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I cup her cheek. “Then let’s get married.”
And that’s what we do.
With Brynlee standing between us, we each hold one of her hands, and then Scarlet and I link our other hands together.
And there, in Scarlet’s childhood yard, I finally get to call her my wife.
We say our goodbyes quickly, not wanting to take anything away from Lenny and Sebastian, and head back home with a sleepy Brynlee.
When it’s her bedtime, she asks Scarlet to read her story to her instead of me.
Is part of me a little jealous that she wants someone other than me to read to her?
I’m man enough to admit I am. But I’m also in awe of the woman sitting on Brynn’s bed with a copy of Goodnight Moon in her hands.
When she closes the book and brushes Brynlee’s strawberry-blonde curls away from her face, she leans down and kisses my daughter, then tucks her in. “Good night, sweetheart.”
Brynlee sits up as soon as Scarlet does. “Scarlet, is Madeline’s mommy your mommy?”
“No, honey. Madeline and I have the same daddy. But we have different mommies.”
Brynn has a bit of an unsure look on her face. Her pretty green eyes are nervous. “Like me and my sister?”
“Yes. Just like you and your sister.”
“What if I don’t want to have different mommies?” My daughter clutches Teddy close to her chest, toying with the white bow tied around his pink neck. “What if I want you to be my mommy too? Now that you and Daddy are married, are you my mommy? I mean, there’s a boy in my class with two mommies. And my friend Heather has two mommies and two daddies.” She thinks about it for a hot second, and then her eyes light up with excitement. “Oh. Oh. Oh. And Jason has two daddies and no mommies. So if everybody gets to have what they want, can’t I have the same mommy my sister does? Can’t you be my mommy too?”
Oh, my little girl.
She is such an old soul.
I debate for a moment whether to join in on the conversation, not wanting to interrupt. But also pretty damn sure Scarlet won’t want to say anything without talking to me first. So I walk into the room and sit at the foot of the bed. Scarlet has big pools of tears threatening to fall from her beautiful blue eyes. And I want to scoop both my girls up and hold them forever.
Instead, I wrap an arm around Scarlet, then pull Brynlee onto my lap. “Everybody’s family is a little different, baby. Family means a lot of things. It comes in all shapes and sizes. But do you know the most important thing all families have in common?”
Brynn’s little eyes peer into mine as if I’m about to give her the answer to all the wonders of the world. “What, Daddy?” she asks breathlessly.
I kiss the crown of her head. “Love, baby. Families are made from love. And Scarlet and I both love you very much.”
“Yay! It’s settled.” Brynlee smiles a triumphant little smile. “I love Scarlet too. So she can be my mommy.”
Scarlet traces the apple of Brynn’s cheek with her fingertip and looks at me, gauging my reaction.
Like there was ever any other option.
Like this woman in my arms wasn’t always destined to be the mother of my children.
I nod and pull her in tighter.
“Oh, sweet girl. I’d be the luckiest mommy in the world if I could be yours.”
Brynn wraps her arms around Scarlet’s neck and kisses her cheek, then does the same to me. “I think this calls for a sleepover in my room.”
“Nice try, kiddo. Nice try.”
