Chapter Twenty-Six
Kennedy
I had never been to Disney World before. I remember some of my friends going when I was younger, but I spent most of my time going from foster home to foster home, and I just didn’t get the opportunity. I remember how I used to pretend like it didn’t bother me. I used to say that it wasn’t the sort of thing I would enjoy, anyway.
But the truth was far different than the words I’d spoken. I cried myself to sleep once and woke up the next day with puffy eyes. Everyone thought I was sick and let me stay at home instead of going to school. I’d been so grateful. I knew that all I was going to hear about at school was Disney World. I spent that day reading books and getting lost in imaginary worlds. I didn’t have a bad life, and I’d always been lucky with my foster families. But I used to crave a sense of normality that my other classmates all had. They had no idea how fortunate they were to have a normal family life. When I heard them complaining, it used to drive me crazy. My mom won’t let me do this; my dad won’t let me do that. I would shout at them in my head, at least you have a mom and a dad.
Going to Disney World as an adult seemed to bring back all those memories, and I felt just as excited as Trinity was. The two of us did not stop talking the entire way, and Reed kept looking at us and laughing.
“You two are hilarious,” he said.
I chuckled. “I’m sorry, you have to excuse me. But I’ve never been to Disney World before.”
“You haven’t?” he said. “Not even when you were younger.”
“Nope.”
“That’s because Kennedy didn’t have a mom and a dad to take to take her,” Trinity informed Reed. Then she looked at me and asked, “Is that why?”
I hadn’t told Reed yet about my family life. We’d skirted on the issue a few times, but I hadn’t come right out and told him. It wasn’t that I was embarrassed or that I didn’t want him to know. But the time had just never been right. He gave me a strange look but didn’t say anything. I knew he didn’t want to ask me about it in front of Trinity.
“That’s right. And that’s why I’m so excited now.”
“This is also my first time, Kennedy,” she said even though she’d already told us a million times before.
“Then we can experience it together for the first time,” I said.
She sighed happily. “I’m so happy right now.”
I looked at Reed and smiled. “This is nice,” I said to him.
He grinned. “I’m glad you’re happy. Now, who’s ready to see the hotel?”
“ME!”
I smiled. I felt so spoiled. Nobody had ever taken me away on a vacation before, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d actually stayed at a hotel. Staying at a hotel just seemed like such a luxury to me, and the very thought of it made me probably just as excited as Disney World itself. Reed had managed to get us into a hotel very close to the theme park. The hotel was huge, and I was excited as we made our way inside. Trinity kept gasping at everything she saw. She reminded me of Little Orphan Annie seeing Mr. Warbucks’ home for the first time.
When we got to our hotel room, I was surprised to see that there were only two bedrooms. Reed showed Trinity where her bedroom was, and she whooped with excitement. She ran and jumped onto the bed. Then she got up and started looking around.
“Daddy! Kennedy! Look at this,” she said. She opened her curtains to reveal a view of the ocean.
I smiled. “Now that is some view. I feel relaxed already.”
“Let’s see your room now, Daddy,” Trinity said.
I followed Reed, unsure of what was going to happen. But he simply walked into the other bedroom and dropped our bags.
“Are you and Kennedy going to stay here?” Trinity asked.
I held my breath as I waited for Reed to answer. But he just smiled and nodded. “We sure are.”
“Cool,” Trinity said without hesitation. She looked around, and I hoped she didn’t mention the fact that there was only one bed. She either noticed and didn’t care, or she didn’t notice at all. “This room is nice. Hey, you have your own bathroom too. Cool! Come on, let’s see the rest,” she said and walked out.
I chuckled at her excitement, and as we left the room, I turned to look at Reed and smiled. I had to admit that I was having a good time, and so far things were going well. We looked at the rooms, and then took a walk around the hotel. It was too late to go to Disney World just yet so Reed suggested that we all try out the hotel restaurant and get something to eat. Trinity insisted on changing into one of her new dresses, and then we all went downstairs to get a table.
The restaurant was beautiful. Just like Trinity’s room, it opened up to a view of the sea. We sat right next to the open window and enjoyed the cool breeze.
“It’s impossible not to feel relaxed here. This is amazing, Reed. I love it here.”
“Me too. Daddy, when can we go see Disney World?” Trinity asked.
“How about we come here for a nice hearty breakfast tomorrow, and then we all go straight to spend the day there?”
“YES!”
I chuckled, “I’m so excited.”
After eating, we all went back to the room and settled on the balcony with coffee and hot cocoa. The days were warm, but the evenings were chilly. So we pulled blankets around us as we watched the darkening sky.
“Thank you so much for letting me be a part of this. I’m so happy to be here. And I appreciate this more than you know,” I said to Reed. I had been on an emotional high all day, and I suddenly felt the need to release some of it.
Trinity suddenly got out of her chair and climbed onto my chair with me. She just about squeezed into the side of it, and she put her head against me and squeezed me tight.
“I’m happy you’re here, Kennedy,” she said.
I looked at Reed and saw that he was smiling at me. Trinity didn’t get off like I thought she would after the hug. Instead, she continued to lie against me.
“Kennedy,” she said, and I could hear that she was getting sleepy. “Do you really have a cat?” she asked.
I laughed. “What made you ask that?”
“I saw one downstairs, and I was sure you told me once that you had one.”
“I do. His name is Merlot, and he’s the sweetest thing around. He’s also by far one of the ugliest cats I’ve ever seen.”
Trinity sniggered next to me. “He is?”
“Oh yeah. But somehow that also makes him the cutest.”
“I like ugly animals,” Trinity said.
“Me too. And I would love you to meet him one day. I think he’s going to like you very much. He’s a good judge of character that one.”
“Where is he now? Isn’t he going to starve?”
I laughed. “My neighbors are just in love with Merlot as I am. He’s a naughty one. He realized that if he’s nice to them, he gets more treats. Whenever I go away, they just look after him. He’s a spoilt little boy with two families really.”
“Daddy, can we get a cat?” Trinity asked Reed.
“One day for sure, my darling. Just not now. I’m barely able to look after us sometimes. But I promise one day we will.”
“Don’t worry,” I said to Trinity before she had the chance to get sad. “You can spend time with Merlot. If you want, I can even bring him to the house sometimes with me, and we can look after him all day.”
“Really?”
“Of course. If your father doesn’t mind of course,” I said.
“I don’t mind.”
Trinity sighed happily. Her head was against me, and I could feel her getting tired. We spoke for about another half an hour until I finally realized she was fast asleep.
“She’s sleeping,” I whispered to Reed.
He smiled. “She really likes you. She would never do that with anyone else.”
I smiled and looked down at her. She looked like a little angel sleeping like that.
“Should we get her off to bed?”
Reed
smiled. “Yeah, don’t worry, you won’t wake her if you move. Once she falls asleep, she’s like a log.”
Reed was right. She moved a little when I got up but then went right back to sleep. Reed came over and picked her up, and we took her to the bedroom. She was already in her pajamas thankfully, so we just placed her in bed and tucked her in. We both gave her a kiss on the forehead and then switched her light on.
“Leave her door open. And ours,” I said to Reed. “It’s the first night, and I don’t want her waking up feeling confused about where she is. If she needs us, I’d rather she knows that we’re right here.” I’d spent a lot of time going from foster home to foster home; I knew what it was like to wake up and not know where I was. It wasn’t a nice feeling.
“That’s nice of you,” Reed said.
We brushed our teeth, got changed and climbed into our own bed. The bed was big, and the duvet was soft. It was the type of bed that you know will give you the best sleep ever. I moved close to Reed and kissed him.
“This has been the most amazing day,” I said.
“And we haven’t even been to Disney World yet!”
I laughed. “Oh yeah! I’ve been having such a good time at the hotel that I forgot we were here for Disney World. Oh wow, I can’t wait for tomorrow then. I’m so excited. I feel like just Trinity does about it all.”
Reed smiled, “You know, Ken, it’s been a very long time since I have felt as good as I do right now. I thought I was happy all these years, and I was because I had Trinity, of course. But I didn’t realize how much was lacking in my life until I met you.”
“Is that because I feed you so well?” I teased.
He chuckled. “That’s certainly a bonus. But you are by far the best thing that has happened to me since the birth of my daughter.”
I looked at him. “Really?”
“Oh yeah. I’m very happy with you. With . . . us.”
“I’m happy with us too.”
That night, we didn’t make love. Instead, we just held onto each other and spent the entire night side by side. When we woke up the following morning, we were woken up by a very excited Trinity who didn’t at all seem concerned that I was sleeping in the same bed as her dad. She had a broad grin on her face.
“Morning, Trin,” I said as I wiped my eyes.
“Morning. It’s Disney World day!”
I chuckled as Reed finally stirred awake next to me. “Come on, sleepyhead,” I said to him. “Let’s go get some breakfast. We have a busy day ahead of us.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Reed
Before Trinity came around, I used to take Angela on trips whenever I had my annual leave. We’d fly to fancy places and stay in even fancier hotels. Sometimes, when I had a full weekend off, I’d take her on mini vacations in our own city. She was always the one asking me to take her away. She’d find the places and email me the ideas, and I didn’t mind taking her because I knew that it would make her happy. And yet, looking back, I wasn’t sure that I had ever truly made her happy. Angela never got excited about things the way that Kennedy did. It was Friday, our last day in Florida, and ever since Monday, Kennedy had been enthusiastic. She and Trinity had enjoyed every single moment of Disney World, and I’d never seen anyone more appreciative than she was.
That morning she was fast asleep. It was a bit later than we had gotten up on the previous days, and I think she was just exhausted from all the running around. I turned to look at her. She looked beautiful when she was asleep, so peaceful. And her red hair looked even more vibrant against the white pillowcase. It was hard not to feel happy waking up to her pretty face. She must’ve felt me watching her because her eyes fluttered open.
“Are you watching me sleep?” she asked.
“I am.”
“That’s creepy.”
I chuckled. “I can’t help myself. You’re beautiful. I can’t believe I get to wake up to your pretty face every day.”
“Ah, that’s a nice thing for you to say. Nobody feels great in the morning, so I like these compliments. I can’t believe it’s our last day. It’s gone so fast.”
Just then Trinity came flying into the room and jumped into the bed with us. I burst out laughing.
“Morning, monkey,” I said.
“Monkey?”
“You’re like a monkey today, jumping and running like a wild thing.”
She giggled. “I like monkeys.”
“So, it’s our last day today,” I said to her.
“Aww. I wish we could stay forever,” she said and sighed dramatically.
“Actually, so do I,” I said. “So, how about for our last day we go and spend the day on the beach? We can take a picnic of snacks and drinks with us.”
“Yes!” Trinity screamed. “Can we go now?”
I chuckled. “Let’s get ourselves some breakfast, and then we can come back up and get all our stuff.”
At breakfast, one of the hotel staff overheard us talking about the beach and how we didn’t really have much to bring other than our own suits. The man offered to lend us a big umbrella, a large beach blanket, and a bag filled with refreshments.
“Are you serious?” I asked him. “That’s amazing.”
“It’s actually one of the services we offer here,” the man said. “Just come to the reception afterward and I’ll have it all ready for you.”
Kennedy sighed happily when he walked away. “Can we please live here?”
At the beach, we put down the blanket and put up the umbrella to sit under it. Kennedy looked beautiful in a dark green bikini. She was rubbing cream all over her body, making her pale skin look even whiter. When she caught me looking, she laughed.
“Trust me,” she said. “If I don’t put this on, I’ll burn like crazy. Unlike you. I bet you don’t even have to put cream on.”
“I do, but mostly because I’m not used to sitting in the sun like this. Thank goodness for this umbrella. Trin,” I said, “come here so I can put some sunscreen on you.”
I rubbed the lotion onto Trinity and laughed as she went running toward the ocean.
“Oh dear, I better go watch her,” I said.
I ran off to play with Trinity, but she had already made friends with two other kids her age. They were talking and laughing as if they had known each other for a long time. It had literally taken them two seconds to start interacting with one another. The two girls looked like sisters, and they seemed delighted to have Trinity join them.
“Can Trinity come and play with us? We’re building sandcastles,” they said.
“Well . . .”
“It’s fine,” a woman said beside me. “She can stay. I’m Hannah by the way.”
“Hi Hannah, I’m Reed. I’m sitting over there with the redhead in case you need me. Thanks so much!”
“No problem. Isn’t it amazing how quickly kids make friends?” she said.
I laughed. “I was thinking the same thing. Are you sure you don’t mind, though?”
“Of course not. I’ll be here for a while, anyway. We only just got here. It’s nice for them to have someone to play with. And my husband should be here any second too, so she’s definitely safe with us here.”
“Okay, well thank you. Trin, you be good, okay? We’re right over there if you need us.”
“Okay, Dad,” she said without even looking at me. I noticed that I’d become ‘Dad’ and not ‘Daddy’ in front of the two girls. I sighed, she was growing up in front of my eyes.
I left Trinity with the two girls and went to join Kennedy under the umbrella again.
“What was that about?” she asked.
“Trin has made some friends. They’re building sandcastles, and the mother said she doesn’t mind Trinity being here. Thankfully, we can see them from here. And it means I get a bit of alone time with you, which is always a good thing.”
Kennedy chuckled and looked around at the swarm of people on the beach. “Well, not exactly alone time.”
I smiled. “Hey
, I take what I can get.”
“So, did you go to the beach much growing up?” Kennedy asked.
I thought back to my childhood. We had never been the beach-going kind of family. This was probably why I had been so looking forward to going today. It felt so unusual for me to be here, shirt off, feet in the sand. It wasn’t something that I had experienced many times in my life. I lay down on my stomach next to Kennedy.
“No, we weren’t really like that growing up. Maybe we went when my mother was still around, but I don’t really remember, to be honest. All I remember was my father wanting to ride his bike. He used to take us to the motorcycle club when we were little and tell us that one day we would all be a part of it. That was really all I remember as a kid—my father telling us about bikes and trying to teach us as much as he could about them. I wasn’t at all interested of course, but I pretended to be. I don’t think my father even noticed.”
“Ah yes, I remember you told me about the club. That was where you got the nickname, Moneymaker.”
I groaned. “Worst nickname ever.”
“Hey, there are worse things in life than making money. I think it’s a good nickname. So, not much of a beach-going family, I take it?”
“Not at all. And to be honest, I didn’t spend a lot of time with my family anyway. I mean, they were always there, but I always felt separate from them. I was always the black sheep around my brothers. You’ll understand when you meet them. They’re smooth talkers, popular guys. They would talk, and people would listen, and they could charm anyone with just a smile. Brady was a little different, he was a bit of a loner, but not in the same way as me. All I ever knew in life was how to be smart. While they were all going out on dates, or working hard, or doing manual work, I was sitting with my nose in a book.”
Kenney smiled. “There’s something incredibly sexy about that, you know.”
Dirty Daddy_The Maxwell Family Page 16