Right Where You Left Me | Grayson Dolan

6

Grayson
Two Weeks Later

"Good news," Brooklyn said from the other end of the line. "They accepted my location transfer request."

"No way! This is amazing, baby," I said, smiling to myself. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Gray. Ugh, I can't wait to live with you again."

"What color should I paint Ivy's room?"

Brooklyn giggled. "She loves purple and pink, so either one would be perfect. Just make sure that if you do purple, make it like a lighter purple. Dark purple is scary for her."

"What if I did light pink with a lilac-ish accent wall?"

"That actually sounds perfect."

"And I cleaned my closet yesterday. I got rid of all the clothes I never wear. They went to goodwill, and now there's a ton of room for your clothes. And my mom recently got a new dresser, so she said you could have her old one. It's the same size as mine."

"Wow. That's so kind of her."

"She's so excited that you're coming back. Everyone is. I told Kylie, and she burst into tears of joy."

Brooklyn laughed. "I can't wait to see everyone. Did you tell them about Ivy?"

"I sure did. They're so excited to get to know her."

"I'm on my way to pick her up from daycare now, and when we get home I'll have her FaceTime you while I make dinner."

"Sounds great," I said. "Two more days, and we'll finally be reunited again."

"And for good," Brooklyn said. "Thank God."

"Alright. Well, I'm at the paint store now. I'll text you when I get home. Should be in about twenty minutes."

"Perfect," she said. "I'll talk to you in a bit."

"Okay. I love you."

"Love you too. Bye."

"Bye."

I ended up buying three gallons of paint for Ivy's room, which used to be the guest room in my house. I was so excited for Brooklyn and Ivy to come live with me. Having Brooklyn back is something I've dreamed about since the day she left, and I can't believe it's finally come true. Especially now that I know about our daughter.

The funny thing about Ivy is that she looks so much like my sister when she was Ivy's age, and I can't even describe how much my life has changed just at the fact that I have a daughter.

I am a father.

A dad.

Ivy even already had my last name. Brooklyn still gave her my last name. That melted my heart.

After I got home from the store, I heated up a leftover piece of pizza I had, and then I sat down to eat. Brooklyn FaceTimed me, and I smiled as soon as her face popped on to my screen.

"Hey, Brooklyn," I said.

"Hey. Ivy is going potty right now, but she'll be out in a minute and then I'll give her the phone."

"Sounds good," I said. "How was your day?"

"Good. I'm excited that they accepted my transfer request."

"Me too," I said. "It's perfect timing too, because I just scored two weeks of paid vacation time."

"Wow. That's awesome, babe. We'll be able to spend a bunch of time together."

"I can't wait. I have tomorrow off, so I'm gonna spend all day painting and getting Ivy's room ready."

"Awe," Brooklyn said before looking away from the phone. "Ivy, do you wanna talk to your Daddy?"

"Yeah," Ivy said before Brooklyn handed her the phone.

"Hi, sweetheart," I said. "How was your day?"

"Good. I'm playing with my Barbie now."

"Wow. That's so much fun. Are you excited for you and your Mommy to come live with me?"

Ivy giggled. "Yeah."

"It's gonna be a lot of fun," I said. "I'm gonna paint your room pink and purple tomorrow."

"Wow," Ivy said, giggling again.

"I can't wait to see you again. I miss you."

"I miss you too, Daddy," Ivy said.

The weekend that Brooklyn and Ivy stayed with me was filled with family time between the three of us, and I was already getting to know my daughter fairly well. When Brooklyn and Ivy went back to Seattle, we've made sure to FaceTime every single day, so I can keep in touch with Ivy.

Like I said, I don't want to miss one more day of her life.

After talking to Ivy and Brooklyn for a little while longer, they said their good nights and goodbyes to me because they were about to eat dinner.

I turned on a baseball game that was on tv, sitting down to watch the game while I ate.

The next two days seemed to go by in the slowest amount of time that two days has ever taken. I was so eager for Brooklyn and Ivy to move in that it felt like these forty eight hours were taking up a whole year's worth of time.

Ethan helped me paint Ivy's room and set up all of the furniture, and everything was set up perfectly in anticipation for hers and Brooklyn's arrival.

I made sure mine and Brooklyn's room was perfect too. I even bought some of Brooklyn's and Ivy's favorite snacks and some different sodas and juices that I knew they both liked.

Soon enough I was at the airport, waiting at the gate for my two favorite girls.

The love of my life, and my everything. I guess both descriptions could fit either Brooklyn or Ivy. They both mean the world to me, and are so, so important to me.

Sure enough, Ivy came running to me first, Brooklyn jogging to catch up with her as I scooped our daughter up into my arms.

"Hi, sweetheart," I said as my daughter gave me a huge hug. "I missed you, sweet girl."

"I missed you too, Daddy."

"Hi, Grayson," Brooklyn said, standing on her tiptoes to give me a quick kiss.

"Hi, babe," I said. "How was the flight?"

"Good," Brooklyn said as we started walking towards baggage claim. "Ivy and I both had a nice nap on the plane."

I was carrying Ivy, but I still helped carry the luggage. Brooklyn sold her furniture from her apartment, so her and Ivy were mostly bringing clothes, and small personal belongings. Anything big that Brooklyn was keeping was being shipped to our house here.

I put Ivy into her car seat as soon as we got into the car, and Brooklyn showed me the right way to buckle Ivy in.

After that, I put their luggage in the trunk, and we went home.

A month ago I bought a house that I wasn't sure anybody else would ever live in with me.

It's crazy how much your life can change in a couple of weeks. I never thought Brooklyn and I would cross paths again, but here we are moving in together and with our daughter.

Most of all, I feel relieved knowing that Brooklyn is okay, and that she finally found peace, freedom, and safety from her father.