Sora dragged her feet down the stairs, squeezing at her pink pillow, and blinking too often. She climbed up onto her chair and groaned. Nadine walked behind her smirking, James meeting the two in the kitchen with plates full of waffles, bacon, and eggs.
"How is my little princess?" James asked, setting a plate in front of Sora.
She opened her mouth, but James yawned causing her to yawn as well. Nadine took an empty plate from the cabinet and started to get food for herself.
"Ayan... 'Don't worry, Love. It's just carnival. We'll be home before midnight.' Anong oras kayo dumating? A la una e media ng umaga."
Sora cut into her waffle, taking a small bite and trying her best to stay awake.
"Ah, wait, Sora," Nadine warned. "Pillow on the side, Baby. Not when you're eating"
The little girl nodded and put the pillow on the chair next to her. She watched as James snuck over to snuggle into Nadine's back and apologize. Nadine giggled and slapped his arm.
"Sorry naaaaaa," kissing the back of her shoulder. "It's her last weekend of summer break. On Monday she'll officially be in Kindergarten."
Nadine rolled her eyes playfully, looking over at Sora slowly wake up more as she drank her juice.
"Sora Bear, when you finish eating. I need you to get ready. Papa's almost here."
"Again?" James asked, peering over Nadine's head.
Sora grinned mischievously, "Papa Mike told me that he needs me to help surprise Auntie MelMel because Baby Benji can't help. Am I staying the weekend?"
Nadine shook her head, "No. You are coming home tonight and we'll go to the party tomorrow."
"Don't you and Daddy have a date tonight?"
She looked back over her shoulder to James, who shrugged. He had a straight face on, to which Nadine peered at him for, but he never made eye contact after.
"Yes, but Papa won't need you tomorrow anymore because the surprise is tomorrow. And Benji has to sleep, so you can't even be out that late, Honey."
Sora pouted and finished her food in silence. Nadine took out her phone to text Mike that Sora would be ready in an hour while James snuggled his face into Nadine's shoulder. When Sora put her plate in the dishwasher, she grabbed the pillow and went upstairs.
Nadine finished her food in silence, knowing James was uneasy about Sora spending so much time with Mike. Despite the weekly Daddy-Daughter dates her and James go on, he still felt disconnected from her because he wasn't the first male figure in her life.
When Nadine took the last bite of her waffle, she put the utensils down and turned around to face James. Over the course of 8 dates within the past two months, Nadine had gotten to know this version of James that she had never known. His goals and fears were different. His approaches to solving solutions were different. His overall view of life was different and she didn't know if she liked this version more or less. Either way, she felt herself slowly revealing the Nadine she hid away for so many years. She felt like she was getting her groove back.
"James..."
"I know," he sighed. "I can't change anything because he's known her longer. It's just a sucky feeling sometimes to know that she sees him as a father figure when I'm right here. Like don't you feel that when Melanie takes care of her?"
Nadine shook her head, "I consider Melanie a blessing to be honest. If she wasn't around, Mike probably would've lost Sora at the park more than a dozen times. She's not trying to be Sora's mom, she's just loving Sora as her niece and I'm glad she takes care of her like that when I'm not around."
