New York, New York

Chapter 16

Because they did not want to cause a scene at the kid's school, he had walked into the building alone to pick up the girl.

"Hey Dad!" The kid said when she hugged him to greet him and handed him her backpack. "Where's Jen?"

"We did not want to get your friends here too excited when she walked in here. She is grabbing some snacks for us to take away at the coffee shop on the next block." He explained.

They made their way out of the school towards the store, when they saw her step out of it with a paper shopping bag in hand. The girl picked up the pace to run towards her, she put the bag down on the nearby table to lean down and open her arms to embrace the kid. The very sight of them made his heart once again swell with happiness. He put the kids backpack and his own crossbody bag down on the table to store away the stuff she had bought so that they would have one bag less and so that he would feel a little less like a mule. Even though he would happily tote around a pink backpack and a myriad of shopping bags if he would just could watch the two of them interact, it was more comfortable this way. She took the girl by the hand, and they immediately fell into a comfortable converversation while he walked by and listened to their chatter.

They spend the afternoon at Central Park Zoo, before heading back home where he helped the girl with the part of her homework that she would need the next day, deciding that the rest could wait until tomorrow when the kid was back with her Mom, while she was in the kitchen preparing dinner for the 3 of them.

When they were done, he set the table together with the kid, exchanging loving glances with the woman every now and then.

When they finished eating, the girl asked her with a sad face:

"Do you really have to go home in 2 days already Jen?"

"Cleo, I have a few things I have to take care of. And Clyde, Sophie and Lord Chesterfield will already be missing me. But I will come back for your Dad's birthday, it won't be that long! And then we can all have some fun together..."

"Ok" the girl replied with a pout.

He looked at her, waiting for her approval to tell the girl about their plans.

"Aaaand, there is something else we want to tell you, Honey..."

The girls eyes started to shine and she looked at her.

"ARE YOU staying here then?!?!"

He took a deep breath, trying to catch the kid's attention again.

"No, Cleo, she is not. BUT Jen bought a new house, in Canada, just a couple of hours away from here, at the East Coast. She and the dogs will move there, well at least for when she does not have to work in LA. And if you are okay with that, I would like to live together with her for when she is there..."

The kid looked a bit confused now, trying to sort out what that meant for her. He took her hand.

"Nothing is going to change for you really. I, or both of us, can always be here in a matter of a few hours when you need someone, and at the weekends, you will come up there and we can all spend time together. And if we feel like it, we can always come to the city and spend time here together. Same when Jen is in LA for longer time spans, I will always be here with you."

"But why don't you just move here?" The kid asked her. This time, it was her to reply.

"You know Cleo, I love this house and I love this city, but this is quite a busy place. And the dogs really want a garden and some space outside where they can run around and play. And just like your Dad always will think of you and make sure you are happy, I took on the responsibility for them to be happy. And I have lived in larger cities for all of my life, I would like to live somewhere where it is quiet for some time of the year. Here are always so many people watching us as soon as we go outside, and so many people in this city in general..."

"Yeah I understand. So you will both be there when I spend the weekend with Dad, and the dogs will be, too? And I can always call if something comes up and you will still be here?" His daughter asked, looking at him.

He looked back at the kid, nodding his head.

"Of course Cleo, I will ALWAYS be there for you!"

She hugged him tightly and placed a hearty kiss on his cheek before walking around the table and hugging the woman.

"Then I am so happy for you! I love you, Jen!"

"And I love you, Cleo!" he heard her say to his girl and again, he felt like his heart was going to explode.

"So when can we go up there and see that new place?"

"That will take a little more time as it is just being built, but we will go there as soon as it is ready." She explained.

The kid already fell into an excited blabber, and he had to swallow a lump in his throat because he was so happy about how all of this unfolded right now.

After cleaning the table together, they watched a little TV with the kid, before he send her to bed because she had school the next day.

After SHE tucked the kid in, like the girl had insisted, she came back down and plopped back on the couch next to him, happy tears in her eyes.

After kissing her forehead, he questioningly raised his eyebrow.

"I just love this so much. I can't believe I will get to have this every two weeks soon. And that I get to be with you all the time. Life can't get any better than that."

"Oh believe me, we Schwimmers can be a handful. You will want to kick us out soon enough."

She smiled at him, shaking her head.

"Nope. I have waited for this for so many years. I'm never letting you go again."

"I love you, too!" He smiled at her, before pulling her in for a kiss.

They watched some documentary about dinosaurs (really?) on TV they only followed half heartedly before calling it a day, after the morning they had and a lot of running around with the kid in the afternoon, simply just falling asleep happily in each other's arms.