Second Chances

Chapter 15: New York

"I'll be back at 6:00. You two should take Nicolette out and enjoy the sun. It's not too hot today," she says, picking up her purse from the end of the island closest to John.

"Bonne journée (Have a good day)," John and I call to her in unison. She chuckles and looks over her shoulder at us.

"Vous aussi (You too)," she says. I raise my hand in a small wave, and she returns it, then leaves the kitchen. A few seconds later, the front door closes, and John, Nicolette and I are left alone. It's quiet for about three seconds, before Nicolette makes a noise and John and I giggle.

"I'll feed her," John says, moving his plate to the other side of me where he's closer to Nicolette. After a bit of shifting around, Nicolette's highchair is next to his bar stool, and we're sitting together eating and talking while he feeds Nicolette.

"She'll be two in a couple of months," I say, taking a sip of my coffee. John sighs and looks at me.

"I know. She's growing up so fucking fast-"

"John!" I cry, slapping his arm, "N'utilise pas ce langage avec ma petite sœur (Don't use that language around my little sister)!" He blinks, before slapping his hand over his mouth and looking at me with wide, surprised eyes. I snort and grin at him, before breaking into giggles and leaning over on him.

"C'est bon, mais si le premier mot qui sort de sa bouche est 'putain', on ne peut plus être amis (It's alright, but if the first word that comes out of her mouth is "fuck", we cannot be friends anymore)," I say. He whines and puts his chin on my shoulder.

"Anaaa." I laugh at his childish behavior, pushing his face off my shoulder.

"John," I whine back playfully. He pouts and stares at me with big, fake sad eyes, and I chuckle and bump his shoulder with mine.

"C'était une blague (That was a joke)," I say, grinning at him. He sighs and grins slightly, then his attention is drawn away as Nicolette whines and babbles for attention. John returns to his duty of feeding her while I enjoy my breakfast. The fact that he and my mother made all of this in an effort to make me happy warms my heart. John makes cooing noises as he feeds Nicolette, and I glance over at him as I pop a grape into my mouth. He loves my little sister like she's his family, and I can tell she adores him. His hair is longer than mine, so she'll often play with his curls when he lets it down. We've noticed she likes watching it bounce, which I find completely adorable. John finishes his breakfast and his full attention moves to Nicolette while I finish mine. I grin as I watch him hand Nicolette one of the last grapes, before collecting our plates and taking them to the sink. When I sit back down after washing them, John stands up with Nicolette's empty bowl and moves to bring it to the sink.

"John." The plastic bowl hits the floor. John turns around with wide eyes and I move to the seat closer to Nicolette to look closer at her. She's looking at John with an outreached hand, grinning at him. She giggles at his face and makes grabby hands at him.

"Did she...Don't tell me I misheard..." John walks back to her, leaning down her level. She pats his cheeks.

"John!" she says again. John looks over at me, eyes wide, before we both smile and start laughing.

"Her first word is my name!" he cries, his face full of pride as he picks up Nicolette so that he can look at her face. She grins and babbles at him, and he pulls her close to him and hugs her.

"Oui, ma petite fleur. C'est mon nom (Yes, my little flower. That's my name)," he says, sounding so proud of her. It warms my heart watching him hold her like that. If he becomes a father, he'll be a great one, and if he doesn't, he'll be the best uncle to my children.