Another day. Another trip to the office. I’ve had a few of those now since Ainsley left. She talked to her mom like I suggested, and things seem to be moving in a positive direction for the both of them. Ainsley is going to be able to stay at home with her mom, and she’s already filled out her application so she can get back in school. That means we she won’t have to work quite as hard, and it also means that our weekend plans are officially set.
I just hope she tells her mom what she’s planning this time, or at least lets her know she won’t be home for a couple of days. If she doesn’t, I may put her in the car and send her right back home. Even if it means missing out on our weekend together. She’s promised to turn over a new leaf, and I respect that, as long as she holds herself to better standards.
“It’s looking better in here.” Bram walks into my office and looks around at my new decorations.
“Thanks.” I look up at him. “What’s going on? Do we have a meeting today that I forgot?”
“No, I just wanted to let you know that Kiana is stopping by for lunch. Want to join us?” He tilts his head slightly.
“Sure.” I nod. “Sounds great.”
“Alright, I’ll let her know. She was bringing something for you regardless, but I think it would be nice if we could hang out for a little bit.” He smiles and turns toward the door.
“Oh, hey.” I lean forward. “If she’s stopping by, could you ask her to bring another wedding photo for me? The one I had got damaged when I was, um, redecorating.”
“Yeah, man. She has plenty of those.” He laughs. “See you in a little bit.”
I have my office back to the way it was, save for a few things that I wasn’t able to replace. The wedding photograph is one of them. I have some new additions. The sonogram of my grandchild is front and center on my desk. There are also some things that I didn’t bother to put out, like the photo of my ex-wife. I had a couple of strange looks from people when they asked about her, and I had to tell them we were divorced. She’ll always be an important part of my past, but I have to accept that she’s washed her hands of me now.
I still haven’t told anyone about Ainsley. I feel guilty about that. I don’t want her to be some kind of secret, but I think it’s best to keep it to myself for now. If our relationship continues, that won’t be possible for long. I hope there isn’t any sort of blowback from it for either of us. I definitely don’t want it to be another wedge that comes between Ainsley and her mother. Another wedge between me and the people closest to me won’t make things worse; although, I think we’re closing them now. Time does that, I guess. Or maybe it’s just love that has a way of making people accept the things they have to.
I make a few phone calls, set up some meetings for later in the week, and wrap things up right before lunch.
“She here?” I look up from my computer as Bram walks into my office.
“Not yet, but something just came up.” He sighs. “It’s the Clarence Jackson account. He’s been convinced to put all of his money into some new fad, and I need to talk him off the ledge.”
“I can talk to Jack.” I wave off his concern. “Have lunch with your wife. I got this.”
“I know you can handle him, but he wants to talk to me this time for some reason.” Bram shakes his head. “Besides, I get to see Kiana every day.”
“Okay.” I nod and lean back in my chair. “Take care of business.”
“Thanks, man.” He rushes off.
Lunch with Kiana. It would be a lot easier if it were the three of us. I haven’t spent a lot of one-on-one time with my daughter since everything happened. We did make amends. She forgave me. I did my best to accept her relationship with my best friend. Hell, I walked her down the aisle and gave her away, but I was a shitty father for a really long time. I don’t think that kind of hurt goes away just because someone finds a way to forgive you.
“Mr. Brooks?” Joanna appears at my door. “Kiana is here. Mr. Ward said you were going to be having lunch with her?”
“Yep.” I nod. “Send her my way.”
I take a moment to tidy up my office, move a few things around, and clear some space so we can eat. I’d offer to take her to one of the conference rooms, but that would just make us the center of attention, like she was at the Halloween party.
“Hey, Dad!” Kiana walks in with a cheerful smile on her face. “I brought you a new picture. Bram said you needed one?”
“Yeah.” I take it from her. “I was doing some redecorating, and you know I can be kind of clumsy.” I wince as I lie, but it’s a necessary one. “I dropped it.”
“As long as you didn’t throw it across the room or something.” She laughs and starts setting up for lunch. She pauses when she sees the sonogram on my desk. “Aww, Dad! You framed it!”
“The first picture of my grandchild. You’re damn right I framed it.” I look at the picture and chuckle under my breath.
“Thank you.” She sits. “I know all of this has been difficult for you…”
“I should be the one thanking you.” I sigh. “I didn’t exactly make it easy, and you were a lot kinder to me than you had to be.”
“It was a dark time for everyone.” She looks down for a moment. “I think it’s best to put all of it in the past and try to move on.”
“You won’t have much time for anything else.” I lean forward and tap the sonogram. “You’ll have much more important things to worry about soon enough.”