AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Reed's thick eyebrows drew together like two caterpillars on a collision course. For a second, he looked like he'd sucked on a lemon way too long.
"Why? What's happening at her school? I get that she's almost thirteen, and she's getting bullied, but I know she has what it takes to rise above this."
I tried to bite back my reply, but it came out anyway. "Who d'you think she is, Reed? Florence Nightingale? She's a kid, for crying out loud.
"And she's in pain. She doesn't need her people to be coming and telling her stuff like she can do it or she's fine.
"She knows she can do it. She just doesn't think it's worthwhile. And that's where it's a slippery line—any further ahead, and you know, she'll think you find her worthless as well."
It was harsh, but it did the job. Reed looked shell-shocked, and then, when he replied, his voice was hoarse.
"I could never—Juniper, Leia is the most important fucking person in the whole world. In every world.
"Nothing and no one matters to me more than she does. I don't think she is worthless at all. I never meant to make her feel that way."
I reached out and took his hand from across the table.
"She doesn't yet, Reed. But you have two options here. Either you get her mom and ask her to parent the fuck up, or you play both roles with a bit of help from me.
"Whatever you choose, you have to see things from her perspective. And this isn't about just what's right for her, but also what makes herhappy."
He nodded as if I'd just given him a life-changing lecture on thermodynamics. "Okay, what do I need to do?"
That made me laugh. And it wasn't a ladylike laugh—it was the kind that makes an onlooker join in, not because the joke is great but becauseyouare doing a great job at making a clown of yourself.
I actually erupted into a quaking fit of giggles that could make a hyena blush.
My face contorted into a mess of snorts, and tears streamed down my cheeks like Mississippi in flood season.
Every funny bone in my body had suddenly joined in my apparent attempt to drive Reed out of my home, and try as I would, I couldn't stop the grunts that kept leaving my mouth.
I raised my hands desperately, trying to apologize, but to my relief, he actually joined in.
The tension in the room broke and melted, and finally, when I calmed down, he actually came to sit beside me and put a steady arm around my shoulders. "Thanks for that. You looked like the cutest little pig, and it helped."
"You're very welcome," I replied, wiping my eyes.
"Okay, Reed, there's no manual on parenting. I mean, there are lots of them, but your child is unique to you. You gotta watch out for her tells.
"See how she reacts when you say something that hurts her and how she is when you give her hope."
"She clams up when I say something that makes her hope," he replied thoughtfully.
"Like, for the show I missed—and you don't need to tell me I was an asshole for doing that, but you also can, I won't mind—it was like she tried to pass off my wanting to be there, like it wouldn't be a big deal, but I couldseeshe really needed that from me. I still feel pretty shitty about it."
"Nah, I won't give you more hell from that. I can't do worse than what you're already doing to yourself. I can tell you, though, back when I was a kid, my mama missed some pretty important shows because she had a home to run.
"But when I got home, all cut up about it, she always welcomed me back with a warm hug and a hot meal. Did it suck that she hadn't shown up? Sure. Yet, somewhere down the line, I understood that it didn't mean she didn't love me.
"You fucked up a couple of times. But Leia's still under your roof. You literally have a hundred chances to win her heart. Trust me, Reed. Once that happens, you'll never lose her. She already loves you. You just need to give her a way to feel it."
Reed sat in the chair with a passive expression on his face. But his eyes deepened. Flecks of gold from rays pouring in through the open window touched and shone in them. It was like watching a river change course and take a steadier direction.
"How can I thank you?" he asked.
I got up from my chair and parted his knees slightly so I could squeeze in the gap between them. Taking his hands, I wrapped them around my waist.
"I can think of some ways," I replied teasingly. "But first, tell me something. You've seen so much. You've traveled half the world and known the worst conditions people live in. How are you such a goose in a hailstorm when it comes to your kid?"
