Shattered Pieces

Twenty Six

"Well, baby girl. What do you think?" Spencer brushes down Aaliyah's baby hairs as the toddler looks in the mirror.

A soft smile grows on her face as she turns to look at her dad.

"Good job, daddy." She tugs at the bun that isn't quite in the middle of her head.

"You want me to get mama, don't you?" He looks at the sweet girl's face, and she nervously nods.

"Sorry, daddy. I love you." She throws her arms around him, hoping to protect his feelings.

I finally make my presence known, and the smile on Aaliyah's face grows.

"Princess Liv!" Her tiny voice fills my heart with happiness.

"Princess Leah! Are you ready for dance class?"

It's been three weeks since Spencer agreed to fight for custody, but he hasn't served the papers. He keeps saying he has a plan, but the longer things stay like this, the worse they will be in the end. Kennedy showed up here last Sunday to pick up Aaliyah after the game in a Spencer James Cardinals jersey. It took everything in me not to physically throw her out of our home.

Yesterday morning, when Spencer picked Aaliyah up from the house Kennedy managed to find (not in my neighborhood), Kennedy conveniently asked their daughter how nice it would be for her, mommy, and daddy to go to breakfast together. How could he say no when she put him on the spot like that?

Another shocker, Aiden didn't move here with her. All of a sudden, the boyfriend she had when she first popped back into our lives no longer exists. So, while I trust Spencer when he says he has a plan, I don't trust Kennedy and this game she's playing with Aaliyah.

"Uh, daddy." Aaliyah taps his shoulder, and he helps her from the chair she is sitting in. She runs over to me. Our girl motions for me to bend down, getting closer to her level. She takes one last peek back at her dad, then moves closer to me.

"Can we make my hair pretty?" She whispers, and I try to hold back my giggle. "Don't tell daddy," she finishes.

I bring my finger up to my lips, and she smiles.

"Do you want to help me pick out which bracelet I should wear to class today?" I reach for her little hand, and she quickly takes mine.

We head out of her room and into mine and Spencer's bathroom. I waste no time fixing the art project her dad did on top of our baby girl's head. Five minutes later, a slick bun sits in the middle of her head, with two curly pieces left out falling down the side of her face.

I turn her around so she can see herself in the mirror. Her jaw drops, and her face lights up.

"I love it, mama." She smiles so brightly.

Mama.

Grayson says mama... every five minutes these days. Whenever Spencer is talking to Aaliyah about me, he calls me mama. There's never been Ms. Olivia or even just Olivia. He doesn't even entertain the princess Liv nickname that I love.

Hearing her call me mama brings tears to my eyes. I try to blink them away, but one lone tear manages to escape. Despite all my qualms about Kennedy, she alone is responsible for this magical little bean in front of me. I want to think that Spencer's genes running through her just happen to be enough to fight away Kennedy's evil, but the truth is, Kennedy has raised her for the past three and half years.

I don't particularly appreciate having Kennedy in our lives, and I like even less the way she uses Aaliyah to further her agenda. Still, I can't completely discredit her parenting because this sweet angel in front of me is proof that she's not a complete failure at everything.