The picture at the top of the page is Piper's bridesmaid's dress. Anyway chapter 2 ahead. Enjoy. :)
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"Clementine! Come help me with Rian's cake!" I yelled downstairs to my daughter.
My girlfriend's coming home this week, so Clementine and I are baking her a cake. I've been working a lot for the passed week, and this is the first free day I've had since Shayla and I went to go look at dresses. After Rian gets home and she's situated, Clementine are taking her out for a family day. Since she's almost never home because of being in the military, the three of us try to spend as much time together as possible before she has to leave again.
"Cake! Cake! Cake!" She yelled as she came running up the stairs.
Connor and Shayla both had to go to work today. Connor and I finally finished our last car after almost eight months of restoring it. Of course, on my day off, he had to start another one. I swear he's trying to get as much work done so he can take more time off after he and Shayla get married. He acts like he's the only one who works in the shop sometimes.
"Don't run in the house, Clementine. I just cleaned the floor. It's slippery."
"Okay, Mommy. When's Daddy coming home?"
"Again, Rian is a girl just like Mommy, just like Aunt Shayla, and just like you."
"When does Rian come home?" She corrected herself.
"Either tomorrow or Tuesday. That's why we're making the cake today." I heard my phone beep. "But most likely Tuesday."
I put the cake in the oven, and walked over to my laptop at the kitchen table. I put the tv on for Clementine so she could calm down a bit. After I pulled my social media up, I saw something I never thought I'd see again.
1 new message from Brenton Walker
My first message from Brenton in almost three years. It was kind of a major shocker because I never really expected to hear from him again. But it was as good a time as any to tell him about Clementine. I just have to think of a way to ease into it from the word hey. I replied with a simple "hello", and just stared at the tv.
Can we video chat? I wanna see you."
I didn't have to look at my screen to know he messaged me or what he said. Brenton wasn't that unpredictable when it came to messaging each other. I thought about it for a few minutes before I replied with my answer.
Sure.
I took a deep breath as I pulled up my webcam, and tried to relax myself as the line rang. When he answered, I started paying attention more to how he looked different then the last time I saw him. His hair grew out a bit, he got rid of his glasses, and he started growing a mustache. I haven't really changed much either since the last time I saw him. My auburn hair lightened up to a fiery red and grew out more, including the small patch on the left side of my head that I shaved a couple weeks ago. That I have to shave again.
"Hi." I said awkwardly.
"Hey. You look different."
"My hair grew out and lightened, but that's pretty much it. I see you got rid of your glasses."
"Yeah. They got to be too much work so I got contacts." He took a deep breath. "So what have you been up to?"
"Working a lot, raising a kid, Connor and Shayla are getting married in February, so we'll be going back to Alabama for a few weeks."
"Raising a kid?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. I have a two-year-old daughter."
"Mommy, can I have some ice cream?" Clementine walked into the kitchen.
"Clementine, come here." She walked over to me. "Sweetie, there's someone I want you to meet."
"Should I've scared?" Brenton laughed.
Since Clementine grew up around Connor and Shayla, she learned what to ask about or go near before she listened to what she was about to be told. Connor put her swing set together that fell before she even got a chance to use it. Then there was the time Shayla almost blew up the kitchen trying to bake cookies. Needless to say, she learned it never hurts to be cautious.
"No. He's an old friend of mine." She slowly crawled into my lap. "Clementine, this is my friend, Brenton."
"Hey there, Clementine." He said softly.
"Hi."
"You can hover your ice cream now."
"Thank you, Mama." She jumped out of my lap, and ran to the freezer.
"She's adorable. She looks just like you."
"Minus her eyes. She has her father's eyes."
"Her father?" He gave me a look of confusion.
"Yeah. She has a biological father."
"How old is she?"
"She'll be three on March twelfth." He nodded his head.
We sat in a completely awkward silence for a few minutes. Even though I kept hinting to him about Clementine, it was pretty clear that he wasn't understanding the program. Better hoeing the next best thing despite the timing.
"What about you? Wife? Any kids?"
"Uh, no. Not really a priority for me right now. I'm not really looking for one but the girl I might make an exception for lives a couple states away. Depending how she feels, and if she's not having any problems with her kid's father."
"You have no idea."
"Mom! The oven's beeping! Rian's cake is done!" Clementine's braids flapped around as she sprinted to the table.
"I hear it. Hang on a second." I walked over to the oven, and pulled out the cake then walked back over to the table. "So, uh, you feel like making a trip to North Carolina?"
"Sure. When?"
"Whenever you can."
"How soon do you want me there?"
"Tomorrow."
"Sure thing. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Alright. Bye."
"Bye." He hung up.
"Mama?"
"Yes, my sweet little country orange?" I picked her up, and placed her on my hip.
"What's a father?"
"A parent. A father is a parent. You know how you're friend have a mommy and a daddy?"
"Yeah."
"They have a mother and a father. Like how you look at Rian as your father?"
"Where's your father?"
"I'll tell you later. We have cake to make." She grinned.
I flipped the cake over onto a plate, and put the cake pan in the sink. Clementine's at the table with the cake, vanilla icing, and a butter knife in front of her. I had her put icing on the cake while I washed the cake pan. The one problem about Connor and I working in a garage is keeping him away from food while I'm trying to make it.
"Connor! Get your fingers out of the frosting!"
"What's wrong with eating frosting?" He said as he licked his finger clean.
"That's for Rian, and there's other good in the house. Make a sandwich or heat up leftovers. You're a big boy. Feed yourself. Take your twiggish ass over to the fridge. Don't take whatever she has."
"Somebody's excited about about her girlfriend coming home."
"Well, yeah. You would be too if you hadn't seen Shayla for a year."
"You have a point." He pulled a bowl out of the fridge. "Chili."
"Oh god. Not the chili." I joked.
"Uncle Connor, please don't eat the chili."
"Yeah, Connor. We eat here. Clementine's playing with food. Go eat in the garage."
"Fine." He pulled a huge spoon out of the drawer.
"Uncle Connor?" He took a bite of his food.
"Yes, Orange Tree?" He used his nickname for her.
"What do you know about my daddy?" He spit his food out on the table.
"Your dad?"
"Yeah. Mommy was talking to one of her friends, and they were talking about my daddy."
"Clementine, I told you we would talk about him later. We'll talk about him later. Aunt Shayla and Uncle Connor can't really tell you anything about him."
"Clementine, can you go downstairs for a minute so I can talk to your mother?"
"No. Clementine, you sit here, and put icing on the cake. Connor, outside. You can bring your bowl if you want."
I grabbed my blue hoodie off the back of Clementine's chair and my dark brown cowboy boots from next to the black door. I threw my boots and hoodie on while Connor practically swallowed his bowl of chili. I questioned the entire concept of my best friend, but he's still the village fool. Sadly enough, it's completely normal for him to cuddle his bowl or plate. He shovels his food into his mouth, but cuddles his bowl or plate nonetheless.
"She's asking about Brenton?" He said with a mouthful of chili.
"Yeah. He called me earlier while I was baking the cake. I introduced him to her as a friend. I didn't tell her that he's her father. I told him she has his eyes without actually saying she got her eyes from him. She asked me where he was, and I told her we would talk about him later. I'll tell her about him, and show her pictures, and answer any questions she has about him. He asked me how old she is, and I even gave him her birthday so he could try to figure out that he's her father. But I guess he'll find out tomorrow since he's coming to visit," I scratched the back of my neck, and his food spilled out of his mouth back into the bowl.
"So, he's gonna come meet his daughter without knowing he's meeting his daughter? What does he think he's comin' here for?"
"I didn't really say. I just asked him if he felt like making a trip to North Carolina."
"Piper, you should've just told him."
"I am. I'm gonna do it face to face. Isn't that how you're suppose to tell someone news like this?"
"Yeah, but sometimes it's better to tell someone something like this anyway you can. You should've called him or messaged him the second you found out you were having Clementine. You should've been able to raise her together, so she'd have a chance at a normal family. Isn't that something you would want to give her since you came from a broken home?"
"What if he doesn't want to be a father, Connor? I know Brenton. Better than anyone. He wasn't ready for a kid, and I doubt he would've grown up overnight just so he could be a father to Clementine." I sat on the swing. "Brenton was always immature. At one point, he wasn't even sure if he wanted kids."
"Piper, anyone who looks at the two of you would know that he loves you enough to make you happy. Even if he's not. If being a father to Clementine would make you happy, he would do it no matter how immature he is, or whether or not he's ready for it."
"Yeah, you're right."
"Of course I am. I'm right about a lot of things. That's why you always come to me with your problems, or when you needed advice."
"Hey, don't get cocky now." We both laughed.
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So I based all my characters off my friends. I think I portrayed my best friend pretty well in this chapter.