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“Leaving so soon?” Bruce asked as he removed the velvet rope to let me pass.
“I want to get home to my daughter.” I combed my fingers through my hair as Tami’s angry wails rose over the music.
“Understand that. I’ve got kids too. Boys. Ten and eight. Best thing I ever did with my life.’
“Me too, man.” I clapped him on the shoulder. “Say, can I ask you a favor?” Bruno nodded. “That blonde chick up there?” I pointed to Tami who was in the middle of a full-blown temper tantrum.
“The trashy one wearing a dress that looks more like a belt?” he asked as his eyebrows raised curiously. “I see here a lot with some wannabe rock star. Can’t say I'm much of a fan.”
“Yeah, me too. She’s my ex-wife. If she tries to tell management that I’ve got a tab or anything like that, please let them know that I am not responsible for any of it. She’s already milked me dry and treats our kid like shit. She’s not getting another cent from me.” My words were harsh, but at this point, I was past caring. Tami had ruined my night. Not only to demand more money, but also to have the audacity to think I would cover her tab.
“No sweat, dude. I’ll make sure to tell the manager and see to it she gets kicked out. I’m not sure how she got in. The last time I checked, she was blacklisted.” Bruce offered his hand before clapping me on the back. I thanked him and made a mental note to send him tickets to the season opener in a couple weeks. Chicago was playing my old team and with the reputation I’d built, I still had some clout.
I left the club in a hurry and ordered a rideshare back home. When I walked in through the front door, I was surprised to find Dee laying on my couch asleep. What I didn’t plan on was standing there watching her, feeling all sorts of things that were way beyond friendship.
twelve
Dee
Travis’sdaughterwassweetwith a bit of spice. Just like a cinnamon roll. She had to be the sweetest person I'd ever met, and if you’d ever met my MoMo—my maternal grandmother—you’d know I was serious. With big brown eyes and cute ringlets framing her adorable little face, she looked like one of those china dolls come to life.. The very image of the daughter I’d always thought I’d have.
“Your daddy told me your grandma and grandpa are coming home soon. He mentioned they’ve got big plans for your birthday,” I mentioned, grasping on to the first conversation piece I could think of. After Travis left, Amie’d been excited to show me her room and for us to play something she called ‘Fashion Show.” Only, we had a lot of prep work before the show started. She made sure to inform me as we headed up the stairs and made our way to the most spectacular child's room I’d ever laid eyes on.
Amie’s bedroom was straight out of a fairy tale. A canopied bed was nestled in the corner, draped with pink tulle netting, with bed linens, a comforter, and numerous pillows, all in various shades of pink. Fairy lights framed the edges of the ceiling, giving the room a fantastical glow. A white bookshelf built to resemble a castle and brimming with books, sat opposite the bed and was flanked by a small, child-sized rocking chair. This was the type of room I’d wanted when I was a child and part of me respected the hell out of Travis for giving that dream to his daughter.
“They’re taking me to Disney World. My daddy is going too, but Mommy doesn’t want to go.”
“Oh?” I began brushing out the tangled mess of coppery locks of the doll she handed me. “Is your mommy busy with work? I can’t think of anything I’d rather do than go to Disney World. Especially if I got to go with you.”
“No, Mommy doesn’t want to go because she didn’t ever love me,” Amie blurted out as we continued to brush our dolls’ hair. “Mommy doesn’t want to go because she doesn’t like me.”
“What?” I sat stunned. I couldn't possibly have heard her right, could I? “Oh, sweetheart! Why would you say that? Of course, your mama loves you. All mamas love their babies." I had no idea what else to say. Even though I’d just met this little angel, all I wanted to do was pull her into my arms and show her just how much she was loved.
“Not Mommy. When she de-borced my daddy, she told-ed him she didn’t want me.” Amie sighed as if resigned to the fact that she wasn’t worthy of being loved. “She screamed at my daddy when they thought I was asleep. I heard-ed her say she didn’t love me. She said I was a mis-stake.”
Dear fucking god. What a bitch! To say that about your own child? What kind of cold-hearted cunt could do that? I was stunned. Absolutely stunned. And furious.
I had no idea that his ex-wife had planted such vicious, disgusting seeds into this precious child’s mind. Travis had never mentioned it. Just that his relationship with his ex-wife was complicated and that he didn’t want to speak negatively about the mother of his child. I thought it was admirable at the time, but now, I was beginning to change my mind. The bitch deserved to have her ass chewed like a stale piece of Hubba Bubba. And Travis. Was this what he dealt with every day? A child who was convinced her mother didn’t love her? No wonder he bent over backwards to make sure his little girl knew she was important and that she was loved.
“Well, I can tell you that you aredefinitelynot a mistake. Anyone who is my friend could never be a mistake. Your mommy must have been confused when she said that.”
Amie seemed to think over my words before responding. “Maybe, but she was really angry when he wouldn’t give her the money. She said she wish-ed she’d never marry-ded him and that she wish-ed I never been’d born.”
My first inclination was to hug sweet little Amie until all those ugly thoughts were out of her head. The second was to find Travis’ ex-wife and tear her ass apart. Having no clue where that awful hag was or how to find her, I went with option A.
“Can I have a hug?” I asked, needing to show this little girl that not all women were awful like her mother. That some of us would kill to have what her mother had and would rather die than ever forsake it. Amie smiled as she set her doll down and crawled up into my arms. “Do you know how precious you are, baby girl?” I whispered as I smoothed the hair over the back from her forehead. Amie’s little arms squeezed my neck in response before she pulled back just enough to look me straight in the eye.
“I’m presh-us?” Her wide eyes were wide with wonder. It was like no one had ever told her that before.
“You most certainly are! You are the coolest little girl I’ve ever met and I’m so glad that I have such a precious new friend.”
“I like you, Dee.” Amie’s little hand cupped my cheek before she let out an infectious giggle. “You have pretty eyes and you comb hair better than Daddy.”
“I like you too, Amie. You’re quickly becoming one of my favorite people.”
Amie crawled out of my lap and focused back on her dolls until her little eyelids began to droop. After putting her to bed, I headed downstairs to wait for Travis to come home. Somewhere during the Netflix movie I’d been watching, I dozed off. When I woke up from a sexy dream starring Travis in nothing but a necktie, I found the man himself staring at me with awe.
“Sorry if I woke you,” he whispered as he toed off his shoes and left them by the door.
