The Daddy Box Set

Noah

The cool breeze whipped through our bedroom, waking me from my deep slumber. I pulled the sheets up over my shoulders and then opened one eye to see Jess was still sleeping. She was the little spoon, and I didn’t want to move and wake her up. Though I desperately wanted to close the window. Jess loved sleeping when it was cool, but with the change from summer to autumn, the morning breeze from the ocean was a little too brisk for my taste.

I snuggled closer to her, wanting to be near her and also to steal some of her body heat. I slept near the windows, something that might have to change or else we’d have to compromise and keep the windows closed at night.

Not for the first time did I think how lucky I was to have fought for Jess and I before it was too late. Every time I had a really good day with Jess, that tiny seed of what could have been made my stomach quiver.

I tightened my hold on her, and she moved under me.

“You’re going to squeeze all the air out of me,” she said.

I kissed her shoulder. “Sorry.”

She shivered. “It’s freezing in here.”

I chuckled. “That’s what happens when you insist on leaving the window open all night.”

“You know I love the sound of the waves.”

“I know.”

Footsteps came toward the room, and I popped my head up to see Gina pushing our door open and standing in the doorway.

“Are you up?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.

“We’re up,” I said.

She shuffled over to my side of the bed. “It’s cold in here, Daddy.”

I lifted my covers and indicated for Gina to crawl in. She burrowed under and came up between Jess and I. Jess turned around and snuggled close to Gina, her eyes fluttering closed again.

Gina yawned and closed her eyes too. Jess lightly traced her fingers through Gina’s hair and before long, both of them fell back asleep. Without anyone in my arms, I was free to watch my two favorite girls in a peaceful state of mind. They were the most beautiful beings I’d ever laid eyes on.

How could I almost have missed out on this? If I’d stayed married to my work, I would have lost small moments like this. And even though they weren’t significant events in any one of our lives, they were important. They reminded me to make every second count while I could.

I watched them until my eyelids got heavy and I fell back into a peaceful rest lying next to the entirety of my life.

Unlike most days, the three of us woke closer to ten that morning. It was the weekend, not that that mattered much anymore since Jess and I weren’t working, but we’d traveled a lot in the past six months. I wanted to know everything about the new place I lived in, which included day and weekend trips up the coast. Chloe had been happy to accompany us on a few of the day trips, giving us more of insight into the place we all called home.

I guessed I hadn’t realized how much time we spent out of the house.

“How about we spend the day at the beach today?” I said to the girls over breakfast.

“That sounds like a good idea,” Jess said. “The forecast is saying the weather should be nice for today. I can’t say much about the rest of the week.”

Even though it took a little getting used to the flipped seasons where we were, I looked forward to the change in weather. It was something new I’d be able to experience in my changed lifestyle.

The water was cooler than we were used to, so we decided to stick with sand activities for the day. Jess and I set up some chairs and two blankets. Over the summer, we’d fallen into a routine when it came to the beach. We moved through our tasks like second nature.

Within a few minutes, Jess and I were lying out on the lounge chairs while Gina sorted her sand castle molds.

“Did you invite your Mom over?” I asked Jess.

“She’s on a weekend trip with David,” Jess said.

David was a long-time friend of Chloe’s. He had been divorced for almost five years. Jess played matchmaker for the two, and they quickly moved up their relationship ranks in the past three months.

“Is that too fast?” I asked.