Unfolding Truths: KO x LMM

Eight

Christmas Eve morning came around and Gracie woke up at Lin's. She was even more excited to go back to her mom's that afternoon because Karen had invited Matt to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day with them.

Gracie got up and headed to the kitchen to grab her cellphone. It wasn't there. She saw Vanessa. "Where's my phone?" She asked.

"I had to move it to make breakfast. We're having waffles, eggs and bacon."

"Oh, um, I'm vegan. Have been since I was eight." Gracie said.

"That explains why you had a banana and peanut butter for lunch yesterday." Vanessa chuckled. "Well, I can get some vegan options when I go grocery shopping on Fridays. So, what do you eat instead of eggs?"

"I eat tofu. You can make it just like eggs. They're basically the same!"

"Oh god they are not." Vanessa laughed.

"I mean, they are but whatever."

"So, what made you want to go vegan in the first place?"

"Diego. My horse. My dad got him for me when I was six."

"Your dad didn't know you exist when you were six."

"Lin isn't my dad. Matt Caplan is my dad. He's been there for me and Mami since before I was born."

"Oh?"

"I've called him Dad since I was little. Even after he and Mami got a divorce when I was four. I've always stayed with him every summer since we moved to Wisconsin and now we are back in the city! I can see him whenever I want!"

Gracie walked over to the counter and grabbed her phone. "Oh! He's gonna pick me up this afternoon! He said we can go to the barn for an hour. I'll get to see Diego!"

"Well, at least have an apple for breakfast." Vanessa chuckled, ignoring the Matt and Diego comment as she saw Lin walk into the room. "Good morning love." Vanessa smiled gently.

"Good morning, V." Lin said, going over to his wife and kissing her cheek, stealing a handful of chocolate chips. Vanessa blushed.

"Your daughter here has been for six years."

"Really?" Lin chuckled.

"Yeah." Gracie said.

"So you're not eating Christmas Eve waffles?"

"They have chocolate chips in them, so no."

"Wow."

"Anyway, Daddy is gonna pick me up at 11 to take me to see Diego."

"Of course he is." Lin muttered. "That's great, sweetheart." He said, louder this time.

"And Mami invited him to spend Christmas with us!"

"Well, since you won't be here on Christmas this year, we want you to open your gifts this morning. So come on! Go sit on the couch! Santa came early just for you." Lin said and Gracie shrugged, getting up to sit on the couch. Once she was sat, she saw that there was one stocking, filled to the brim and a large pile of presents underneath the tree. Lin handed her the stocking.

Gracie sifted through the stocking, opening the tiny wrapped gifts, putting every piece of chocolate aside, planning on giving it to Karen. When she was finished opening the presents from the stocking she had a new phone case, two tickets to see Moulin Rouge! The Musical, a pair of AirPods, a gift card to Forever 21 and about 50 pieces of chocolate.

"Okay, you can start opening your presents! There's 25 of them, I believe. I asked your mom what you like and they said something about Jeffree Star Cosmetics, but I wasn't sure what, so if you don't like what I got from there, we can return and exchange it."

"Okay." Gracie said, getting on the floor and beginning to open her main gifts. She opened the Jeffree Star Cosmetics one first.

"All the makeup items are one gift." Vanessa said with a smile. Gracie nodded.

"Thank you." She said, sifting through all the makeup products. She liked everything there.

"I'm not the biggest fan of the names. But I guess when you're vegan, good makeup products are hard to come by."

"You could say that again." Gracie said, admiring the eyeshadow pallets she had received. "I've wanted the Shane Dawson Conspiracy pallet for years! Thank you." She gave Lin a smile, the first genuine smile he'd seen from her.

"Okay, keep going. It's 10:30 now and Matt will be here soon." Vanessa said, taking photos, knowing Lin would want them.

After opening all but one of her gifts she had there was the Jeffree Star Cosmetics, a pair of new riding boots, a Hamilton sweatshirt, a puzzle, six new shirts, a new dress, a necklace, four new pairs of jeans, a framed photo of Lin and Gracie from their first dinner out together, two tickets to Wicked, a Brandi Carlile CD, a custom blanket with Diego's face on it, a teddy bear, a sketch book, a new phone charger and pack of hoop earrings. "Thank you guys." Gracie said, giving another smile, this one half hearted.

"There's one more." Lin said, bringing over a small box. He handed the black velvet box to Gracie. She opened it to see a ring.

"Um, Lin, I'm not so sure this is for me."

"Gracie, this is a promise ring. And with it comes the promise that now that I know about you, now that I'm in your life, I'm always going to be here for you. Basically this ring is to tell you the I promise to always be your dad, to always be here to help guide you through your young adult life. Merry Christmas kiddo."

"Thanks, Lin." She said. Gracie studied the ring for a moment before going to shut the box.

"Was the ring to much?" Lin asked.

"No, it's beautiful and I love it, I just don't want to wear it yet. I don't like to wear my rings when I ride."

"Oh, that makes sense." Lin chuckled. "I hope you liked it. When I told the employee the situation, that I hadn't gotten the chance to know you, that you were my daughter and that I wanted to promise to always be there for you as a father, she suggested a princess ring."

"Thanks, Lin." Gracie said and opened the box again, looking at the crown shaped ring. "It's black. My favorite color." She smiled, trying it on her middle finger of her left hand.

"Does it fit?"

"Perfectly. Thanks, Lin."

"De nada, mija."

By then, it was 11:00 so Gracie quickly took everything to her room as a knock sounded on the door. She quickly grabbed the riding boots, her cellphone, AirPods and ran towards the door. When she opened it, she saw Matt. "DADDY!"