You Were Gone

Zoo

We get to the zoo and Jenna grabs Sophia out of the back. I attempt to open the stroller, but fail majorly. Jenna hands Sophia to me and she opens the stroller. "Thanks." I say.

    "Your welcome, it's hard opening it the first time." She smiles. I set Sophia in her stroller. "Zoo! Zoo! Zoo! Zoooooo!" Sophia yells the entire we walk towards the zoo. "What animals do you want to see Sophia?" Jenna asks her.

    "Zebras!" Sophia squeals. I laugh at her reaction and we pay to get in.   

    About an hour later we've walked through most of the zoo and Sophia is begging to get something at the gift shop. "Don't fall for it Val." Jenna suggests. I take Sophia out of her stroller and she says, "Please Dadda." She gives me puppy eyes and she sticks out her bottom lip.

    "Are you going to be a good girl?" I ask.

    "Es." She answers.

    "I guess you can get something." I say. She smiles and gives me a sloppy kiss on the cheek. I carry her into the gift shop and she looks around. "That Dadda!" she says pointing to a pink zebra.

    "Ok." I say grabbing it off the shelf and going to pay for it. Once I pay for it, I hand it to Sophia. "Thank ou Dadda." She giggles. She lays her head on my shoulder and Jenna is waiting outside the gift shop.

    "You seriously fell for it." Jenna states smirking. I wrap my free arm around Jenna and kiss her. We squish Sophia between for a few moments and she tries wriggling out. "Dadda, Momma I stuck!" Sophia cries.

    Jenna laughs and I say, "Sorry princess." Sophia buries her head in my shoulder. "Someone doesn't like kisses." Jenna says tickling Sophia. "Stop Momma stop." Sophia squeals. I place Sophia back in her stroller and she pouts angrily.

I hold Jenna's hand and she pushes the stroller. We get to the car and I was about to get Sophia out of the stroller, but I notice, she fell asleep. "Jenna look." I say.

    Jenna stands next to me and says, "She's so cute." At that point I realize I don't have any pictures of Sophia. I pull out my phone and snap a picture of her. I then make the picture my home screen on my phone.

    I then lift her out of the stroller and open the back door. I set her in her car seat and buckle her up. Jenna got the stroller in the trunk and she hands me the diaper bag. I place it in the seat next to Sophia and I close the door.

    "Sophia had fun." I state.

    "Yeah, you're a really good dad." She smiles.

    "Thanks, you're a really good mom." I reply. She places her hands on my cheeks and pulls my face to hers. We stand there for a few seconds and she pulls away. She smiles at me and walks to the other side of the car.

    I hop into the driver seat and buckle up. I turn to Jenna and she's smiling at me. I start the car and pull out of the parking lot. "Are you gonna go back to Dancing with the Stars?" Jenna asks me.

    "Yeah, I guess for the next season." I say. She nods her head and smiles. I reach my hand out and grab hers. In a few minutes we arrive at her apartment and I turn the car off.

    "Val." She says and I look at her, "Do you want to move in?"

    "Sure." I say. I grab Sophia out of the back and I hand the diaper bag to Jenna. Sophia slightly hiccups in her sleep and I lift her higher. We go into the apartment.

    "I'm gonna put Sophia down for her nap." Jenna says taking Sophia out of my arms. "Ok, should I get my stuff from Meryl and Maks' place?" I ask.

    "Sure, bye." She smiles.

    "Bye." I say giving her quick peck on the nose. She laughs and walks to Sophia's room. I head out and drive to Maks and Meryl's apartment. The two aren't home and I grab my stuff from the room they were letting me stay in.

    I stack my things in the back of my car and head to Jenna's. I open the door and place my stuff in the hall. "Jenna." I call quietly, careful not to wake up Sophia. "In the kitchen." She answers. I head into the kitchen and Jenna's making dinner. She's making something on the stove and I wrap my arms around her.

    "Dadda!" Sophia yells from her room.

    "You should go get her." Jenna says smirking.

    "I'll be back in a second." I state and walk to Sophia's room.

    "Dadda!" Sophia calls again.

    "Hey princess did you have a good nap?" I ask lifting her out of her crib. "Es." She says. Her hair stands in a mess around her face, she looks just like Jenna with her like this. "Your hair's a mess." I say tickling her stomach. She giggles and hops out of my arms.

    "Catch me Dadda!" she yells running out her room. This isn't going to get any easier, she's too fast for me. I find her hiding behind Jenna's legs. "Hey Jenn have you seen Sophia?" I ask, acting like I don't see her. "Nope." Jenna answers and Sophia giggles a little.

    I kneel on the ground and grab Sophia. "I found." I laugh lifting her into the air. Sophia squeals and grabs onto my neck. "That's enough you two." Jenna states.

    "Sorr." Sophia says. Jenna laughs and takes Sophia out of my arms. "It's fine, but Momma wants to play too." Jenna says tickling Sophia and bouncing Sophia in her arms. "Momma!" Sophia giggles.

    "Let's eat." Jenna says handing Sophia back to me. She grabs the pot off the stove and carries it to the table. I set Sophia in her highchair and sit down. Jenna passes the food out to eat of us and we all eat.

    "So Sophia's birthday's coming up, any ideas?" I ask Jenna.

    "Not sure yet, what do want to do Sophia?" Jenna asks her.

    "Zoo!" Sophia yells.

    "Something else?" Jenna questions.

    "Studio!" Sophia says.

    "Well whatever you want to do." I say. Sophia smiles and goes back to eating. Only a few days ago, I didn't know what to do with my life, but now I found the thing that I felt was missing. I found the missing piece, Jenna and Sophia. They're the most important to me and I'm not letting them go.