Chapter 14
Gabriel
I peek into Rosie’s room. She’s fast asleep, curled up peacefully. Smiling, I ease the door shut and head into my own room. My suits from the dry cleaner are hanging neatly in the closet—Kim picked them up today. Four, all in order. Good.
I rub my eyes and call Steven.
"Hey…" I pace slowly around the room.
"So, how’d it go?" Steven asks. He sounds tired too, but I guess we both are.
"Good. I'm really very satisfied with her. Kim’s friendly, helpful, reliable. The department heads only have positive things to say about her. She handles every task flawlessly, and Rosie adores her. Honestly, she’s the best thing that could’ve happened to me.
I just hope she stays after the trial period. "
"What’s it like living under the same roof with her?"
Good question.
"Pretty normal. She’s quiet. I barely notice she’s there, unless we bump into each other.
" I think about the tea we never got to have downstairs. Too late now—I’ve already showered and I’m standing here in just boxers.
"My sister dropped Rosie off tonight. Catherine won’t be back until Sunday.
God knows what she’s doing all week. She’s like a ghost—here one minute, then gone for ages. "
"You taking Rosie to Italy?" Steven asks.
"Yeah. Catherine signed the airline form, so I can bring her."
"Well, that’s settled. Rosie will love Italy. And you’ll actually be able to focus on your meetings, since Kim’s coming with you."
"True." I sit on the edge of the bed and notice my desk drawer isn’t all the way closed. I nudge it shut, frowning. "I’m curious about the new varieties and how our customers will respond."
"Are you meeting with Merzedes?" Steven perks up. He’s always had a thing for her. No surprise—Merzedes is an absolute dream of a woman.
"I thought you could bring her the samples." I’ve known for a while she’s interested in me, but the chemistry just isn’t there. Friends, sure. Anything else, absolutely not.
"You’re a true gentleman!" Steven is completely over the moon, while I carefully pull open the drawer.
I glance back at the desk and slowly open the drawer again. Has Kim been snooping around here? The golden key is lying on top of my notebook, but I'm sure I placed it differently. Strange. When I look at my game cabinet, a thought occurs to me.
"If you get married, I'm invited, right?" I ask as I stand up. At the game cabinet, I check the door—and what do you know, it opens. Just like that. I stand there smiling, then grin wider. So, she really did snoop around here but forgot to lock it again.
"You’ll be my best man!" Steven is still floating on cloud nine while I look over my collection. She doesn’t seem to have touched anything else.
"Deal," I reply, shutting the door again. I grab the key, lock it, and put it back.
I wish Steven good night before getting into bed myself, wondering what Kim must have thought when she found my cabinet.
With a broad smile, I lie there remembering that night in the limo, when she sat on my lap, so eager for me.
How did it end with her asleep in my bed? A missed opportunity I regret bitterly to this day.
The next morning, my phone wakes me up. I’d planned to get up an hour earlier to take care of Rosie since I have no idea how Kim and Rosie will get along spending the morning together. Rosie hates waking up early—and who can blame her?
But when I come back from the bathroom and head for Rosie’s room, I already hear laughter from downstairs. So, Kim and Rosie have been up for a while, presumably in the kitchen. The smell of coffee and toast reaches me, and I head straight down to check things out.
"Good morning, ladies," I greet them. Kim is at the stove, and Rosie is perched on her kitchen stool so she can reach the counter. They both look up.
"Uncle Gabriel!" Rosie beams at me, hops off the stool, and runs into my arms. I lift her up as she squeals, "Good morning! Guess what we’re making!" she asks excitedly.
"Good morning, sir," Kim says with a smile. Well, I’m curious to see what these two have whipped up that smells so good.
Along with sweet pancakes, I see toast spread with a colored cream. I stare at the colorful display, pretty impressed.
"What’s all this?" I ask, astonished, setting Rosie back on her stool.
"We have, uh..." Rosie thinks.
"Cream cheese," Kim prompts her, smiling.
"Right. Ream cheese!"
"Cream cheese," Kim corrects her, giggling.
"Cream cheese, yes. We made it colorful with food coloring. Doesn’t it look pretty?"
"And then we decorated with fruit to make faces and designs."
Yes, I can see that.
Kim proudly presents me slices of toast turned into funny faces, hearts, and animals.
"That looks fantastic. Almost too good to eat, huh?" Even the pancakes and waffles are colorful. They really went all out this morning.
"You have to try it!" Rosie insists, scandalized. "We spent forever in the kitchen!" Kim and I laugh softly as Rosie plants her fists on her hips, clearly outraged at the thought I might not eat it.
"I’ll eat every bit. Down to the last crumb. Promise."
Satisfied, she nods. "Good then."
Great. The child’s reassured, and Kim looks pleased too.
This morning, I’m getting the sweetest breakfast I’ve had in a long time. Not taste-wise—cuteness-wise.
We drive to daycare, where I introduce Kim to the staff to make sure they know who she is already.
Then we head to the office, where—thanks to Kim—I can focus perfectly on my work.
In the afternoon, I step out of there briefly and see her with Rosie in the adjoining room, which she quickly set up as her own office.
Rosie is busy sticking stickers in a book, while Kim sits next to her on the couch with her laptop.
I don’t disturb them, just watch quietly through the door that’s ajar.
Yes, this works. This works really well.
That evening we head back to the house—much earlier than usual. With Kim taking work off my shoulders all day, I got way more done than I normally do.
"Pink fries?" I ask in disbelief as we’re almost home.
"Yeah. Everything pink. You can do that, right?" Rosie’s eyes shine as she shares her dinner wish.
"Potatoes aren’t so easy to dye. Maybe with beet juice," I explain. Rosie stares at me, horrified. "But we could make the mayo pink. How about that?"
"Also with beets?" she asks, wary.
"No, with food coloring."
"Okay then. Let’s do that."
She looks relieved. Since Rosie was so good today, she’d earned the right to pick dinner tonight, and I figured she’d choose fries. I can make a simple salad with veggies and chicken to go with them. Quick, easy, and she’ll definitely like it.
After dinner, Kim and I put Rosie to bed together. Kim tucks her in while I sit beside them and open one of her favorite books.
"The Secret of the Rainbow River." I read aloud, starting one of the Rainbow Princess adventures.
By now I know these stories backward and forward, but Rosie never gets tired of them.
After all, the Rose Princess even shares her name and wears pink.
Kim curls up next to my niece among the pillows while I give the characters funny voices, carrying Rosie off into a world of unicorns and magic.
“Can I stay here forever?” she blurts out before I’ve even finished the first page. Her big round eyes accompany a trembling lip.
“Would you like that?” I ask, stalling. Of course, I can’t tell her that I’ve been quietly working on getting custody for a long time. If she mentioned it to her mother, Catherine would cut me off in a heartbeat. I can’t risk it—not when Rosie’s well-being is at stake.
Rosie nods slowly, then glances at Kim. “If Kim is here, and you’re here too, then… I want… I would like to be here. Forever.”
“I’d love that,” Kim says, pressing her cheek against Rosie’s. The little one closes her eyes and smiles. Already, they’re inseparable. Children just… know when someone’s good. They still see the world through completely different eyes.
And I—
I’m starting to see Kim in a different light.
My gaze lingers on her. Probably longer than it should, because she catches me looking. I quickly turn back to Rosie. “I’d like that too, Rosie. Very much.”
“But Mom doesn’t want that,” Rosie says with a frown. “She always tells me not to stay here too long, or I’ll get spoiled.” Her forehead wrinkles as she asks, “What does that mean?”
"Hmm..." How do I best explain this to her now?
“It means something like… hmm,” Kim begins cautiously, then continues, “Pampered. You have your big room here. And so many nice toys.”
“And Gabriel always reads to me. And I get healthy food here. So, am I pampered then?”
I look at Kim, who seems a bit overwhelmed and like she needs my help.
Yeah, this is really not an easy situation.
“No. Every child should have a nice home and be loved,” I say.
“And love also means reading to a child, giving them good food, and saying kind things to each other.” Kim smiles at Rosie, who thinks for a moment.
“So… for example, if I say I like how you smell? You always smell so good.” Rosie turns to me and continues, “And you always read really well.”
“Exactly. When you give someone a few compliments, it feels good for them. I praised you today because you brushed your teeth and got dressed all by yourself. And you helped me with the dishes.”
“And with the cooking,” Rosie adds excitedly.
“Exactly. I thought that was really sweet of you.”
Kim and Rosie smile at each other, and I feel my own lips spreading into a broad smile.
Seeing the two of them so comfortable with each other feels amazing.
This is exactly how I imagined it. Rosie feels safe here.
Maybe this can make up for some of the damage I’ve been trying to protect her from for so long.
“Maybe you could ask my mom if I can stay here? Forever?” Rosie turns to Kim, who takes a deep breath and thinks for a moment.
“Your mom loves you very much, Rosie. She wants you to be with her. But that doesn’t mean Gabriel and I don’t love you. We want you to be here too. You can always come here when you want. But if you don’t see your mom, she’s probably sad.” She handled that really well.
Still, despite her young age, Rosie knows more than either of us would like.
“I told Mom a few days ago that I love her, and she got totally annoyed and told me to go to my room because I was bothering her. I don’t think she loves me.”
I could really strangle my sister. How dare she say that to her own daughter?
“Maybe she was busy with something important and just stressed. Adults have a lot to do, and sometimes they say things they don’t really mean. No one’s perfect—not even us grown-ups. We make lots of mistakes. We’re still learning, just like you as a child,” Kim explains lovingly.
“You make mistakes too?” Rosie asks, surprised.
“Oh yes. I wished my best friend a happy birthday on March fourth, but her birthday wasn’t until April third. I got the dates mixed up and wrote it down wrong. But we laughed about it, and in the end, she got two gifts.”
Of course, that grabs Rosie’s attention. Giggling, she asks, “Two gifts? If you forget my birthday, I’d be okay with you giving me two too.”
“When will you turn five?” I ask her.
Rosie has to think for a moment and looks at me inquisitively.
“Don’t you remember the date?”
Rosie murmurs after a moment, “I have a birthday in January. Hmm. I think… the second?” I nod, and Rosie beams. “January second!”
“Okay. I’ll try to remember that.”
“But it’s not a big deal if you forget. I’ll be happy to get a second gift as sorry.”
Rosie is completely distracted, then looks at me again. She taps on the book page and insists, “Don’t stop reading. Kim doesn’t know the story yet.”
“That’s right. Please keep reading. I really need to know what happens,” Kim says eagerly.
I nod and stretch my arm behind the pillow so I can touch Kim’s neck. I move a bit closer this way, and Rosie can better admire the book and its colorful pictures.
Kim looks at me and smiles shyly. I notice her cheeks turning slightly red.
Is that because of me?
“Princess Sunflower and Princess Tulip ran excitedly to Princess Rose…” I read aloud.
“See? She has the same name as me,” whispers Rosie excitedly.
I’d say the situation is saved.
For now.
Rosie falls asleep during the reading and Kim turns on the small nightlight so we can sneak out. The door stays slightly ajar, as usual, and the main hallway light stays on for now. Sometimes Rosie still wakes up and wants a drink, so this way she won’t get lost or scared in the dark.
Kim and I return to the kitchen.
“Did I react correctly?” she asks, somewhat agitated. Only now do I notice how unsure she really is. She looks helpless as she’s pacing back and forth, shaking her hands and fighting back tears.