Friend-Zoned (Friend-Zoned 1)

I nod up at him and he tells me, “Go eat then, sweetheart. ” He gives me a little shove to move me along.

Looking around the room I see everyone chatting and laughing. Cecilia and Trick in one corner. Nat, Lola, and Max on the lounge, Ghost sitting on the arm of the sofa listening in. Mimi is chatting away to the sisters. Everyone seems to be having a good time and I’m glad we came. It seemed to be important to Nik.

I make a move to the table with the now open platters when a voice startles me.

“Daddy?”

Such a sweet little voice that my heart clenches.

I look up to see a young girl in a wheelchair blocking the doorway. I recognize her from the photo in Nik’s office.

She is around nine or ten years old and she has pale skin (like me) and auburn hair which is cut to her shoulders. Her eyes are the same color as Nik’s. The tooth that was missing in the photo has almost completely grown back.

This little Angel must be Nik’s daughter.

I’m a little shocked when Max walks over to the girl and kneels by her chair. He asks, “What is it, baby?”

She holds up a handheld game console and frowns. She whispers loudly, “I can’t get my game to work. ”

He takes the game console from her, kisses her hand and says, “Hmm, let me see what I can do. ”

The little girl rolls her chair into the room and right up to Nik and me. She looks up at him questioningly, “Hey uncle Nik, is this your girlfriend?”

He chokes down a laugh and explains, “No, Cricket. This is my friend Tina. Tina this is my niece Ceecee. She’s named after Mom but this is easier for us. ”

I smile and take her small hand in mine and say, “It’s nice to meet you, Ceecee. ”

Ceecee smiles back at me. She frowns suddenly and declares, “I’m hungry. ”

I kneel beside her and ask, “Would you like for me to make you up a plate, sweetie?”

She nods and follows me over to the table. I ask, “What would you like?”

Her face scrunches up in disgust when she sees the Sashimi; she says with certainty, “I don’t want the fish. ”

A bubble of laughter catches in my throat. I tell her, “That’s okay. I don’t like the raw fish either. ” I take a look around the platters and say, “There’s chicken, egg, and cucumber. Which ones?”

Her face brightens and she replies, “One of each, please. ”

I put some sushi on a plate for her and pop it in her lap. I notice her legs aren’t muscular at all; in fact they look quite small for her body. I take a guess that she is possibly a paraplegic.

Max comes back into the room and walks over to us. He sees the plate on her lap and his eyes go wide. He asks her, “Did you get that on your own, baby?”

With a mouth full of sushi, she replies, “Nuh uh. Tina got it for me. ” She looks to her father and says, “Don’t you think Tina’s pretty, daddy?”

Max and I look at each other and laugh. He nods genuinely and tells her, “Yeah, baby, I think she’s very pretty. ”

Ceecee surmises, “I think she looks like a princess. ”

Max smiles and claims, “Maybe she is a princess. ”

Her awe filled eyes meet Max’s and she questions, “Do you think she’s a real princess like in my book?”

With a small shrug, he responds, “I don’t know, babe. Why don’t you ask her?”

She turns her face to me and in a completely serious voice asks, “Tina, are you a princess from my book?”

Oh, my…You are too cute.