by Claire Adams
There had been no more bullying incidents, and I was really thankful for that. It helped a lot when Rachel came to the parents’ dinner, and the kids were able to see that Nell had an amazing sort of mother in her life. At least, I liked to think it was because of that and not because she had hit someone. Part of me wondered if maybe she had gotten some sort of ‘tough kid’ label on her. I knew people would make fun of her eventually if that was the case, but I really hoped that she would always be known as a nice girl instead.
“Are you sure you want to go?” I asked Nell, just teasing her.
“Of course, I want to go! I’ve been waiting for this day forever,” she said, making sure to drag out the word. I laughed once again. She was such a funny child and was always keeping me on my toes and laughing.
I finished my cup of coffee, then the three of us made our way to the kitchen where we ate the donuts that Rachel had picked up on the way over last night to make sure we got something to eat in the morning before heading to the Space Needle. Then the three of us hurried off to get ready.
Once we were all ready, we made our way out of the house and toward the Space Needle. It had been a very long time since I’d been there and I didn’t even remember ever taking Nell. So, it was going to be her first time. This was a pretty important thing, considering how we lived in the city and Nell had been there for all five years of her life but had yet to visit the Space Needle.
We pulled up outside the Space Needle and the three of us got out. We made our way up the sidewalk and to the front of the building, then went inside and bought our tickets.
Through the entire tour, Nell’s eyes were lit up the entire time. She was having so much fun, and I really liked that she was taking an interest in history. Especially history that was part of the city she was growing up in.
Once we finished the tour, we decided to go to the deli by the art gallery. The three of us went inside and ordered at the counter, then found a table near the back. We all sat down and waited patiently for our number to be called. When it was called, I got up and grabbed our sandwich tray and brought it back over to the table.
“Did you have fun?” Rachel asked Nell.
“Yes, I had so much fun! This was the best idea ever. This is the best day ever, actually,” Nell said. She was still really excited and riled up from the Space Needle adventure. I figured we were going to have to take her to the park later so she could run off some of her energy.
“You have to eat your sandwich before your cookie,” I said to Nell.
“I know, Daddy.”
I watched as she unwrapped her sandwich, and pulled it out to take a bite of it. “How about now?” she asked.
I laughed at her, “Come on, Nell; you know the rules, I said to her.
“I know,” she said and began to eat her sandwich faster than I’ve ever seen her eat before in her life. This caused Rachel to laugh so hard she almost choked on her Pepsi.
“I love you both so much,” I said to them.
“I love you too, Daddy,” Nell said.
“I love you too,” Rachel said.
Spending time with the both of them like this was my favorite thing. I finally felt whole and complete, and I hadn’t felt this way in a long time. I was glad that things were going this way once again and knew that I owed it all the Rachel. She had quickly become everything to me, and I couldn’t picture my life without her. In fact, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. I could even picture myself having another child with her. That is, if that’s what she wanted.
“Can I have my cookie now?” Nell asked.
I looked at her sandwich. She had eaten over half of it and had eaten all of her applesauce as well. “Sure, I guess you can,” I said to her.
Rachel reached for the cookie and unwrapping it, handed it to Nell.
“Thank you,” Nell said.
“You’re welcome,” Rachel replied.
After we all finished eating, we decided to stop by the park down the street for a while. When we got there, Nell took off running towards the playground. Rachel and I sat on a park bench nearby so we could keep an eye on her.
“Thank you,” I said to Rachel.
“For what?” Rachel asked, a look of bewilderment on her face.
“For being here for both me and Nell. You mean so much to us, and I couldn’t picture my life without you now,” I said to her.
“You’re welcome, and thank you. Because I don’t know where I would be right now without you. I was in such a bad place when you first hired me,” she said.
I gave her a hug and a small kiss, making sure that Nell didn’t see because lately she’s been getting grossed out about that. I figure she picked it up from her friend Kassondra, whom she’d still been sleeping over with almost every Saturday night. For whatever reason, Kassondra’s parents loved having her over. It gave Rachel and I a night to ourselves, which we really appreciated, and used to our full advantage.
Nell had grown and changed so much over the last couple months. I knew I owed it all to Rachel. If it wouldn’t have been for her, Nell would’ve never known what it felt like to have a mother figure in her life. I thanked my lucky stars every single day for Rachel being in my life.
“Look at me!” Nell yelled from the swings.
Rachel and I both looked at her as she started to swing higher and higher.
“Be careful!” Rachel yelled at her.
“I am!” Nell yelled back.
After a few more minutes of swinging, she got off and ran over to us.
“Come play with me,” she said.
“What you want to play?” Rachel asked her.
“I want Daddy to be it. Let’s play tag,” she said, as she took off running.
“See ya!” Rachel said to me and took off running, too.
I started chasing after both of my girls. First, I tried to chase Nell, but she ran into places on the playground that I knew I couldn’t fit into. Then I started to try to chase Rachel, but she ran up the steps. Way too fast, and I didn’t want to knock over any of the kids that were trying to get up there too. Rachel had gotten by just in time.
“That was cheating,” I said to her, laughing.
“No, it wasn’t. That was using my skills,” Rachel said, with a laugh and took off running again, this time in the opposite direction.
I finally caught up to Nell and gently touched her back.
“Looks like you’re it,” I said to her.
“Hey! That’s not fair,” Nell said, laughing and running toward me. Rachel and I both ran toward the grassy area. I wasn’t sure why Rachel was headed that way, but I was just trying to get away from all the kids that were all over the park. I didn’t want to mow any of them down with my running.
I slow down a little bit so Nell could get close to me, but just as she was about to touch me, I moved quickly to the right, then quickly to the left. I avoided her touching me both times.
“Hey, that’s not fair,” Nell said, stomping her feet.
“Now, remember what I said about poor sports?” I said to her.
“Nobody wants to play with them?” she asked.
“Yes, that’s absolutely right,” I told her.
“I’m sorry. Can we go get ice cream? I’m tired and don’t want to play anymore,” Nell was asking, just as Rachel came over to us.
“What happened?” she asked.
“Nell wants to go get ice cream,” I said, as Nell nodded her head enthusiastically, looking up at Rachel.
“Let’s go get ice cream then,” Rachel said.
So off we went, and after we ate our ice cream, we went home and ended our day with a movie. It was one of the best days of my life. It seemed like every day that I spent with Rachel and Nell was the best day of my life.
We both put Nell to bed and then we went to my room and flopped on the bed ourselves.
“I love you more than you will ever know,” I said, as we were dozing off.
“Aw, James. I love you mo
re than you will ever know.” With that, I gave her a kiss, and then we cuddled up together and fell asleep, knowing that my life was full and happy once again.
Epilogue
Rachel
Nell and I were lying in bed while James went into the kitchen. That day marked our first anniversary.
Nell was all snuggled up next to me when she said, “Rachel?”
“Yes, Nell?”
“I’m so happy that you married my dad.”
“Aw. That means a lot to me. I’m very glad I married your dad too. Do you know why?” I asked her.
“Why? Don’t tell me it’s because you get to kiss him?” she asked making a grossed-out face.
“Well, that and because I got you,” I said, poking her little nose.
“I just like that I get to call you Mommy. It’s all I ever wanted,” she said.
Tears filled my eyes. I loved Nell more than anything in the entire world, and I couldn’t picture not having her by my side. They were my entire world now, and over the last couple years, I had completely changed. I was no longer the person that I used to be: the sad girl trapped on the couch and crying every day. I had never been so happy in my life as I was being with these two.
The last couple years had been craziness. The day after we went to the Space Needle, James had proposed to me. It had been so quick, but we knew it was right. We both felt that it was totally right. We started planning our wedding right away and were married one year ago today.
I remember thinking that there was no way I was ever going to be any happier than I was at that moment. I spent the entire day of our wedding smiling from ear to ear, and even my face hurt by the end of the day. In the pictures, I wasn’t forcing it like I’d seen in so many wedding photos. I was truly, truly happy. We both were.
“Are you ready?” I asked her.
“Yes, I am,” Nell said.
I heard James walk down the hallway and I gave Nell the signal. She got up, and as soon as the door opened, she ran out of the room. She was laughing and smiling from ear to ear. She looked so happy.
“Where is she going?” James asked, pointing her direction. He was holding a tray with orange juice, pancakes, and bacon for the three of us to eat while we watched a movie in bed.
I shrugged. I knew exactly where she was headed, but I didn’t want to tell James that. I wanted to keep it to myself. It was a surprise, after all.
“I can’t believe it’s been one year,” James said and sat down next to me. He handed me a champagne glass that was filled with what I assumed was a mimosa.
I clinked his glass, but before I took a sip, I set it down. I grabbed his face with both hands and gave him a big kiss.
“I love you so much. I have no idea where I would be today without you. I am more thankful for you every single day. I can’t wait to see where our life goes from here,” I said to him.
“Those were your vows,” he said to me.
“Good job,” I said. I had been testing him and hoped that he would get that right. But I’d been a little nervous. It had been a year after all, and if he didn’t remember them, I wouldn’t have blamed him. That wouldn’t have been his fault. It’s been too long. I did remember his vows though.
“I love you so much, Rachel,” James said, and reached behind him. When he brought his hand around, he was holding something wrapped in paper.
He handed me the box, “For me?” I asked him.
He laughed, “Yes, of course, it’s for you,” he said.
Carefully, I started to undo the wrapping paper. I peeled off one layer and then a second layer. And when I got down to what it was, I found that it was a jewelry box. A black velvet box. I knew it came from a jewelry store, and from the looks of it, a nice one.
I flipped open the lid and before me was the most beautiful diamond necklace I’d ever seen in my life.
“I know that the first anniversary is supposed to be paper or whatever. But you’re worth so much more to me than that, and I wanted to show you how much I really love you,” he said, as he helped me put it on.
“James, you didn’t have to buy me this. I’m a simple girl, you know.”
“I know. But I just really wanted to buy this for you,” he said.
I smiled at him, and we kissed. I love this man more than anything the world. He meant everything to me, and I was so glad that I’d found him. I had to owe it all to Sadie. She was the one that had convinced me to go apply for a job the first place. If I hadn’t done that, I would’ve never got the job. I would never have met Nell or James. My life would never have changed for the better. I didn’t like going down that road because I didn’t really know where I would have ended up, and when I thought about it, it always just seemed like it would have gone badly.
“I have a gift for you,” I said to him.
“Oh really?” he said, raising an eyebrow.
“Nell! Come in here, now, please!” I could hear giggling as she made her way down the hallway.
She stood in front of her dad holding his gift behind her back so that he couldn’t see. He tried to look around, but she would let him. She looked at me, and I nodded my head so she knew she could give it to him. Then she handed him the box. I hadn’t spent any time wrapping it, so I appreciated that he spent time wrapping mine.
“A pair of shoes?” he asked.
I shrugged, “Open it and find out,” I said to him.
I watched as he flipped open the lid. And then he stared down at what was inside. He looked at me, then cocked his head to the side and gave me a funny look.
“These are bit small,” he said.
“I know. They aren’t for you,” I said.
“What? Are you?” he asked, getting excited.
“Yes!” I nodded my head. I’d been waiting almost a week to tell him this news, and it had been absolutely killing me. I had told Nell the day before, and she had practically screamed and burst into tears. I had to bribe her to keep her from telling her dad about it. I didn’t want him to know because I wanted to surprise him in a special way on our anniversary.
“Are you serious?” he asked.
“I would never joke about this,” I said, with a smile.
There were tears running out of his eyes as he grabbed me and wrapped his arms around me.
“You just made me happier than I’ve ever been, and you already made me super happy. I didn’t think any more was possible,” he said.
“You’re excited?” I asked him.
“Of course, I am. I’ve wanted to have a baby with you for a while,” he said.
I laughed, and then the three of us hugged and cried. At that moment, I realized that I had everything I’d ever wanted. I had an amazing husband that meant the world to me, and an amazing daughter. And, in about nine months, I was going to have another child.
“I want a sister,” Nell said.
“Well, we can’t really decide that,” James said, with a laugh. “When did you find out?” he asked me.
“Last week when you were at the grocery store,” I said to him. “I kinda thought I was for a little while, but I waited to take the test. Then I knew I wanted to surprise you in some way, and with our anniversary only being week away, I wanted to wait until then,” I explained to him. It nearly killed me though.
“You knew about this?” he asked Nell.
“She just told me yesterday,” Nell said matter-of-factly. “She needed help with the surprise. I’m so freaking excited!” she yelled out.
The three of us laughed and then turned our attention toward the tray of food that James had prepared, and the three of us started digging in.
“Does any of this bother you? Like, do you have morning sickness?” James asked me, his voice full of concern.
I shook my head, “Not really, not yet anyway,” I said to him.
“Okay, just make sure you let me know if you need anything,” he said.
I told him I would, and then the three of us watched a movie that Nell picked out. We ate ou
r breakfast and afterward we went to one of the local parks. My favorite days were those when we went to a park. The three of us running around and playing together. I felt a childlike sense overwhelm me, and I loved the playgrounds as well. I loved being around children, and I was so excited for new little boy or girl.
“What do you want?” he asked me.
“I don’t care if it’s a boy and I don’t care if it’s a girl. Just as long it’s healthy, that’s all I care about,” I said to him.
“I would like a boy,” he said. It was such a manly thing to say that I had to giggle at it.
“So, we can still, uh, you know?” he asked, making hand gestures. I slapped his hand away because it was inappropriate for the children, but I knew that none of them had seen.
“Yes, of course, we can. It feels so much better when pregnant,” I said.
James wiggled his eyebrows at me, and I let out another laugh. Just then, Nell ran up and grabbed us for another round of tag. It was her favorite game to play at the park, and I loved playing it with her. She was so much fun and was really good at playing tag, even though she cheated sometimes.
As I played with James and Nell, I couldn’t help but wonder what this new baby was going to look like. Was the baby going to take after Nell? Or was he or she going to look just like James. Or me? It was all very strange to consider.
After we were done at the park, we headed back to the house where James set up a candlelight dinner for the three of us. I thought it was so sweet that he wanted to include Nell in all of our adventures today. I wanted to include her as well. She was my daughter, and had officially been my daughter for one year, as I had adopted her day we got married.
“Mommy, can I help you pick out the names?” Nell asked me.
I thought it was so sweet that she was already thinking about that. I knew she was going to be a wonderful big sister because she was such a caring child as it was. I knew she would help me out with the baby if I asked her to as well. I knew she wasn’t going to be jealous either. I loved her so much and worked hard to make sure she knew it.
