The tears I had been fighting back earlier waste no time flowing from my eyes. I have never been so grateful for someone’s generosity before in my life.
Chandler tells Evelyn to follow her, leading her over to the characters. Each one signs her autograph book and poses for a picture while I stand there, speechless.
“I really don’t know what to say.”
“Me neither,” Ajay says. “I only arranged for Mickey and Minnie, but the James’s…” He trails off as he looks over his shoulder at them. They’re following the girls and making sure Evelyn is taking full advantage of this opportunity.
“They love you.”
“They’re amazing and they’re one of the reasons why I can’t leave, Whiskey. The love they show me, I’ve never had that before. I never knew what it was like to have someone care so much.”
“I care that much, Ajay.”
He looks at me, smiles and leans down to kiss me. “You should go be with Evelyn. Share this moment with her.”
I do as he suggests and catch up with my daughter who is giddy beyond belief. She’s telling each princess about her loose tooth and how Miss Katelyn has promised to tell the tooth fairy where she is in case she loses it while on vacation. Tomorrow, after the excitement has died down, I’m going to ask her what she thinks about living with Ajay. Honestly, it’ll be a moot point because she’s having such a good time, she’ll want to stay. But I still want her to know her opinion matters to me and I want to make sure she understands that it means she won’t see her grandparents every day. Broaching the subject with my parents will be difficult even though my mom is super supportive. It’s really my dad that I have to worry about.
After this massive meet and greet is done, Liam suggests that if people want to split up, they should and that we can meet up for lunch. Keane says that he’s going to hang with us because Chandler wants to stay with Evelyn, while everyone else seems to split off into groups.
“Daddy, can Evelyn and I go on the rides?” Chandler asks her dad.
“I think so,” he looks at me for approval.
“She’s only been on a few carnival rides. Can we start small?” I ask. Keane pulls out the map and shows us where we can find the smaller rides.
We go on everything from Alice in Wonderland to Autopia where Evelyn drives Ajay around the track. My favorite is the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster where Chandler and I successfully beat Ajay and Evelyn.
After lunch, Katelyn and Harrison ask if they can take Evelyn for a bit, giving Ajay and me a little privacy… well, as much as you can have while in one of the busiest parks in America.
Still we hold hands and walk slowly to rides, stopping along the way for more photos and ducking into gift shops to buy things for Evelyn.
“I still owe you a honeymoon,” he says as he gives me a spoonful of his frozen lemonade.
“I think this about covers it.”
“Not even close.” He shakes his head. “I want to take you on a real trip, just the two of us. Someplace romantic.” Ajay moves his chair so he’s closer to me. “I’m serious about us, Whiskey.”
“Are you serious about Evelyn?”
“Without a doubt. I am falling hard for that little girl and want to be her dad, Whiskey. I can be there for her and give her a damn good life, one that includes a Mom and a Dad. Especially a Dad who isn’t ashamed of her.”
“Parenting is a big step, Ajay.”
He smiles. “I was ready at eighteen. I know I’m ready now and can provide so much more than I could back then.”
I lean forward and press my lips to his. “I love you, Ajay.”
“I love you more, Whiskey. Stay here with me, let’s be a family.”
Later that night, Ajay and I are listening to Evelyn recount her day at Disney while dressed in her new Disney pajamas that Ajay picked out for her. Honestly, I think he bought her an entire gift shop with the amount
of bags that were delivered.
Her story includes hand gestures, crazy facial expressions, and the most animated voices I have ever heard come out of her mouth. When she finally sits down, she lets out a very dramatic sigh.
“Mommy and Ajay, this was the best day of my whole life.”
“Wow, that’s pretty huge,” I say to her while trying to stifle my laughter.