Page 4 of Destiny

“Daddy!” my girls suddenly come bursting down the stairs in their jammies.

“Hello, my loves!” I say before they jump on me.

“I helped Bea make macaroni!” Alessia proudly announces.

“Did you? Well, it smells absolutely delicious!”

“It’ll be done in a few minutes,” Bea adds.

“Great.” I then go over and inspect Aurora’s most recent masterpiece. “This is really incredible, Rory.”

“Thanks.” She and her sister have since resigned to the couch.

“She’s been really into horses lately,” I say after holding it up for Bea to see.

“I’ve noticed that.”

“They did just go on a field trip to the stables.”

“Oh! Ernie’s place?”

“Yeah. You know it?”

She laughs. “Of course. Ernie and my pops have been close friends forever.”

“I see.” The little wrinkles that develop in the corner of her eyes when she laughs make me feel weak at the knees. But I know that a cool and young thing like her would never go for a decrepit, single dad like me. Besides, I’d never want to cross the line and ever jeopardize the relationship she had with my kids. They loved her, and I knew that it was mutual. There’s no way she’d spend as much time over here if it wasn’t.

Shortly after, the oven bell dings.

“Ah! Girls, wash your hands for dinner,” she says.

They comply and wait at the table while she presents the dish. I also sit down and marvel at the cheesy goodness before us.

“Yum.”

She again acts bashful. “I hope so.”

“You really didn’t need to do this.”

Bea tucks an errant chunk of her long bangs behind her ear. “I know. But I like to. Plus, you work so hard.”

I sigh. That’s something I couldn’t argue over. And I often worry that I’m working too much. But it’s a delicate balance between spending enough time with my kids and working enough to be able to provide them with the best life possible.

“Speaking of work,” she says after loading her own plate and taking a seat, “how was that meeting?”

“Ugh.”

“That bad, huh?”

“Not bad . . . just tense.”

“How so?”

“Well, divorces are always messy.”

“Oh. I’d imagine.”

“And the couple has a whole slew of little kids to fight over.”

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