Page 18 of Spoil
“So, Danny. That’s an interesting name for a girl.”
“It’s really Daniella. Mommy said she named me after my daddy so I’d always have a part of him with me.”
And... there go the waterworks again.
I cry for my little girl. I cry for myself. I cry for my dad, who passed before he got to meet her. I cry for Daniel.
But instead of wallowing in self-pity, I reach over and hold Danny’s hand.
Daniel’s eyes find mine in the rearview, and the playful expression from before is gone now, and replaced with pain and concern.
“Do I have to call you Daddy?”
He pauses before answering. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. I think you can call me Hippopotamus if you want. It’s up to whatever you and your mommy want to call me.”
He can sense we need to move on from the heavy things, so he steers the conversation. “So, Danny, are you in school yet?”
“No, silly. I’m only four. I won’t go to school for two more years. But Mommy’s teaching me some stuff at home, so that I’m extra ready.”
“What’s your favorite pizza?” Danny asks him, as if it’ll confirm whether he’s her father or not.
“Pineapple. Yours?”
“Me too!” The smile on her face so resembles his. I had almost forgotten. But seeing it anew is a painful reminder of how similar they are.
They gabber on, asking each other unimportant questions. Favorite color. Favorite ice cream. Favorite dinosaur. Which turns into a “how many dinosaurs can you name” which, blessedly, takes up the rest of the time to the house.
It’s in an older neighborhood, but the houses are big and expensive. My dad bought this house back in the nineties, when it wasn’t so expensive, but as the community developed, it gained a reputation for being one of the wealthier neighborhoods around, so the value went up. It wasn’t until myfather died that we realized he’d pulled a second mortgage on it to maintain their lifestyle, and it was now underwater.
It’s been a huge source of stress for my stepmom, who is now bedridden with anxiety and depression, both from the financial situation and my father’s passing.
I thank Daniel and confirm that his number is still in my pocket. Imagine losing him twice. I don’t want him to go. But I also don’t want Chastity or Grace to see his BMW.
Daniel exits the car too to walk us to the door, and while I don’t want him to go, I don’t want him to stay either. I need him to leave, and fast. I’m about to say goodbye and rush him away when he kneels on the gravel walkway in his fancy suit.
“I’m so very glad to have found you, Danny. I’ve been looking for a very long time.”
He sticks his hand out, and she shakes it. Daniel pretends she hurt him, and she giggles.
Maybe it will all work out.
He stands again, and his eyes dart down to my lips. God, kissing him would be amazing. It’s the gift I didn’t know I needed. It would be so easy, too. Imagine him coming home from a day at work and kissing him ‘hello’. I imagine if he were mine. If this fucked-up situation I found myself in was simply gone, and we could build something together.
Something too close to hope builds in my chest, so I shove the thoughts away.
I give him a kiss on the cheek. “I will call you. I promise.”
He seems satisfied enough with that answer, but he watches as we let ourselves in and close the door behind us.
Danny rushes to the window and pulls the curtain aside. I’m about to scold her, but not only do Daniel and I have to figure out our co-parenting relationship, if there’s going to be one, but Danny needs the space to figure out her relationship with her father. And I’m not going to interfere with that.
She smiles and waves, and I peek out of the windows on either side of the door to find him, back in his car, smiling and waving at her.
Chapter eleven
Daniel
I’m not okay as I drive back to The Envelope. I didn’t really tell them where I was going, or why I needed to borrow their car seat, but they were still celebrating Serenity, and I needed to return the car seat, anyway.
