My Real (8 page)

I have one hell of a woman standing here in my arms.

Andrew drops me off at my house. I head to my room to get a quick shower before he comes back to pick me up again in a few hours. I turned my phone off when Andrew and I left the bar last night. I quickly run to my purse and turn it on. I missed seventeen text messages and five calls, all from Ella. She’s going to be so mad. I call her back without even listening to the messages.

“What the Hell Bailey? Where have you been? I thought you’d call me last night.” I hold the phone away from my ear, because she is yelling so loudly. “Then, I figured you might have stayed the night, and I thought maybe I’d get a call first thing this morning after your walk of shame. Did I get one? NO! It’s 2:00 in the afternoon, Bailey.”

I wait until she’s was done with her rant. There’s no interrupting her once she gets started. “I just got home. The first thing I did when he dropped me off was to call you.”

“You just got home? What have you been doing all day?” she questions.

“Well, it’s kind of a long story, but let’s just say that there was a lot of great sex involved, a run in with Jessica, some screaming, and a four year old.” I start running a bath. I know I’m not going to get out of explaining the entire story to her before I hang up, so a shower is out of the question.

“Jessica? A four-year-old? He has a kid. Start talking Bailey Marie. Now,” Jessia demands.

I completely wash and shave one handed while I recap all of last night and this morning to Ella. I’m running out of time to wash my hair and get ready to go in time for Andrew and Emerson to pick me up.

“Look Ella, I have to go. Andrew’s going to be here in a little bit, and I still have to finish getting ready. Let’s get together tomorrow and work on writing the reading curriculum and I’ll explain everything else,” I promise.

“Wait, you’re going out with him again tonight? Like on a real date?” Her voice starts to raise again. She’s going to have a heart attack at this rate.

“Well, as much of a real date as it can be with a four-year-old coming with us, but yes. He’s taking me out to dinner and a movie.” I didn’t tell her that it was a kid’s movie for Emerson, but it still counted.

“Yes, lunch tomorrow. You have a lot of explaining to do. I told you to go out and have fun, not to jump into a new relationship the day you’re divorced from Dick Head. I’ll see you then.” She hangs up on me. Tomorrow is going to be tons of fun.

I finish showering and then take Chase out for a walk. He is not happy with me for being inside for so long. After playing catch with him for a few minutes, I can tell he forgives me. Dogs are so forgiving. I give him a treat and go to get dressed.

Last night, I had Ella’s help getting ready. It crosses my mind for a second to call her and ask her for help again, but I decide against it. I’m nervous enough as it is. I haven’t been on a date in over ten years. I don’t need her making me more nervous.

I can’t believe what happened last night; it all seems too good to be true. I go with a maxi dress that I borrowed from Ella last summer for a wedding and never returned. After pairing it with some strappy sandals, I am ready. Now if the butterflies would just fly away, I’d be all set.

I just finish putting my chap stick on when I hear Andrew’s truck pull up out front. I look in the mirror and shrug. Not as good as last night but not bad. Maybe I’ll have Ella take me makeup shopping. I grab my purse and head toward the door. There is a tiny knock. When I open the door, I see Emerson in a cute little yellow sundress smiling up at me. Her hair is in lopsided pigtails, one is almost completely falling out. She has a beautiful bouquet of flowers in her hands held up toward me.

“My Daddy said theses are pretty flowers are for the pretty lady we are picking up. Is that you?” she asks in her angelic voice. I kneel down to get eye-to-eye with her.

“It might be, but I think you’re the prettiest girl here tonight. Did your Daddy do your hair for you?” I ask with a smile.

She huffs and rolls her little green eyes. “Yes, he’s not so good at doing my hair but he tries,” she answers as she hands me the flowers.

“Well, let me put these in some water. Emerson, there are some coloring books over on the coffee table if you want to color while you wait.”

Emerson’s eyes grow as she smiles up at Andrew. “Thank you. I love to color. It’s my favorite thing to do in the whole wide world.” We all walk into the living room and Emerson runs toward the coloring books and begins intently coloring a picture of a rainbow. I watch her for a second, my heart pounding out of my chest. How can I be feeling this much love for this little girl already?

I’m in so much trouble.

I turn toward the kitchen, flowers in hand, and pull out a vase from above the refrigerator. “Thank you for the flowers. They’re beautiful but you didn’t have to do that.” I turn my head toward Andrew as I fill the vase with water. He is just staring at me. “What?” I ask him, worried.

“You are so good with her.”

I shrug my shoulders. “I’m a teacher. It’s kinda my job to be good with kids. I noticed all her coloring books and crayons at your house. I figured she must like to color. I had some books in my things from school. It’s not that big of a deal. I just want to make sure she feels comfortable around me.”

Andrew walks up to me, takes the flowers out of my hands, sets them on the counter, and takes me in his arms. “You are an amazing woman,” he whispers in my ear then leans in and kisses me. The kiss becomes heated to the point I’m panting when I hear the pitter patter of little feet coming around to the kitchen. I jump back, smooth out my hair, and go back to putting the flowers in water.

“Emerson, would you like it if I fixed your hair for you?” I ask. Emerson starts jumping up and down.

“Yes please. Can you do a braid, or a French braid?” Emerson asks with growing excitement.

“Anything you want. Let’s go to the bathroom and see what color rubber bands I have to match your dress,” I reply taking Emerson’s hand and lead her toward the bathroom. A few minutes later we walk back out, rocking two french braids wrapped around her head like a princess crown.

“We’re all ready to leave. Bailey made my hair look pretty,” Emerson says.

“Yes, she did honey. You look beautiful.” Andrew smiles at me and ushers us out the door.

As soon as we walk into the restaurant, Emerson informs me, “Daddy, I have to go potty.”

“Come on Em. I’ll take you.” I reply taking her hand.

She stands rooted in place. “I don’t want to go to the boys’ bathroom Daddy.”

“I can take her if you want me to,” Bailey offers. I nod gratefully.

“I wouldn’t want to go into the boys’ room either,” Bailey says to Emerson. “Boys are stinky.” This makes Emerson giggle.

I can hear Emerson’s response as they walk away. “You should smell my Daddy’s farts. Smelly city.”

I can’t think of a time in the recent past that Jessica made Emerson giggle like that. I can’t think of a time when Jessica ever went out of her way to make sure Emerson was happy. She isn’t a bad mother; it’s just obvious she doesn’t put Emerson first. It always seems like she rushes though things with Emerson to get to her more exciting life. Even now that Jessica has more free time because we’re sharing custody of Emerson; she still doesn’t do things with her. Emerson spends more time with me when she’s supposed to be with Jessica. This is the main reason I’m not worried about Jessica taking full custody. She doesn’t want full custody any more than I want to give it to her. I wouldn’t put it past her to give up all her rights. That’s just the kind of selfish woman Jessica is.

I can hear laughter coming from the girls as they come out of the bathroom. My girls. I like the sound of that. The sound of that laughter warms the empty spaces in my broken heart. I’ll do everything in my power to make Bailey mine.

“Knock knock.” Bailey starts yet another joke as we wait for our dinner to come. They’ve been at this for at least ten minutes now. I’ve never known anyone who knew more knock knock jokes than these two girls.

“Who’s there?” Emerson replies.

“Doris”

“Doris who?”

“Doris locked. That’s why I’m knocking!”

Emerson starts laughing so hard, milk comes out her nose which in turn gets Bailey snorting and tears are running down my face. The waitress comes up with our dinner and just stands there staring at us while we all laugh at the stupid knock knock joke.

“Tell another one Bailey. That one was great,” Emerson pleads as I lean over to wipe the milk off of her dress.

“I’ll tell you what, if you eat all your dinner, I’ll tell more in the car on the way to the movie. Is that a deal?” Bailey bargains.

“Deal!” Emerson exclaims and starts eating her chicken nuggets and coloring her placemat at the same time.

“I’m sorry this isn’t the most ideal situation for a first date, Bailey,” I say quietly as to not disturb Emerson.

“It’s fine, really. I’m having a great time. She’s a great little girl Andrew,” Bailey replies.

I may be the luckiest man alive. I’ve reconnected with a woman who I held deep feelings for that exploded into action the second I saw her again. And not only is she perfect for me but she is also caring and accepting of Emerson. My biggest worry when I found out about Jessica cheating on me was finding someone who would love Emerson as much as I do. I’m sure I’ve done just that.

We made it through our first date with Emerson in tow. After dinner, we went to the movies to see the latest Disney had to offer. Bailey seemed to have as great a time at the movies as Emerson did. I couldn’t persuade Bailey to spend the night with me again with Emerson in the house, but she did agree to come over for dessert. I dropped her off at her house so that she could get her car. Not the most ideal situation, but it meant I get to spend more time with her tonight so I’d take it.

I give Emerson a bath after we shared a huge ice cream sundae with chocolate ice cream, chocolate sprinkles, hot sauce, and whipped cream that Bailey made for us. The woman knows her chocolate. Bailey is downstairs while I’m tucking Emerson in and saying prayers with her.

“Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Guide me through the starry night, and wake me with the morning light. God Bless Daddy, Mommy, and me. Oh, and God Bless Bailey, because she makes Daddy and me laugh. Amen.” She finishes her prayers and hugs me.

“Emerson, do you like Bailey?” I ask her a little bit worried. Emerson is the most important person in my life and while she is just four, her opinion does matter a lot to me.

“I like her a lot, Daddy.”

“Would you mind if Bailey spent more time with us?” I tuck her in then kneel on the floor next to her.

“Yes! She’s pretty and funny and silly and she can do my hair. Can she be my sister Daddy?”

I try not to laugh, so I don’t hurt her feelings, “No Em, she can’t be your sister, but I’ll bet if you ask her, she will be your friend.”

“I like that idea. I’ll ask her the next time I see her. I’m sleepy Daddy. No more talking,” she says as she puts her finger on my lips to quiet me. “Good night. I love you.” She says as she rolls over.