Epilogue
Kairo
When I walked into the room after my shower, the bed was made. Daddy had taken a long lunch break from his computer and we’d made love the whole time instead of eating lunch.
Now, Donkey was on top of Shrek in the center of the pillows, his four legs spread around Shrek’s hips and shoulders.
I nearly fell to the floor with giggles but I made it to the bed to rescue my toys. Separating them, one to each pillow, I said, “Bad, Daddy for encouraging you two.” I patted each on his head. “Now you two be good boys.”
“Maybe tonight would be a good night to watch those movies again. Back-to-back. The first two for sure.”
I spun at the sound of his voice. Daddy stood in the doorway, mouth tight to hide his grin.
“At your place?”
“Fine with me.”
I clapped my hands. “Yay!”
We usually spent the night at Daddy’s, but sometimes we slept here in the big house. On Saturday nights we usually went to Kings and Queens. I would never have known I loved impact play if I hadn’t met Daddy. Even more, I was proud of how popular he was and let him know it.
“People want to see you, too,” he’d told me. “Our compatibility makes our scenes enviable.”
I’d crossed my arms. “No one gets to have us but each other.”
“Agreed.” He’d laughed.
We hadn’t had to discuss exclusivity except saying phrases like, “You’re the only one for me.” Or “You’re my baby and no one else.” It was intrinsic for us.
Now I asked him, “When do we go home?” I always referred to Daddy’s place that way now.
“I have a little more work time. Do you want to go now?”
I shook my head. “You can finish.”
I followed him downstairs to the big dining room table where he had his laptop and other things for his job. I’d offered him a room for an office but he said I loved the view out the plate glass windows here.
I set up my drawing paper and my good pastel crayons across from him, happy to do anything but financial stuff.
Daddy liked that sort of thing. I learned he worked for insurance company. I had brought the subject up that he could work for me but he said no. He didn’t want to. At first I was hurt. But he said, “Mixing business and pleasure is a fine line. But I’ll be your advisor. Is that good?”
“Like how?”
“I can look things over and give you a clear mind that no one is mishandling your affairs. I know you have people who do that, but I can answer your questions and keep track of things for you. Would you feel comfortable with that?”
I knew immediately I was comfortable. Over the months, trust had grown thick between us. I knew his company paid him well which meant he was great at his job.
I offered again. “I’ll pay you.”
“No. This is for you, baby. You don’t pay me to look after you. Not ever. You don’t pay me to care. Remember?”
I blinked hard. “Thank you, Daddy.” I had other plans. But he was proud and I wasn’t going to tell him yet. This secret was okay to keep for now. I didn’t have to be scared.
I would pay him a generous salary but put it in a retirement account for him.
It would come from my own private accounts and show only that I had one more investment of my own.
Both our names would be on the account but Truce McAllister would be the secondary beneficiary in a secret will I planned to draw up.
Eventually, if we stayed together for a long, long time, which I wanted and hoped for, things would gradually change.
Maybe we’d even get married. But even if we didn’t, I planned to one day add his name to my trust, including the deed to the house.
And the apartment in New York. And the chateau in France.
But that was for the future. Daddy and I shared everything, but our finances were complicated. Grandfather always taught me go slow and not scare away opportunity. It was a good lesson because he knew I was the type of person who couldn’t easily say no.
I was happy that Daddy’s expertise was finance. I breathed easier knowing that he was an adviser for me.
My checklist for the best boyfriend in the whole wide world was complete. Every box ticked.
The afternoon went by peacefully as Daddy did his work while I sketched out a picture to color with my pastels. Other littles, I’d learned, mostly used coloring books. Not me. Ever since I picked up a pencil or crayon, I could draw by heart.
Now, I drew Daddy with the window in the background. I shaded everything perfectly. I spent time on Daddy’s hair, lips and eyes. His laptop was in the foreground. Adding depth to my drawings and paintings came naturally.
Finally, Daddy closed his laptop. Outside, the sky turned purple and pink.
“Done, Daddy?”
“Yep. All done.” He leaned over the table. “Let me see what you have there.”
At first I covered it with my hands. It wasn’t quite done.
He pouted, which was really kind of funny. “What? You’re not going to show me?”
Slowly, I took my hands away. “Okay. But it still needs work. Maybe you could put it on your fridge.” I slid the heavy-duty textured paper across the table.
Daddy’s eyebrows narrowed as he studied it.
I tapped my fingers on the table. This was taking too long.
Finally, Daddy looked up. “This is incredible. Too good for the fridge.”
Daddies were supposed to say things like that, right? “Really?”
“It needs to be framed and hung.”
I laughed. “So funny, Daddy.”
“I’m not joking. The pieces in your art room are gorgeous. But this… this is personal between you and me. Is that really how you see me?”
“Well, yeah.”
He winked. “That good-looking, eh?”
“Better than that. I wanted to do better.”
“Better than this? I love it just the way it is.”
The heat creeped over my face. Praise. That was another kink I recently learned I had.
Daddy came around the table, my artwork in his hand. He leaned down and kissed me on the mouth. “Can I have it?”
“Yes. But it’s not done.”
“I love it the way it is.” His look warmed me from the inside out.
When we left for his house for the night, he drove.
I had Shrek and Donkey in my lap on either side of Area 51.
We took turns driving our cars. Sometimes we took the limo for fun.
I became comfortable enough that we started taking it to the club, as well.
If we didn’t have enough attention, now we had more.
But it was still Truce’s name the crowd called out whenever we entered. My daddy was the star. But in my sky, he was the whole galaxy.
“Onward,” he said, pulling onto the road past the gate that opened for us. “Shrek and Donkey adventures await!”
Later, in my diary, I wrote it down a hundred times.
Dear Best Year of My Life,
My daddy is the smartest, handsomest, greatest daddy ever.
Love, Kairo
With him, I was no longer a lonely little stuck in a big house.
I was whole.
THE END