Page 32 of Alfie: Part Two

She smiled, then cocked her head. “Weren’t you happy before?”

I hummed. “You and your brother always make me happy. But having Daddy with us again makes me over-the-moon happy. Does that make sense? Kind of like, I suspect, you getting your cat will make you even happier than you are now.”

She beamed and nodded. “I can’t wait! I want a girl cat so she can have lots of babies.”

I coughed around a laugh and shook my head. “We agreed ononepet, not a kitten factory, you little brat.”

I made a mental note to make sure whatever cat we adopted was neutered or spayed.

“This is amazing.” Alfie inspected the toy for Kian as I pulled out of the parking lot. “Switches, levers, a clock, buttons… Ellie, do you remember you had one of these?”

“Noooo, Daddy already asked,” she huffed.

“Well, excuse me so fucking much,” Alfie muttered.

I smirked to myself and started driving out. Next stop, Villanova.

Meanwhile, Alfie stuffed the presents into gift bags and attached bows—well, he struggled with one that got stuck on his fingers instead.

“Motherfu—dge.”

“You usually say motherfucker,” Ellie said frankly.

I snorted under my breath and turned onto the main road.

Alfie peered back between our seats. “That’s no fuckin’ excuse for you to say dumb shit like me. We clear?”

“Okay, shit!” Ellie yelled.

“Noelle,” I warned in the rearview.

She found my stare in the mirror and scowled. “Be mad at Daddy also for cursing. You always sayNoelle…” She darkened her voice, and it was too fucking cute.

But fair enough.

I turned to Alfie. “Alfredo…”

“Oh,gross.” He made a face. “Don’t ever call me that, you sexy nutjob.”

I laughed. So did Ellie.

Now I understood why Colby had opted to take the bus. He’d looked half horrified at the prospect of entering a toy store with us, but the car ride might be worse.

However, something told me that Colby was more interested in meeting up with the kids his age. An invitation had been extended to him through Kellan; the teenagers in the family were avoiding the birthday party by eating at a burger place. And according to Alfie, Colby had “lost his vocabulary” the first time he’d met Finn and Emilia’s daughter, Autumn.

“I like Dad’s chicken alfredo very much,” Trip offered. “Can we have that for dinner on Monday after school?”

I chuckled. “Definitely, son. You looking forward to second grade?”

“Yes.” He smiled happily and looked out the window.

“And now we’re not going to Daddy Alfredo’s—we’re staying at the same house,” Ellie said. “Daddy can cook all the time!”

Alfie stared back at her. “You absolute shit-stirrer.”

I just sighed contentedly, happier than I’d been in ages.

I’d obviously looked up Finn and Emilia’s address on Google Street View first, but the grand estate still left a mark as we drove through the gates.

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