single dad: v.h

chapter twenty-eight

"Reg and I got everything in the garage last night Vin." Nate said as his son, who was dressed for work came up the stairs with Kaiser in his arms.

"Thank you guys." Vinnie's rough voice cut through the air. He'd been crying all night.

"Is Bear ready so I can drop her off at school?" Reggie asked.

"I'm taking Bear to school." Vinnie answered.

"But you'll have to talk to A-"

"I know that Reg. I have to stop avoiding taking her and man up okay?" Vinnie said as he put Kaiser in his swing so he could keep sleeping under the supervision of Maria.

"Alright bro." Reggie answered and went back to his room.

Seconds later Bear came up the stairs from their bedroom. The three of them were sharing a bedroom since the room was so big. The three of them being Bear, Vinnie, and Kaiser.

"Go eat babygirl." Vinnie said as Bear mumbled something under her breath and lazily walked into the kitchen where she sat and ate her cereal.

"Good morning my beautiful girl. Cheer up." Nate said, kissing Bear's head softly which made the girl perk up.

Nate had become her favorite person since they moved back in with her grandparents. They always read stories at night and made sure they have each other smooches before they left in the morning.

"Bye Papa." Bear said, kissing his cheek in return.

"Bye. Be good at school and be good for daddy. He's having a rough time lately." Nate said, speaking quietly so Vinnie wouldn't hear there conversation.

"Okay Papa." Bear answered.

——

"Dad are you ready?" Bear asked as she watched him wash his face.

"Mhm." Vinnie mumbled back.

He hadn't been up for talking much lately and he was slowly falling into a really deep depression. He had been since he found out Emily died but his break up with Aaliyah only made it worse.

"Grandma said to give you this." Bear said, handing him a 10 dollar bill as the two of them walked out the door.

"Why?" Vinnie asked.

"So you could get Dunkin Donuts before you go to work." Bear said as she skipped to the car.

Vinnie smiled to himself and put the 10 dollars in his wallet. Maria knew her son had money but this was her way of trying to be supportive and he couldn't be more thankful.

The two of them drove in silence to Dunkin Donuts. Vinnie ordered a coffee and a couple glazed donuts. Usually he would get sprinkle donuts but his appetite hadn't been the same lately.

From there they drove to the school where Vinnie dreadfully walked into the building and followed Bear to her classroom.

"We can wait a minute okay dad." Bear said.

"Alright honey but please call me daddy and not dad. It makes me sad when you call me dad." Vinnie said which made Bear chuckled and nod at him.

They waited a minute before Vinnie took a deep breath and spoke a soft "let's go". Bear went to her seat, watching her dad walk to Aaliyah's desk to sign her in.

"What Vinnie?" Aaliyah asked.

"I need to sign my daughter in." Vinnie answered, internally rolling his eyes at the judgmental looks he was receiving from other teachers.

Aaliyah cleared her throat, regretting being so rude to him. She knew he was struggling with the whole Emily thing and she couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"Right." She said softly, handing him the clipboard.

He quickly signed his name next to her name and handed the clipboard back to her. He turned to walk away but was stopped by her voice saying his name, he turned around facing her.

"Can we talk sometime? Please. I don't want this to be awkward between us." Aaliyah said, stepping closer to him and spoke quietly to avoid any eavesdropping.

"No, I don't think that's necessary." Vinnie answered.

"So all you wanted was to have sex with me and leave?" Aaliyah asked, avoiding speaking loud again so the room of children didn't learn the word sex.

"You broke up with me Aaliyah and you know I wouldn't have done that to you. This isn't appropriate. You're my daughters teacher, nothing more. Have a good day." Vinnie answered, walking out of the classroom.