Accidentally Perfect (7 page)

I walk into their room,
and they’re both awake and Brad’s sitting in the middle of their beds holding their hands.  He’s there for them just as much as he needs to be.  He doesn’t go above and beyond for
them as I wish, but he is their father,
and he has never let them down.  However, in my opinion, he has never made
it,
so they’re first.  He does just enough for them to make him tolerable.  I know that there is no reason why I couldn’t be home with them full time and not work, but I’m not just working for my own sanity, I’m trying to show them how important it is to be your own person and not rely on anyone else. I make enough of a living for me and
them, and I hope in time they will see how strong I try to be. I hope they see what they need to be to become strong,
self-sufficient women. 
“Hi, my babies.”

“Mama!”
  They say in unison.

“I’m so sorry that I wasn’t here for you when the accident happened,
babies.”  Tears came to my eyes in an instant.  There was no stopping the tears from falling.

“It’s okay mama,” Addie
says. “We were with daddy anyway, so you wouldn’t have been with us no matter what.”  She was so wise.

“I know bug, but I wish I was closer, so it didn’t take me as long to get here.”

“Were you wif Auntie Staya
?” 
This coming from Amanda.

“Yes, sweet girl, I was with Auntie Stella. She will be here in a bit to see those sweet faces.  It’s taking her a little longer to get here than it took me.”  I move to sit on Addie’s bed and assess her right leg in its cast.

“Why?”  They asked in unison again.

“Because I had a friend help me get back to you girls as fast as I could.”  I looked at Brad hoping that he would help me, but I don’t think he wants to help me out of this situation.

“Well who helfed you and not helf Auntie Staya?”

“Just a friend sweetie.,
How are you doing baby girl?  I hear from grandma that you have been very brave.”

"I half been mama, so brafe!”

“Why doesn’t daddy pick you up Bear so you, me, and sissy can share a bed.

“Okay daddy, take me to mama pesfe
.”  Brad picks her up and sets her on my lap while I’m sitting next to Addie in her bed.

“Does it hurt Addie bug?”

“Just a little.
  The doctor said he gave me medicine to help me feel better.  It really does feel better, but it does hurt still.  Mama, do you think you can make it so that I’m not hurting at all?  Do you think you can kiss it and make it feel
better?”

“Oh baby, I would love to kiss your boo-boo away, but I think it’s too serious for even my kisses to fix Bug
. I’m sorry.  We’re just going to have to let the doctor do what he needs to do to make sure your leg feels better.  I promise it will feel just like new in no time.”   

“Wheref did you go,
mama?  Why were you far away?”  Amanda is so sweet, so innocent.

“Well, Auntie Stell and I went to a city with bright
lights and lots of fun music.  There were lots of people everywhere.  There were tall buildings and every single one of them
were
so beautiful.  You both would have loved it.”

“I wanna go,
mama.”  This from Addie

“Maybe when you feel better I’ll take you there.”

“Willf your friend be
there? 
Willf your friend
take us there?  Can daddy come
wif
us?  That would be
fun... to half an adventurf
. 
Yeah, an adventurf!”

“We will see sweet girls.  Have you thought about what you want to do for your birthdays yet?  It’s coming
up,
and then you guys get to start school.  Aren’t you excited about that? You are getting so big.”

“I want animals mama...
lots of animals. I want to see them grow up, and I want to see what they eat and where they sleep.  I want lots and lots of animals.”  Addie is always trying to learn.

“I wanna ride ponies with birfday cake and lots of presents and lots of friends.”

“Yeah, ponies.  We want
ponies,
mama.”  They
seem so excited.

“We will see what your mama and I can do to see if you can ride a pony for your birthday babies.”

“No, we want lots of ponies, right Manda? 
Lots of ponies in all different colors.
  Like My Little Pony.  Yeah, My Little Pony!”

“Yeah, pink, and purfple, and bluf ponies.
 
With lots of balloofs and lots of candies.”
       

“Yeah, the best birthday ever!” Addie shoots her hand in the air in excitement.

“Ever!”
  Amanda joins in.

It amazes me how resilient these girls are.   Addie’s just gone through
surgery,
and here she is, up and excited about a birthday that’s weeks away.  You could never tell they just went through something so traumatic.  They’re such troopers.  I look over at
Brad,
and I can tell that he has been through the ringer.  I don’t think he’s showered since the accident.  His clothes are wrinkled and torn.  I’m so lucky that nothing happened to any of them.  I’m not sure what I would do if things had turned out differently.  If I had lost any of them, I’m not sure I would have been able to survive.  Even Brad, he is the girl’s father. I wouldn’t wish that loss on anyone.  There’s a knock at the
door,
and Nathan sticks his head in.  “Hi, I was just curious on how the princesses were feeling?”  In his hand were two bouquets of pink carnations.

“Come in.  Girls, I want you to meet my very special friend, Nathan.  Nathan, this big girl right here is Adele and this one on my lap is Amanda. 
Girls can you say hi to Nathan.”

“Hi, Nafin.”
  Amanda is soft spoken, maybe a little shy. I don’t blame her.  Nathan’s good looks can be a little intimidating. 

“Hi Nathan, thank you for getting our mama back to us.”

“No sweet girl, it was my pleasure.”  Nathan bent down next to the bed.  “Someone told me your favorite color is pink, so I brought you these.  I hope you like them.”  He hands the girls each their owner set of flowers.

“Wow, I’ve never gotten flowers before.” 
This coming from Addie.

“We pickfed flowers for mama before, but wef
never got flowers from anyone.  Thank you
Nafin.”

“You’re welcome young lady.  How are you gals feeling?  I heard you two were very brave and that your daddy has been here making sure you were okay until I was able to get your mommy here. You guys are very lucky to have a daddy who loves you so much.” 

There is no denying what I have been feeling for this man since the moment I laid eyes on him.  This was more than just lust, more than just an alcohol induced decision on my part. I loved Nathan Whitmore. I loved this man who accidently walked into my life.  There will never be any denying that fact, and I couldn’t wait to tell him. 

“Yes!”  They both say.  “Daddy is great. 
The best daddy ever.”
  I looked at Nathan while the girls showed their excitement towards Brad.  My heart broke for Nate. I’m not sure why, but I wanted my girls to have the same enthusiasm towards him as they did their own dad.  Maybe it’s because I know that his relationship with his own father is almost nonexistent, or maybe it’s because I can feel what he has to offer.  The love seems to just radiate off of him.       

“I couldn’t be the best daddy ever if I didn’t have the two sweetest girls in the whole wide world.”

“How are my two lovelies.
”   My mother comes into the room completely breaking the moment.  The peace that I was feeling only a moment ago came to a sudden stop.

“Grandma!”
  Addie yells;
Amanda is staying quiet.

“Oh sweet baby, how are you feeling?”  My mother walks over to the other side of Addie’s bed smoothing her
bedridden
hair. 

“Look at the flowers mama's friend Nathan brought for me and Bug.”

“They are lovely aren’t they.
  Did you tell Nathan thank
you,
Amanda?”  My
mother is looking towards Amanda, who sinks into me looking for comfort;
she nods her head.  “Use your words Amanda.”

“Not now, mother
.  She’s been through enough for today.”

“She has been through enough?  Adele has undergone
surgery, and she’s still able to speak and use her words like any five-year-old
should. Come on Laney, she is almost in kindergarten.  How do you expect her to communicate and learn if she won’t even answer her own grandmother with a simple yes or no answer?”

It infuriates me how god-awful that woman is.  How on earth can a mother treat her child like she’s yesterday’s trash and expect for her child to have any type of respect for her?  I get why my father is the way he is, because he was just a natural born asshole, but how can a woman carry a child for nine months, bond with it, look into that sweet innocent face and not feel a thing?  From the way that she acts towards Laney now, I’m sure this is how she has been her entire life.  No wonder Laney was so lost after her father died. It was like she lost both her parents the moment he took his last breath.  “What are people to think if she doesn’t answer them?”

“She thanked me for the flowers Vivian, and she did so verbally.”  I am not about to allow this woman to upset the girls or their mother.

“Well that’s a first,
I usually have to drag the words out of her.  No wonder she has a hard time with speaking. She doesn’t practice it enough.”

“Mother, Amanda is just fine. She’s just tired. Give me and them a break.”

“Are you really going to tell me how I should act around my grandchildren?”

“Vi-”

“No Brad, don’t interrupt me.  It seems that I am the only one concerned with the
well being
of the girls.  You should back me up, being a teacher yourself, as to how important it is for the kids to be able to communicate.  She is going to be left behind, struggle and heaven forbid fail.”

“Mother, you need to stop it now.”  Just when I thought I was going to have to throw that miserable woman out, the door swings open and I immediately feel  the tension lift from Laney. 

“Auntie Staya
!”  Amanda screams.

“It’s Stella, Amanda, use your words right.”  Vivian berates her again.

“No, actually Vivian, it’s Staya
.  That’s how Amanda says
it,
and that’s how I like it.  If you have a problem, and you don’t care for the way she says my name, then you know where the door is.  No one here will stop you.”  Her chin is held high as she cocks her hip looking Vivian right in the eye.  Wow, I knew that I liked this woman, but I think she just went up a few more notches. 

“Don’t come in here, Estell
, in a family moment and start acting like you have any say in what goes on in Adele and Amanda’s lives.  This is a family
matter, and it’s up to us decide
on  how
we raise these girls.”

“Pardon me, Vivian.”  I can’t hold my tongue any longer.  I place my hand on the middle of her back and move her towards the door and out of the girls’ room.  “But I believe the girls have two competent parents who are more than capable of raising the girls.  Their mother loves
them,
and their needs are of the utmost importance to her.”  I make sure that my voice stays at a normal tone so that I don’t scare the girls, but I assure you once the door clicks closed, my voice will be anything, but normal.

“You think you know my daughter, Nathan?  You’ve known her what maybe two days, and I’m giving her more credit than what she deserves, I’m sure.  You are no more included than
Estell
is, in the raising of those girls.”  She points back to the room.  “Just because you have the power of a name behind you, you think that you can slip a rock on her finger and that gives you the right to tell me, their grandmother, their own
flesh, and blood, how I can and cannot be with my family.”