The words I’ve said to her are heavy and full of life changes. I’m talking about us having a baby, living life here, and asking her to accept my crazy schedule.
“I want to tell Saul to withdraw the divorce petition — just say ‘fuck it’ and stay married. And I want to adopt Evelyn if she’ll have me as her dad.”
“Ajay,” again she gasps my name, and I can’t wait to hear it again later while we’re in bed. “I really don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say anything. You have a few days here. You can observe how I am with Evelyn and the two of you can make a decision later. I’m not going anywhere.”
“But you’re moving to Bailey?”
As much as it pains me, I shake my head. “I can visit, but it would be for a month here and there and that’s not the kind of life we want. When it comes to you, I know that much for sure.”
“You’re right, but I also have my parents to consider.”
I push her hair behind her ear and gaze into her eyes. There have been times lately when I wished my life was different, and this moment is one of them. I’d love to pack up and move to Bailey to be with her but it’s not possible. I’m living my dream butWhiskey’s my dream too. Somehow the two need to mesh so we’re all happy.
“Would you like to go for a walk?”
“Yeah, that would be nice,” she says. I head upstairs and gather the girls, text Keane to let him know that Chandler is coming with us, and usher the girls outside.
Whiskey and I hold hands while the girls walk in front of us. Besides their height difference, you can’t really tell there’s two years between them. I like that Chandler is trying to make Evelyn feel welcomed. I want Evelyn to feel like she has friends here. She may only be five, but it’s important to feel wanted at any age.
We walk along as a family, laughing and joking until we reach the pool. Evelyn wants to swim but Whiskey tells her that she can go later, maybe after dinner. I haven’t told her yet that everyone plans to come over tonight. It wasn’t my idea, but Miss Katelyn’s. She said that it’s important for Whiskey to know what she’s getting into with this band stuff. The band is a family, who spends a lot of time together, and if Whiskey can’t handle it, it might be better to know now as opposed to later. I don’t agree or disagree, but just follow her advice because I trust her implicitly.
By the time we make it around the subdivision, Evelyn’s tired. I offer to carry her, expecting her to tell me no, but she raises her arms so I can pick her up. I’m even further surprised as she rests her head on my shoulder and wraps her arms around me.
When we get back to the house, Chandler says she’s going to go home. I walk past mine to make sure she gets in okay before turning back and meeting Whiskey at the now full driveway.
“Where did all these cars come from?” she asks.
“Well, that’s the next surprise. I think everyone is here for an early dinner before they head over to the Hollywood Bowl for the concert.”
“Liam Page is inside your house?”
I nod and wonder
why she chose to mention him over the others.
“Oh man, Dhara’s going to kill me if I meet him first.” Whiskey takes off toward the door, laughing. I trail behind her and by the time I step in, Miss Katelyn is already hugging my girl. She takes over introducing Whiskey to everyone… and I do mean everyone. It seems everyone important to me is here to meet my girls, including Noah, who is in town visiting as well.
Up until this moment, I thought my condo was fairly large. I was wrong. With all my band family inside of it, the living room and kitchen feel incredibly small.
Evelyn picks up her head and looks around the room. I think I’ve figured her out; she’s shy until she feels comfortable enough around new people.
“Do you want me to put you down?” I ask her but she shakes her head. “How about I take you around and introduce you to everyone? You can tell Miss Katelyn and Miss Peyton thank you for your pretty room.”
“They did that?”
“They sure did. They picked out all the colors and I painted it for you. Do you like it?”
“I do.”
I walk over to Katelyn and introduce her to Evelyn. “I have a wiggly tooth,” she says, showing Katelyn which tooth is loose. “My mommy says I’ll lose it any day now.”
“Oh boy, we will have to call the tooth fairy and tell her where you are so she can come visit you when you do.”
“Ajay, will the tooth fairy come here?”
“Of course,” I say, trying to reassure her.