Page 69 of Chasing Storm

I’m never going to make it on time if I don’t get this little monster dressed. Lily’s personality is all her mother’s. She was vocal as she made her way into the world and hasn’t stopped. From noises and crying to gibberish to full words. I’m amazed by this tiny human. From day one, she had me wrapped around her finger, and she knows it. What mama won’t give her, she crawls to daddy to get, playing the adorable princess. Rarely do I cave and go behind Tea’s back. Tea and I agreed to support each other when it comes to our children. We want to create a united front.

The diaper bag is packed with backups for everything that could possibly go wrong, and items to keep her occupied. Several diapers, a water bottle with a handful of blueberries in it, yogurt, strawberries, and bunny graham crackers.

I wiggle Lily’s body into tights and a dress, slip on her shoes, and head to the school. It rained over the past couple of days to give way to today’s sunshine. Since everyone will be here, I held off on the stroller, because someone always wants to hold her. Lily keeps bouncing in my arms and playing with my shirt and hair. My shirt, which was once cleaned and pressed, now has Lily’s breakfast cereal and dried spit on it. Gone are the days of appearing presentable, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything. I see some of our guests behind the seating area. Sean and Micah are holding hands, whispering to each other. When they see me, Sean lets go of Micah, puts his hands out for Lily, and she practically jumps into his arms.

He's her godfather, although he loves her like a daughter. He coos, “Lily. Uncle Sean missed you.”

He holds her close, rocking back and forth while Micah steps forward and shakes my hand. The guy is good for Sean. Micah irons out Sean’s frazzled moments when he second-guesses his business and their relationship. They both support each other’s work amongst other things, and allow for individuality, which is exactly what Sean needs. It’s taken him this long to come to terms with his homosexuality, so he needs space to still be a bodybuilder in fight mode. Micah is much slighter and more refined. From a distance, they’re total opposites, but they have a good balance.

Sean’s goo-gooing to Lily, “Who’s my favorite girl?”

Her fingers jab into her chest. “Me!”

“Did daddy pick out this dress?”

She rubs her nose into Sean’s neck, laughing and bouncing on his arm.

He asks her again, and she says, “Yeah.”

Sean faces her away from him, holding her like a swing, so she can look at the people. She kicks her legs out, offering incoherent gibberish while chewing on her thumb.

Sean asks me, “How was Teagan this morning?”

I run my hand through my hair. “Nervous. It doesn’t seem real to her.”

He swings Lily from side to side. “Well, I’m proud of her. It seems like yesterday when she was picking classes, pretending to go to school because she was afraid to ask you.”

“Shut up! That was a lifetime ago.”

Sean gives me a tight nod and says, “You’re right about that.”

I hear a squeal behind me, and Erin comes running over, arms out to snatch Lily from Sean. Sean hugs Lily to him, sayingno, while Erin cries, “Gimme her.” They’re joking and Lily eats it up.

Elijah joins us, rubbing Erin’s pregnant belly, and he pretends to take Lily’s nose. She screams in excitement, jumping from Sean’s arms to Elijah’s. He’s turned out to be a great friend of mine, and in ways, like a father-figure. Initially, I hated him for sticking his nose into mine and Teagan’s relationship. Now, I welcome it. There’s a lot I can learn from him.

After I fulfilled my obligation to Elijah by paying back the money I owed him, I decided to remain his accountant. Our wives are best friends, and it turns out Elijah and I have some things in common. We love hanging out at home and having each other over on the weekends. He’s introduced me to photography. Some pictures he took hang in their home and are stunning.

The only thing I could introduce Elijah to is a good bourbon. As rich and cultured as Elijah is, he doesn’t throw any of it in my face. He never makes me feel inferior to him and is there when I need him.

As for photography, I started taking my own photos and developing them. Of course, the majority of my pictures are of Tea and Lily. Mother and daughter. They’re the best memories to capture. Sometimes, I’ll sit on the porch, watching my favorite girls plant flowers, or Tea will push Lily on the tree swing I made for her. Then, I’ll come growling at them, arms raised, just to watch my Lily giggle and run. They’ve changed me. The savagery that once dictated my life also ran through my veins. James hardened me into a monster. When Teagan entered my life, she turned the beast into a man. And when my Lilypad came along, she became a daddy’s girl.

Out of the blue, Simas appears, takes Lily away from Elijah, smooching her chubby cheeks. We exchange smiles while he continues to pamper my daughter. I always thought he was Elijah’s age, but he’s in his early fifties. He’s quiet and keeps to himself.

And I owe him my life.

When Tea and I came home from our honeymoon, I spoke to Simas outside before going in. He was there to drop off our mail as a favor to Erin. Simas left before I walked into the chaos. Once he got home, he realized he forgot to tell us about the water company. They planned to shut off the water for a couple of hours on Monday. Thank God he’s not a phone person. He returned to our house and heard Teagan’s screams. Creeping around the back, he saw us through the windows. As James cocked the gun to shoot me, Simas got in three rounds, killing him on the spot.

Teagan and I ran to each other, patting our bodies to make sure we were fine. When satisfied, we turned to the shattered window to find Simas staring at us. He gave us a nod, pulled out his phone, and called the police. I felt bad he had to go through interviews and questioning, but Elijah assured me things were better this way. Simas is ex-FBI, so he has credibility as opposed to me killing James.

Since then, we’ve become a family, and he’s welcome in our home any time, which I’m glad he takes advantage of, especially since Lily’s birth. We’re both on the quiet side, so there isn’t much conversation as we sit out on the deck, drinking. He’s taught me how to play chess. The man’s a master mind. As quiet as he is, his intelligence is sky high. Elijah once told me Simas’ IQ is 144. Also, the guy loves our daughter. He’s like a second godfather, letting her dress him up, playing with dolls, and when I’m really busy, he offers to take her for a walk. We count on him to babysit when my mom is unavailable.

Simas whispers in Lily’s ear, and she whispers back, “Wuv you, Simas.”

This chokes me up. I can never repay Simas for what he did and all he went through, but my Lilypad makes up for our shortcomings.

The crowd thickens, and people are taking their seats. I snatch Lily from Simas and make my way to the seats, where I find my mom. Teagan had two tickets, assuming Sean would be sitting with me, except he declined. He believed it was more appropriate to have my mom here. My mother’s face lights up as soon as she sees Lily. I hand Lily over to her and she gives me a kiss on the cheek.

We’re an hour into the ceremony, and Lily is getting antsy. I let her sit on the ground between my legs and play with a couple of toys I brought. Her attention span is nil. Her gapped tooth smile makes me laugh while she bounces on my thighs. They start divvying out diplomas, so I slip the little banner over Lily’s head that reads, “Bachelor’s in Mommying.”

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