“This was absolutely delightful.”
Lucinda patted her mouth with the napkin and gave Zoë a conspiratorial wink.
“Your daddy sure knows how to cook a good meal.”
Zoë glanced at Luke and he gave her a quick and friendly nod. He knew what was coming. He is not my daddy.
Zoë focused on Lucinda again and shrugged.
“He didn’t cook this. Someone brought it.”
They all laughed and Lucinda even clapped her hands in pure delight.
“Good job, Zoë. Telling the truth is important.”
The little girl gave Lucinda a quick smile.
“I know.”
She looked unsure for a moment and then looked up to Lucinda again.
“Thank you for helping me stay here.”
“My dear, it was my pleasure,” Lucinda assured her with an emotional smile. “I couldn’t bear the thought of losing my great-granddaughter.”
Zoë frowned. The whole concept of great-anything obviously confused her and Danny immediately came to her rescue. He had it all figured out.
“GG Lucinda is Grandma Lily’s mommy.”
The girl slowly nodded and then gave Danny a broad smile.
“Thanks.”
“It’s complicated for everybody, sweetheart,” Lucinda was back at her winking. “This family tree is very complex. Don’t worry about it. You have a sweet big brother and two great daddies…that’s the most important thing to focus on.”
Again the girl surprised her caretakers by not pursuing the ‘Daddy issue’.
“And a dog,” Zoë’s face started beaming, “and puppies…”
“I heard a rumor about that,” Lucinda leaned forward as if Zoë was letting her in on a big secret, “but you’re telling me it’s true? There are really dogs here? In this house?”
Lucinda gave Reid a fast and telling grin and he just shrugged. When Luke stood up and started collecting the plates, he helped clear the table – he was so ready for that blueberry pie – and avoided the children when he said:
“She had to stay somewhere. But the kids know it’s not a permanent situation.”
There was a huge difference between knowing and accepting though. When he glanced at the two young faces, Reid was reminded of that. They didn’t look happy. Worse still, they watched his moves with frowns and angry eyes.
Lucinda wanted to interfere, but a warning shake of John’s head made her change her mind.
“At least she’s safe now,” Lucinda gave Zoë a encouraging smile.
“Maybe DR needs some time,” the girl said and her remark made Luke and Reid look at each other. Luke’s smile told his doctor that he knew about this new title, but before he could explain, Danny did.
“Yeah, Daddy Reid didn’t like Handsome and Dawn at first. But now he does.”
“That’s quite an overstatement, young man,” Reid walked back to the table with a few plates of pie and held one up high, “Now this pie is something I like. Those horses are…okay…”
“For a horse,” Zoë said and when they looked at each other, the little girl even grinned.
“Exactly,” Reid grinned back and sat down. “So…DR, huh?”
“Yeah,” Zoë shrugged, already hypnotized by her pie, “it works.”
“Good. It works for me too.”
The girl managed to tear her eyes from dessert and they exchanged a smile. Then she nodded and when everybody had their pie and Luke was sitting too, she immersed herself in the wonderful world of pie eating.
***
“She’s so much like you, it’s creepy sometimes,” Luke shook his head, as he scrolled down his Facebook page.
“Yeah, your grandmother is extremely special…just like me,” Reid agreed, playing with Luke’s foot and enjoying the quiet.
“I was talking about Zoë,” Luke snorted and they both chuckled.
“Oh. Yeah. Right. She is. She sure loves pies.”
“Those eyes when you made that remark about Gaia.” Luke grinned at the memory of it. “All indignation and arrogance. Who are you to deny me something…”
“Yeah, I noticed. But I don’t care how outraged she looks. She’s not issuing house rules, thankyouverymuch. She can act like a little princess, but I won’t be ordered around by her.”
“I’m glad,” Luke smiled, while wiggling his toes. “We really need to keep an eye on her. I have a feeling she never had many rules to deal with.”
“No parental rules,” Reid snorted, “Both parents were on drugs. I think she was raising herself.”
“And taking care of her parents,” Luke nodded, closing his laptop.
“Yep. So she basically always did what she wanted. And honestly, I think she’s adjusting very well. She seems receptive to the way we handle things.”
“She is. Overall she’s doing pretty good. Lydia notices it too. Zoë is more relaxed, more open. But she has a mind of her own and when she’s passionate about something, she won’t back down.”
“I know. We’ve seen that in action when she challenged her uncle. But she’ll have to learn how to deal with disappointment.”
“I agree,” Luke bit his lip, “But I hope you’re not turning Gaia into some learning project.”
Reid’s hand stopped fiddling Luke’s foot and he looked up.
“You know how I…”
“I know,” Luke raised his hand, suddenly feeling very tired, “If you really don’t want to keep her, we won’t keep her.”
It felt like someone grabbed him by the throat, so Luke coughed to get his voice back.
“But I don’t want you to dig your heals into this whole ‘she can’t stay’ conclusion, just to teach Zoë a lesson about disappointment and not always being able to get what she wants.”
“I hear you,” Reid gave a quick smile.
“And I’m with you…I don’t want to raise two spoiled brats and we’re already working on it. With Danny I can use Dawn. Sometimes he can’t go to the stable with me, for instance. So who knows….maybe Gaia could be a great help with Zoë. Maybe Gaia is more useful in the house.”
“Zoë is like you too. Good speech,” Reid teased, “and you have a point. I’m not ready to make a decision one way or the other, though. We’ve agreed that she can stay here until her kids are old enough to leave the nest and we’ll take it from there.”
“Fair enough,” Luke swallowed.
He could feel the urge to manipulate grow. He really loved Gaia. She was so gentle and very obedient. He looked at Reid, who had returned to reading his magazine. He was such a loving man. Why couldn’t he love this dog?
Then he remembered Zoë’s remark and smiled. Maybe she was right. Maybe ‘Daddy Reid’ needed some time. They had a few weeks left. He could only hope it would be enough.
