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“My friend asked me if I did, and I said no. Is that lying?”
“Well, it’s lying, but it’s not the worst kind of lie.” He glanced over at me. “Some things aren’t anyone’s business. That’s one of them.”
“Do you toot, Noelle?”
Before I could say anything, Archie answered for me. “Yes, she does.”
My mouth fell open. “And what would you know about that?”
“You used to run the water for like a half hour so I wouldn’t hear you going to the bathroom at our house on Whaite’s Island.” He hesitated. “But one time, it didn’t do the trick.”
I covered my face and laughed. “Anyway, everyone toots, Clancy,” I offered.
She giggled. It almost seemed silly now that I’d been nervous to meet this little ham.
“Clancy, tell Noelle who you’re going to be playing at school.”
“Elsa!” she shouted proudly.
“From Frozen?” I asked.
“Yup!”
“They’re doing a play, and there are going to be two Elsas,” Archie explained. “Clancy is one of them.”
I turned to face her. “That’s amazing, Clancy.”
“Unlike me, Clancy has no problem with public speaking and performance.” He winked. “I’ve taught her never to be afraid of such things.”
“I’m impressed, Remington.”
“What can I say? I learned from the best.”
That evening, the three of us had a blast at dinner. Archie made spaghetti, and I took great interest in all of the various ways Clancy could twirl the pasta around her fork or slurp a noodle into her mouth. And Archie never missed a beat—catching her cup before it spilled all over the floor, wiping her face when she got too much sauce on the side of her mouth. Those were the little things. But there were so many bigger things that made him a great dad—his attentiveness to her every word, the way he always put her first. Seeing this firsthand was one of many reasons I was emotional tonight. Before I came out here, I’d had it in my head that I would raise this baby alone. Now that I’d seen what he or she would be missing by not having Archie present in their life, it made me doubt everything.
Later, I waited in the living room and surfed the net on my phone while Archie put Clancy to bed.
After he came out of her room, he walked over to join me on the couch. “Are you tired?”
I put my phone aside. “Not really.”
“Then stay for a bit. I’ll call you a car whenever you want to go back.”
“Okay,” I said, unable to stop smiling.
He noticed. “What’s that all about?”
“It was really cool to see you in action tonight. You’re a great dad.”
“I look like I have my shit together, but some days I feel like an imposter—making up shit as I go along.”
I smacked his arm. “Stop it.”
“I try to make sure she never sees me down or stressed, you know? When you’re a parent, you put your child first. Your own wants and needs fade into the background. But I haven’t been as happy as I am now in a while. This whole thing—what we’re doing, and having one of my best friends here with me—it makes me happy.”
I yearned to touch him. “It makes me happy, too.”
He leaned his head on the back of the couch and exhaled. “My father would’ve had all sorts of things to say about this situation. He would’ve told me I barely had enough time for one kid, that I was irresponsible having a child out of wedlock.” Archie turned to me, his beautiful eyes smoldering. “But it feels right. And that’s what matters to me.”
I felt a little choked up. “I’m glad you still feel that way.”
He smiled. “This is it for me. I don’t plan on getting married again—not gonna make the same mistake twice. But becoming a dad again? That’s something I wanted pretty much from the moment my daughter was born. And what better way to experience another child than to have one with you? This is a win-win situation.”
“That’s the first time I’ve heard you say you’d thought about having another child before this.”
“Don’t get me wrong. It wouldn’t be happening now if it wasn’t with you… But no, you’re not the only one who wants this, Noelle. Not by a long shot.”
His words washed over me like a warm bath. “Today was pretty amazing, the whole experience—as nerve-wracking as it was,” I said.
“Sitting in that waiting area while I knew what was happening in the other room wasn’t anything I’ll ever forget.”
“Did it freak you out a little?” I asked.
“No.” He shook his head. “I was kind of in awe.”
“Do you think Clancy will be okay with this?”
He thought for a moment. “She’ll be very surprised, and it will take some explaining for sure. But she’s alluded to wanting a sibling in the past—even after she knew Mariah and I were splitting. So that’s encouraging. Honestly, though, I don’t have a clue how she’ll react.”
