Page 78 of Retribution

We’re confident that it’s in the court’s best interests for Willow to remain with us, rather than uprooting her across the country temporarily.

Reed wanted us to break the news to Willow together but I insisted it was something he had to do alone. I already felt like I was intruding on their family before Allie’s bed got cold, I didn’t want to force Willow into any sort of reaction to the news if she was uncomfortable that I was there.

She’s the kind of sweet little girl that considers your feelings. She’s very mature for her age and I’m sure, Allie is to thank for that. She’s raised a phenomenal daughter.

As it turned out, Willow was actually ecstatic, she claimed that if she ever wanted another woman in her life, she would choose me. This solidified that I’d made the right decision, to help her stay with her dad.

As much as this marriage will be fake, my love for Willow never will be. I loved her long before any of this happened and I will make sure that she never experiences any kind of hurt again. I want to be the best role model that I can be so that she can excel in life and become the brilliant woman she was always destined to be.

Today is the day that we move into our new house. It’s not modest in any way, Reed insisted that the budget was anything I wanted it to be. At first, I felt incredibly uncomfortable shopping around for a house for me to live in temporarily, but I thought about the fact that Reed and Willow no longer have that feminine lead role in their lives, the motherly figure who wants to make sure her family have the best.

Reed urged that we choose a house in Buckhead, even when I told him that the house prices are extortionate.

Nevertheless, I stand before a newly renovated 1930’s Mediterranean house. It is cream colored with every window and door being charcoal black, matching the gates to the driveway.

The cobble-stoned driveway leads to the sheltered outbuilding that sports a balcony above it.

It’s a humble, five-bedroom four-bathroom home, with two lounges, an extremely large kitchen, dining room and an office.

Every other home I’d toured before this one didn’t seem to fulfill anything, they were all too clinical, too modern and lack of character. This one took my breath away the second I pulled onto the driveway, the entire building was full of personality and had the true feeling of a ‘home’, embedded into it.

I sent the home online link to Reed to gather his thoughts on it. He responded with a text message a few hours later telling me his offer had been accepted.

I’m guessing he liked it as much as me?

When I got in contact with the Realtor agent, she told me how Reed had inputted an offer over the asking price.

That night, I made sure he knew how much I appreciated it.

He returned to work recently, and I’ve warned him to take it easy and not to become so enthralled by it again. So far, he’s been home every night around 6.PM and had his weekends off, Willow has thrived.

The removal men are carrying in all of our new furniture, each piece signposted with the correct room for it to go in. Willow is running around in the the yard, the sprinklers flittering on and off. Reed has taken the day off to help out with the moving process, it’s odd to see him in joggers and a loose tee, or intended to be loose. It’s practically molded to his abs with the sweat, his hair is damp and has began to grow curly, emphasizing the epitome of DILF.

“Throw me my cap.” Reed calls to me from the removal’s truck.

Men are swarming around me with boxes as I stand in the driveway, taking in the reality of my new home.

I reach into the half-closed box and see it’s full of different baseball caps, some vintage looking and others new. I grab a cream colored one and throw it to him, which he puts on backwards, tucking his hair out of his face. Wow, I never really took Reed for a cap kind of guy, turns out he has a full collection of Atlanta Braves hats.

Willow comes barreling towards me, her dress partially soaked and her hair wet.

“What on earth am I going to do with you, Lo?” I sing and swing her around, careful not to get in the way of any of the removal men.

I have always called Willow by her full name; not aware she even had a nickname. Reed is the only person who calls her by it, but after spending so much time with them both its slowly become a part of my vocabulary too.

We’ve had a few occasions where Willow has broken down over the loss of her mom, it’s usually triggered by things you’d think were insignificant, but to her they’re everything.

One time, we were shopping in the supermarket, and we walked down the cereal aisle. She took once glance at the Lucky Charms and burst into tears. Neither me, or Reed, knew why, so we left all our shopping and drove her straight back home. Later that night, she told us how every single weekend they would visit the pond with a box of Lucky Charms. They would sit together and pick out all of the colored marshmallow cereals, snacking on them whilst admiring the swans.

She told us how her mom always referred to her as a ‘Swan’ as it symbolized her grace and beauty, how she couldn’t wait to see Willow grow up and be old enough to perform the ‘Swan Lake’ routine. It brought me to tears, the thoughtfulness behind her kind words, the significance it had on Willow. For this very reason, I instructed the interior designer to design Willow’s new bedroom as entirely ‘swan’ themed.

I never want her to forget about the amazing woman that Allie was, I want to keep her memory alive as much as possible and make sure Willow knows that we want her to remain in the present. She hasn’t seen her bedroom yet, both me and Reed have been discussing just how much she’s going to love it.

“That’s the last of it!” A man with a Texan accent calls to Reed.

Reed hops down out of the removal’s van and stands with his hands on his hips. Willow has hold of my hand as we stare at her dad, he stares back with a huge grin.

“Hang on a second,” Reed says, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

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