even if he falls.

no, it isn't.

I looked down at the little girl next to me and it was only reassuring. Everything was gonna be okay.

Tomorrow is going to be a good day.

--------

I woke up before Ava did. I took the time to clean myself up. I took a shower and shaved, combed my hair for the first time in a while. I made breakfast for Ava and got her backpack ready, filling it with her crayons and a few of her small toys. I put pencils and folders and a notebook in there too, as well as her little drawing book that she took everywhere. I zipped up the plain red bag and set it near the front door.

I headed up the stairs to my room. Ava was still there, sleeping calmly. I sat down on the bed and picked her up. She woke up slowly, rubbing her eyes and wrapping her arms around me.

"Good morning, sweet."

I kissed her forehead and she sat up, stretching with a yawn. She opened her eyes and smiled at me.

"'Morning, Daddy."

"You ready for your first day of school?"

She nodded, getting off the bed and I followed. We went to her room and she took the vest from her closet along with a white Atticus t-shirt and some black jeans from her dresser. I left the room so she could get dressed and I went to mine, grabbing the same things that she had. I put on the shirt and jeans along with some socks before putting on the black vest. She met me out in the hallway and smiled. She had always followed what I did. My little mini-me.

We sat down in the kitchen for breakfast and all I could think about was how I was going to explain divorce to her.

"Are you okay, Dad," she asked, breaking me from my thoughts.

"I don't really know, darling."

"What's wrong," she asked, a confused look on her face.

I sighed, "Your mommy. She. She isn't going to be around anymore," I avoided eye contact as I said it but couldn't resist seeing her reaction. I looked up and she didn't seem phased by it.

"I know," she said simply. "Mommy told me yesterday. I'm okay with that, I never liked her much anyway."

I was shocked. "Why didn't you like her?"

"She didn't make you happy. She always seemed to make you sad or mad and I didn't like that. She was mean."

"I'm sorry, Ava. "

"Don't be."

We finished our food and I put the dishes in the dishwasher. We went to the front door and both slid on black Macbeths. I helped her tie her shoes. She grabbed her backpack and we headed to the car. I helped her get buckled into her booster and we headed to Poway Elementary.

She was excited for her first day. She always liked science and reading and was really happy for those.

"Hey, remember when I told you that you can say bad words like 'shit' and 'fuck' around me but not your mom?"

She nodded.

"Same rules go for school. The schools don't like bad words and if you say them then you'll get in big trouble."

"Okay, I won't," she laughed.

We pulled into the parking lot of the school and I helped her out of the car. She put on her backpack and held my hand as we went through the front boors. The halls were filled with parents and kids and teachers and "Welcome" signs. We went down the kindergarten hallway and went to stand near her classroom. Her teacher, Mrs. Hughes, was going around meeting parents. Ava was smiling the entire time.