I'll Be Seeing You

One.

"Hurry up!" Chris called from the living room.

I rolled my eyes, brushing on mascara before turning to rinse my mouth. I could hear his footsteps—back and forth, back and forth—like they always were when he was restless. I didn't rush. Not out of spite, just out of habit. Chris was never ready on time for anything, so his urgency didn't mean much.

"Alyssa!" he called again, louder this time.

"Just a minute!" I called back, wiping down the counter. I could hear drawers opening and slamming shut. It wasn't unusual—Chris had a short fuse. I'd learned to tune out most of it.

We still had an hour before we needed to meet Lilly Ann's mom to pick her up for the weekend. This was the first time Chris and I would be picking her up together. Until now, I'd always gone alone.

When I met Chris a year ago, I didn't know what I was walking into. I was fresh out of a bad relationship, just trying to figure out what was next. A friend dragged me to a party one weekend, and Chris and I happened to be the only two single people there.

I hadn't been looking for anything. Honestly, I was planning to save up and get a place of my own. I wanted to experience living solo—something I'd never done. But as the night went on, our mutual friends made it their mission to pair us up. We didn't hook up—not for lack of trying on his part. I wasn't the kind of person who jumped into something with a complete stranger.

Still, I kept running into him. We started talking more—weekends with Rene turned into conversations with Chris. We got to know each other better over time. A few weeks later, I met Lilly Ann—Chris's six-year-old daughter. She was a sweetheart. Bright blue eyes, long curly red hair, and a smile that could melt anyone. She was polite, curious, and full of questions—so many questions. Her favorite was, "Are you Daddy's girlfriend?"

I'd laugh and shake my head. "No, sweetie." But one day, I caught Chris whispering things for her to say. A few minutes later, she bounced into my lap, looked up at me with a grin, and asked, "Do you want to be my daddy's girlfriend?" Then she turned to beam at her dad across the room. That was the moment I realized this might actually go somewhere. 

"Oh, I see what's going on here." I laughed.

"And what's that?" Chris asked from across the room.

"Using Lilly as the middleman."

"So, what do you say?" Lilly interrupted.

"Well, I'm still getting to know your daddy right now. But he and I can be friends."

"Best friends?" she asked.

"Best friends." I smiled.

It was early evening when I told Rene it was time to head home. Chris must have overheard, because not five minutes later, Lilly was asking if I'd stay the night. I tried to politely decline, but she kept listing off all the fun things we could do together, and I couldn't bring myself to say no. Well played, Chris. Well played.

I had to admit, the way he was using Lilly to get to me was kind of adorable. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love kids—he definitely had an angle. Everyone whistled and cheered as I grabbed my things. I just laughed and shook my head, following Chris and Lilly out to the car.

"I'm so excited!" Lilly squealed as she hugged me and climbed into the back seat.

"Me too!" Chris added as we pulled away.

"I can't believe I let you guys talk me into this," I teased. "But I'm excited too."

The house wasn't far—just a few miles from where the party had been. That helped ease some of my nerves. We turned onto a long gravel road lined with white fencing that stretched on forever. As we got closer, I spotted a barn just off the drive.