Single Father

Chapter 19

"Hello?" I say answering my phone. My covers are on the floor due to another hot and restless night.

"Hey it's Danny!" A sweet voice comes through the phone.

"Mmm, good morning Miss Cheerful." I say in my morning voice. My eyes haven't quite adjusted to the light in the room as I glance towards the clock on my nightstand. It reads 8:15 a.m.

"Good morning." Danny says with a laugh. "I'm guessing Ella was alert last night." She says.

I groan, "Yes, yes she was..." I say remembering last nights events. Ella decided it would be funny to knock not one but two bottles out of my hand as I tried to feed her. The first one's lid came off and spilt in my carpet, but the next one I screwed on extra tight.

"So what's up?" I ask and I turn towards the window and open it to get the cool breeze. Then I hear music start in the background of the call and her moving on the other side.

"Before I answer could we FaceTime? My hands are a little full." She says and before I can answer she hangs up. My tired head was already back on the pillow when she called me back with a FaceTime.

"Hello again." I said leaving the screen face up on my pillow showing my ceiling.

"What, are you naked?" She asks and I laugh loudly.

"Maybe, but I'm also trying to sleep without you realizing." I say and I hear a giggle then more rustling. I hop off my bed and grab the covers off the floor rapping them around my bare torso.

Then I lay back down, pick up the phone and look into the camera. Danny's phone is resting against something showing her standing in a bathroom looking into the mirror. She has a flat iron in her hands and her face is focused.

"Don't mess up." I say watching her grab another strand of hair then running it through the iron.

She laughs. "I won't." Then she sets down the iron and looks at the camera. She leans over the counter towards the phone.

"I was calling to tell you I talked to the priest at your church. He was wanting to meet up with you, Cole and Lauren to get the details cleared up." She says and I raise my eyebrows.

"That was quick." I say. "When did you have time to talk to him?" I ask.

Her face is in her hands as she thinks. "It was right after I left your apartment. I don't like to wait for things." She answers and I nod. A breeze floats into the room and I feel a chill run down my back. I rest my phone on my bed rest and pull the covers up higher covering my bare shoulders.

"Was Father okay with the date?" I ask. I hear Ella fuss a little, but she stops and goes back to being quiet.

"Oh yeah and I mentioned Ella too and he was so happy you thought of this. He said all we need to do is let him know how many people would come and if we want to hold a reception after in the dining hall at the church." She says. As I think about it she moves back and starts to iron her hair again.

"That would be a good idea. The reception I mean." I say then add, "I'll create a list of people to invite once I get the courage to leave my bed. I think it should be a small party."

She nods. "That's good. Nice and simple. I can be in charge of the reception-" she starts to say but I interrupt.

"Danny I can't have you do that for me." I say and she stops in the middle of a strand of hair and looks at me.

"I'm going to do it because I want to Ryan." She says. There something in her voice that tells me that I can't talk her out of this. "And besides my mom works in this kind of business so it'll be a piece of cake."