It wasn’t “just mine” any longer.
It hadn’t been since the moment I had fallen in love with Leslie.
“I can hear you, you know,” she said.
My beautiful Leslie stopped rocking our daughter, Angel, and she peered over her shoulder. The morning sunlight streamed through the window, catching the breathtaking highlights of her hair, and it left me speechless. She had never looked more beautiful to me as she sat there, cradling our almost three-month-old little girl.
I walked over to her and kissed her forehead before I gazed into the sweet, chubby little face of our newest addition.
“Can you take her for a little bit? I have to pee,” she whispered.
I chuckled as I scooped our daughter out of her arms. “It would be my pleasure. You take your time. Get cleaned up and everything, if you want to.”
She stood to her feet. “You telling me I stink, Old Man Trey?”
I grinned at the sarcastic nickname she had bestowed upon me. “I’m telling you to take time for yourself. That’s all.”
She kissed my cheek as I sat down. “I’ll be back soon. She’s already fed and burped, but she does need a bit more sleep. She was up early this morning.”
I gazed down into Angel’s sleeping face. “When were you up?”
Leslie squeezed my shoulder. “About four this morning.”
I made a mental note to switch out the wooden rocker by the window with a nice rocker-recliner, so she had a comfy place to sleep if our daughter was going to be such an early riser.
I heard Leslie pad out of the room before a quick set of small footsteps scurried up behind me. I smiled from ear to ear as I reached around, offering Rori my hand. She slid her soft palm against mine, and I ushered her from around the back of the chair, then patted my lap so she could climb up.
Then, the three of us slowly rocked back and forth as we gazed out the window into the side yard.
I saw the pristinely kept lines from the landscaping crew who came by every week to mow the grass. And yet, I could see a sprinkle of Aurora’s footprints scrambling between the mow lines. It brought me so much joy to see those little feet stamps on my lawn. It brought delight into my life whenever I tripped over a small set of shoes or stepped on a fucking Lego, or even crashed my knee into a toy that didn’t belong in the corner Rori had pushed it into.
It was a constant reminder of the chaotic joy my girls had brought to my empty, listless mansion.
And I didn’t want to have it any other way.
As I cuddled Rori and cradled Angel in the crook of my left arm, I thought back to a time when they weren’t in my life. A time when I honestly thought this massive piece of property would stay as clear-cut as a magazine picture and be filled with nothing less than all of the anger I carried around in my heart daily. There had been a time in my life where I thought I’d live alone, be alone, and die alone with nothing to leave the world except my pathetic businesses.
But, my girls had changed all of that for me.
I promise to give you all the world for what you’ve given me.
“Trey?”
“Hmmm?” I asked as I peeked down at Rori.
“Can I ask you something weird?”
I grinned. “You can ask me anything you want.”
She chewed on her lower lip before she spoke again. “So, I have a friend at school, right?”
I nodded. “I’m glad you do. Friends are very important.”
“Oh, yes. Very. And, well, she has a Daddy that’s not her real-real Daddy, like you.”
“Okay.”
“And, well… um…”
