into tears like a newborn baby.
Not wanting my daughter to see me that way, I walked away, not going anywhere in particular.
With both hands on top of my head, I stalked across the yard.
For the life of me, I couldn’t pull myself together.
A pair of arms wrapped around me, and I melted down to the ground like lava.
“What’s wrong, baby? Do we need to leave?” Faith asked, holding me as I let it all out.
“Don’t take my baby anywhere, Faith,” I demanded when I could finally speak.
“OK, I was just asking. Is this too much for you?”
“It’s just right. I need y’all here, Faith. I’ve lived here two years, and it has never felt as much like home as it does today. My little girl just told me that I’m the best dad ever. I can’t even explain how that feels.”
“I’m so sorry that you missed so much time with her. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to make up for it.”
“Move in with me, Faith. This is your house anyway.”
“OK, damn,” she said, rolling her eyes playfully.
“You don’t know how happy you just made me, but I plan to show you all night long.”