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I grab the one she bought for me. When I tear all the paper away, I can't manage to find words. She bought skates that are sized for a kid.
“It's more symbolic than anything. It doesn't take a fool to realize you love hockey and I think it would be amazing for you to pass that on to Liana. If she wants to be an ice skater or a hockey player like her daddy, then I'm all for it, as long as you're there if she gets hurt. Show her that it's okay to fall down, to get hurt, but to make her tough enough to get back up and keep going. You said you would, remember?”
Swallowing hard, I nod. “I remember,” I whisper. She's given me something that I don't even know how to put into words, but it makes me fucking emotional. She took what I said and made it beautiful, made it a gift for me to give and teach to our daughter later. It's probably the best Christmas gift I've ever received. “Thanks, Audra,” I kiss her cheek and then hand her the last present. Her eyes light up even though it's only a card. She rips open the envelope, and as she sees what it is, I say, “This is for after the baby is born. Whenever you want to relax, you can grab a friend and go.”
Audra stares at the card for a moment and then lifts her head to look at me with glassy eyes. “You...” She glances at the gift certificate again. “You thought about me for after our baby is born? Neil...” A tear spills over, and I wipe it away. “That's so thoughtful. Thank you.” She presses her mouth to mine, softly at first, but when I part her lips with my tongue, she wraps her arms around my neck. Audra pulls away entirely too soon and whispers, “I'm glad you are her father. I couldn't have accidentally picked a better man for the job.” Her lips quirk up into a smile.
“Thank you for saying that. Now, drink your hot cocoa so we can go back to bed.”
Audra laughs, but does what I've told her. I don't think I'll ever tire of that laugh.
WE'RE TWO WEEKS into the new semester, and nothing has changed with Maddie. Although, she is hanging around me again, and she doesn't look like she's lost more weight, but she hasn't gained any either. Audra has made herself at home in the house and Grant and I are moving in with Lucy's brothers this weekend. Since this is Bo's last semester, he decided to stick through until the end. For now, we're sitting at the table in the kitchen, eating breakfast.
“Hey, Grant. Let me borrow your phone.”
He slides it over the table, and I pick it up. After putting my dirty dish in the dishwasher, I sneak off into my bedroom. I dial Dave's number and what do you know? He answers.
“Hello?”
“Don't hang up. This is serious.”
Dave sighs. “What in the hell do you want?”
“Don't you listen to your voicemails?”
“Not yours. What is it?”
“We need to talk about Maddie,” I tell him.
“I don't want to hear about any trouble you two-”
“Don't even start that bullshit, Dave. You need to listen to me because I need your fucking help. Maddie needs your help. I told you this shit is serious, so quit acting like I'm calling you to complain.”
He's quiet for a moment before he speaks again. “Okay. I'm listening.”
“Do you remember our senior party? Maddie showed up and we all ended up telling her to go home. You used to tease her by calling her Fatty Maddie.”
“Yeah, she was a little chunky because of how short she is.”
“Well, that fucked her up, Dave. That night is why she started running and exercising.”
“What's wrong with that, Winston?”
“Seriously? Did you not see Maddie at all over break? She doesn't eat enough and definitely not enough for how much she's exercising. It's worse now that we're dating, but she won't listen to me, Dave. When I bring it up, she shuts me out and says that she won't go back to being Fatty Maddie.”
“Shit,” he mumbles.
“Exactly. All I want is for her to be healthy and she's not. If she keeps this up, it'll be so much worse.”
“I'll try talking to her. Apologize for teasing her and I'll tell Mom and Dad. If she won't listen to us, then maybe she will to them.”
“Thanks,” I say, feeling better. I hope it makes a difference. We hang up and I go give Grant his phone back. If I don't hurry, I'm going to be late for class. Christmas with my family went pretty well. I told them I was dating Maddie and they were a bit surprised, but overall happy. I text Maddie in between classes, but I don't hear back until after lunch.
“Winston!” a pissed off Maddie yells as I turn to see her stalking towards me. When she reaches me, she shoves me as hard as her little body can, but it doesn't do much damage. “You told Dave?! Now my entire family is all concerned over nothing! How dare you!”
“Calm down.”
“No!” Her voice quiets down, but there's no denying the anger. “You do not get to talk about me to my brother. He is not your best friend where I'm concerned, so you are not allowed to speak to him about me, especially when you don't know what the fuck you're talking about.”
