It has been an eye-opening morning for me. Who knew little kids could be so cranky? It's officially back to business in the Palmer household after the weekend we just had. Ilaria starts school today and even though I wanted to keep her to myself just for a little while it would be unfair to her- educational wise that is- to keep her with me at all times.
Luckily for us, Dad happens to be one of the main contributors to Manhattan Prep, so I didn't have to jump through a million hoops just to enrol my child in school. On top of that with my influence I was able to acquire her uniform in time for today and Margaret, my lifesaver, was able to get the necessary stationery.
While trying to get this rather complicated uniform on, I kept thinking about single mothers and single fathers who have to raise a child or children with no help at all. I have my ever growing wealth and unlimited resources at my disposal so while it seems hard for me, I'm rather fortunate.
"Here," I handed Ilaria my phone in hopes of getting her to stop fussing. I took a deep breath, okay Leonardo you got this. I picked up the comb and gently pulled it through Ilaria's thick hair. She really is half Italian. Last night after I put her to bed I spent countless hours watching tutorials on how to style her hair. I can't have my child looking like she crawled out of a gutter.
It took me about three tries before I got it right. Well, kinda. At least it looks presentable, I just need more practice. I lifted her up from the stool then proceeded to the kitchen. I knocked heavily on Michael's room door.
"Michael," no answer, I knocked again, "Mikey," I heard a loud groan,
"Leave me alone," I heard his muffled voice through the door. I simply rolled my eyes,
"We're leaving soon. Are you sure you're going to be fine here alone?" I asked out of pure concern,
"I'll be fine. I'll stop by the office if I get bored," I shook my head then walked off. He probably won't stop by at all. I placed Ilaria in her high chair in the kitchen,
"Do you want cereal honey?" I asked tiredly,
"Ice-cream!" she shouted,
"Not for breakfast," I answered as I made her some cereal,
"Why?" I placed the small bowl before her,
"It's just not breakfast food," I explained,
"Why?" I began to make myself a cup of coffee,
"Because it will make little girls like you sick," I watched as she ate her cereal while furrowing her eyebrows,
"But Ma-ma say I'm not little," I smiled,
"Well you're Da-da's little girl. Eat up we have to leave soon."
I heard light footsteps coming towards the kitchen. A messed up hair teen sleepily entered and sat at the island.
"Morning," he grunted as I smirked at him,
"I just remembered. This faulty head guy at Princeton wants to meet me and some other kids today," I nod my head,
"What time?" he tickled Ilaria's cheek before answering,
"One. If you can't make it then that's fine." I shook my head,
"I'll take you. Just come by the office at about eleven and be on time," he rolled his eyes,
"Okay Dad," he smirked at me as picked up Ilaria and grabbed my keys, "how does fatherhood feel?" he asked mockingly,
"You're a handful, you know that?" he shrugged and smiled at me,
"Love you too Pop. Bye Lee," Ilaria waved at him before I closed the door. Okay, first task finished now on to the second. Place the baby in the car seat. Shouldn't be hard.
***
What I said about this car seat being easy, I take everything back. I'll admit that the concept doesn't seem that hard, but have you tried putting an unwilling child in a car seat? She just won't sit still and I've been attempting to do this for five minutes now.
"Sir?" I stopped and carefully exited the car at the sound of a feminine voice. A red head woman smiled brightly at me,
"Hi. I noticed that you've been kinda struggling here," I chuckled,
"That's an understatement," she laughed at,
"Do you mind?" I sighed in relief and stepped out of the way. In under a minute she got it done,
"Thanks so much you're a lifesaver," she laughed again,
"Anytime," she said softly. Okay, now that's just weird.
"See you around," I closed the door and quickly got into the car. Under normal circumstances I would probably have her number by now with a promise of dinner which would then lead to me thrusting, then forgetting she ever existed. But it's different now, I have two kids to take care of and not to mention the fact that my fiancée's lying in a hospital bed at the moment.
It didn't take long to arrive at Ilaria's school, shockingly New York's early morning traffic wasn't a bitch today. After parking, I held Ilaria's hand and we entered the building together. It didn't take long for me to find the administration office. I knocked lightly then entered,
"Hello," the old secretary smiled warmly at me,
"Hi. It's her first day today," I looked down at Ilaria who hid behind my legs as the lady smiled at her,
"A bit shy is she?" I chuckled, "what's your name sweetie?"
"Lee," I smiled at that,
"What a pretty name!" she chuckled,
"It's actually Ilaria Palmer," I corrected,
"Oh. That's really lovely. Haven't heard that one before," she hit the keys on the keyboard then she got up.
"Well, let's go get her settled in," we followed her for a while. Manhattan Prep still looks and feels the same way it did when I was here. We stopped at a noisy classroom, the secretary went in and I stooped to Ilaria's level.
"This is my stop baby, you have a good day in school okay?" she nod her head slowly,
"Da-da not staying?" I shook my head,
"No baby, Da-da doesn't belong here. This is a place just for little girls and boys like you. Are you scared?" if she said yes, then I'll probably call it a day and head home. Not the best adult decision, but her fears are my fears too.
"Nope, you can go," she gave me a sloppy kiss on the lips then ran inside the classroom. I stood up with a smile on my face, the secretary joined me at the door.
"You know, most parents have a harder first day than their children. Chin up Mr Palmer, she's in good hands," I nod my head. She better be, if she complains about anything and I mean anything at all, this school is done for. I waved at Ilaria who then turned around to talk to a girl beside her. Nodding my head once more, and with heavy feet I left for work. I hope this was not a bad idea.
Hello! Just want to say thanks to all my supporters. I've been reading all your comments lately and I'm happy that you like the book. It's almost exam time again so I'm stumped with studying and other stuff. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Happy Reading! Tasha ;-)
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The Billionaire's New Baby
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