Before, she was delectable, now, she has the damn body of a goddess.
I nearly grab her and pull her into an all-consuming kiss, but the sound of little feet pattering along the floor draws my attention away from my woman. I look around Jacey and see Hadley standing there, toothbrush hanging out of her mouth as she waves frantically at me. Jacey, noticing my attention placed where it is, slowly turns around and I hear a sigh leave her mouth.
“Hadley Nicole, where do we brush our teeth?” she asks our daughter.
Hadley attempts to answer her with her mouth full, toothpaste beginning to slide down the sides of her mouth. I can’t help but chuckle at the rabid dog appearance she has. “Bathroom, baby girl, Daddy isn’t going anywhere,” I promise her, pointing my finger in the direction of the bathroom. She slowly turns on the balls of her feet and marches back the way she came.
“She’s a spitfire,” Jacey says, shaking her head.
“Hmm… wonder where she gets that from?” I smirk as I ask her.
“Are you implying she gets that from me?” Jacey asks, pointing at her chest.
“Not implying, confirming,” I emphatically state.
“Whatever,” she says, rolling her eyes at me. “So, y’all are heading to the petting zoo for the day, anything else?”
“After that, we’re coming back here. I figure I’m gonna need a nap after keeping up with her,” I admit. It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything other than sit in a studio or perform on stage. I hit the gym religiously, but I have a feeling this is going to be a completely different sort of workout session. But this day, I wouldn’t change it for the world. Jacey has given me individual time with Hadley, but she’s always been around somewhere in the background. Today, it’s just me and I couldn’t be any happier than I am at this moment.
“She will wear you out if you’re not careful. You may have to rein her in some here and there, Rayne. She gets rambunctious when she’s excited and can disappear on you if you so much as blink.”
“Should I get one of those harness things I see parents using?” I jokingly laugh at the visual.
“She’d drag you around like a dog on a leash,” she jests back.
“Daddy, I’s ready!” Hadley comes bouncing into the room with Annabelle clutched to her chest.
“Hadley, maybe, Annabelle should stay home today and rest,” Jacey suggests.
“No’s, Mommy, she wants to see the animals too!” Hadley protests, sending her mother a glare of annoyance. I’m guessing this is a thorn of contention between the two of them. Something I intend to steer clear from.
Jacey turns a gleaming eye in my direction, then says, “We’ll leave this decision up to your daddy.” The evil wench smiles at me. “Do you think Annabelle should go with you two today?”
Fuck me.
“Um,” I stammer out.
“Pwease, Daddy.” Hadley begs me with wide, begging eyes while her bottom lip is protruding out.
“Um,” I repeat, unsure of which one of their sides I should take. If I don’t take Hadley’s, I’m sure to have a sullen child on my hands all day long. If I don’t take Jacey’s, I could find myself locked out from her for longer than I already am. “Let’s make a compromise,” I state.
“I doesn’t like that word, Daddy. Momma’s always uses it and Annabelle has to stay home.” Hadley dramatically stomps her foot as she gives her mother a scalding look.
“You women get that look down pat early, don’t y’all?” I ask Jacey. I’ve seen the look Hadley is sending her mother aimed in my direction throughout life from all of the women I’m surrounded by.
Jacey
“I have no clue what look you’re referring to there,” I state, innocently batting my eyelashes at him. I’m quite enjoying not being the bad guy in this situation. I know there’s no way in hell Rayne wants to keep up with a doll all damn day alongside of his daughter. There’s gonna come a time when she’s going to throw a fit that her arms are tired and he needs to hold Annabelle. I can just envision Rayne walking around the park clutching her doll.
A part of me feels bad for him and wants to encourage him to leave her behind, but that other part of me, the one who’s all about paybacks, wants him to have to learn the hard way, just as I’ve had to do on numerous occasions. To him, she’s perfect. He’s never truly experienced one of her meltdowns, and he is in for a surprise.
Nobody can test your patience like my girl can when she doesn’t get her way.
Rayne’s eyes swing from me and back to our daughter several times before he closes his eyes, and a sigh leaves his throat. “Annabelle can come, Hadley, but you have to be responsible and keep up with her.”
Sucker!
“I wills, Daddy.” She brightly smiles up at him.
“Dum, dah, duh, dum,” I singsong much to his displeasure if the look he’s shooting me is any indication. “Good luck,” I whisper to him as I walk back to my bedroom to grab my briefcase and purse.
Walking back out to the living room, I see them waiting on me. Leaning down, I ruffle Hadley’s hair before telling her, “Be good for your daddy. Listen to him and do everything he tells you to.”
“I wills, Mommy. Love you,” she happily tells me. She’s ecstatic that she’s got her father wrapped around her little finger.
“Love you too, baby,” I say as we walk out the front door. “Do you need to grab her car seat from my car, Rayne? She still has to be in one,” I inform him in case he’s forgotten.
“Nah, Billie went and grabbed a top-of-the-line one for me last night. The girls installed it and everything,” he says, shocking the shit out of me. Those girls have never installed a car seat in their lives. I walk toward his truck to inspect their work.
He opens the back door for me and I begin going over the installation. “I’m impressed, they did everything right.”
“I think they went online or some shit, found a tutorial on the right way,” he expresses.
“Well, they did good,” I impart as I step back and watch Rayne lift Hadley up and into the seat. “Do you know how to strap her inside?”
“I, too, watched a tutorial,” he says, tapping his temple. I stand back and watch as he expertly straps her in as if he’s been doing it her entire life.
“Y’all have fun,” I say, walking away and getting inside of my vehicle. I sit in the driveway long enough to watch them back out and head down the road. One day, maybe we’ll be having these outings as a family unit instead of individually splitting time with Hadley. Maybe.
14
Rayne
Hadley is a ball of energy. We’ve only been here an hour and I’m already exhausted, and we’ve only made it halfway through the park. She spends copious amounts of time paying each animal attention and explaining what they are to her baby doll. It’s quite the sight to see and experience.
“Daddy, my tummy’s hungry.” Hadley comes up to where I’m relaxing, leaning against a fence post, and informs me. “Do you hears it?” she asks me, while pulling up her shirt to show me her belly.