Jada came sprinting from her bedroom, stopping me from telling Reed about himself.
“Can my daddy watch the movie with us?” Jada asked once she slowed to a stop in front of us.
“I don’t mind. That’s if he doesn’t mind watching cartoons.”
“You like cartoons, Daddy? Auntie Hope says they’re just for kids, but anyone can watch them.”
“I’ll do whatever you want to do.” Reed smiled as he followed Jada over to the couch. He just didn’t know what he was agreeing to.
Since Jada was comfortable with him, I decided to stop hovering and give them a little space.
“I’m going to make dinner while the two of you start the movie.”
“OK,” Jada replied without even looking back. She was too busy showing Reed how to find kids movies on her favorite app.
It was a special occasion, so when I was done cooking, I served them in the living room. When we were done eating, I made sure to stay out of the way so they could spend time getting to know each other.
For hours, I watched the two of them interact. After the unicorn movie, Reed tried his hand at putting together the dollhouse he had delivered. At the end of the day, the dollhouse looked likethe Leaning Tower of Pisa,and both Reed and Jada were knocked out on the couch. They had fallen asleep to another movie with talking animals. That was Jada’s favorite theme.
I let the movie play out before waking them up. It was after eight on a school night, which meant it was time for Jada to get ready for bed.
“Get your pajamas ready for your bath,” I told her once she was awake enough to understand.
“Can my daddy have a sleepover again?”
Reed’s eyes immediately shot over to me, and I shook my head to shut it down.
“Maybe another time.”
“Don’t worry, Jada. I’ll see you tomorrow after school.”
“OK!” Jada scurried off to her bedroom while I walked Reed to the door.
“Thank you for today. I didn’t know what to expect.”
“Expect me to take care of my family. That includes you, Faith.”
“You don’t have to do that. Just keep showing up for my baby. She’s used to it just being me, Granny, and my sisters. I haven’t had anyone coming in and out of her life, and I’m not going to start now.”
“Don’t even try me like that. You know how I’m coming.”
“I’m just so used to being let down. I don’t want her to have to go through that.”
“And she won’t. I promise I won’t let either of you down. It doesn’t even feel right to leave you here like this. I should be taking you both with me.”
“This is our home.”
“And you are mine, Faith. You know how I feel about you, baby. Stop blocking me out and let me love you. I promise I won’t let you down again.”
I sighed. “I guess we’ll see, won’t we.”
“I’m going to leave before you say you didn’t mean it like that.”
“Good night, Reed.”
“See you tomorrow?” he quizzed.
“Bright and early. I have to finish out my assignment. I still don’t really have enough to give them what they’re asking for.”
