You'll Never Stand Alone

Chapter 39

"Where's Daddy?" Krissy demanded the minute she entered the house and greeted Whitney. The children had returned home that Sunday evening. She hadn't seen Kevin since they had left the dock in Santa Barbara. "I'm not sure sweetie." Whitney said, offering as best as a smile as she could. "Daddy! Movie!" Ayden exclaimed. "Daddy!" Ahriane stated as well. The children were all mama's babies; but they loved their daddy unconditionally. "Oh yeah, movies! Did he go get movies?" Krissy asked hopefully. "It's movie night!"

Whitney picked at her salad and chicken. "Why don't you call daddy and make sure he's bringing home movies?" Whitney forced another smile for her kids. Krissy ran to the telephone and quickly punched out his numbers. She was relieved to find out that she was talking to him, meaning that he was okay. Dan had called her to say that he stayed at his house for that night before spending a night at their parent's house. "Yayy!! Daddy's bringing movies." She tussled playfully with the twins for space on Whitney's lap. "Annndd he's bringing pineapple and peperoni pizza too." "Yay pizzaaa!!" The twins simultaneously said. "When I asked you guys if you were hungry, you all told me no." Whitney told them. "Because mommy, that was salad and chicken. We're always hungry for pizza." Krissy explained. "Pizza, yummy!" Ayden exclaimed. "Salad yucky!" Ahriane echoed. Whitney genuinely laughed for the first time in days and shook her head. She was glad to have her babies around to uplift her spirit. "You all are something else!" she told her beautiful children.

Whitney had just helped Krissy put popcorn and oil in the antique popper when Kevin burst into the room with two large pizzas and a case of Coke.

"Daddy!" Kevin could barely put down the pizza and soda before Krissy and the twins fought to be in his arms. "We've missed you." Krissy told him. "I missed you guys too. I've been thinking about you, Ayd and Babydoll all day." He had given Ahriane that nickname for her gorgeous doll-like delicate features and golden, wispy curls. "Daddy, movies?" Babydoll asked. "Oops, I must have forgotten them in the car." He told them. He served Krissy, Ayden, and Babydoll a slice of pizza and took a huge bite out of a slice himself. "I'll go get them!" Krissy raced out of the family room while Kevin and the twins ate pizza. Whitney nervously tapped her foot. Kevin hadn't spoke to her or even attempted eye contact. Krissy returned with the movies and a box of Twizzlers and other candy.

"Here mommy." Krissy gave her the bag of licorice. "Daddy bought your favorite candy." Whitney felt a lump forming in her throat. I can't cry now, not in front of the kids. "Thanks, baby." Whitney offered a small smile at her husband. "You're welcome hon," Kevin replied with absolutely no eye contact. Hon? That was so generic and unlikely of him to call her such. He called every other woman that. It was apart of his gentlemanly, cowboy charm. A single tear pressed itself out of Whitney's eye, and she quickly wiped it away. There would be no battle between her and the tears tonight...not in front of the children.

"Daddy, did you have a good time on the boat for your birthday?" Krissy inquired. "I sure did sweetheart. Let's cut these lights off, it's showtime." Kevin told her. He didn't like putting on a show for his little loved ones, but he didn't want the children to know that anything was wrong either. Whitney was glad that Kevin cut the lights off. He grabbed the twins and Krissy sat in between Whitney and Kevin.

When the movie was over, the twins fell asleep. Kevin carried them up the stairs to their rooms for bed. Whitney stood up and stretched. "Mommy, can I watch TV before bed?" Krissy asked her. "Sure baby. You can watch for about 30 minutes, but then, it's light out." Whitney told her as she hugged and kissed her growing daughter. "Are you okay mommy?" Krissy asked her. She fixed an identical set of mocha eyes on her mother. "You were actually quiet during the whole movie. We didn't have to tell you be quiet one time because you were talking back to the TV." She giggled as Whitney playfully ran her fingers through her hair. Whitney knew that her daughter was smart and could pick up on feelings and emotions easily, so she knew that she had to do a better job in concealing what was going on. "Yes baby, I'm okay." She feigned a yawn. "I feel asleep during the movie. Don't worry about me. I'm the mother and I'm supposed to worry about you. I'll come up to tuck you in soon." "Okay mommy!" Krissy happily said as she skipped to her room. Whitney breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that her façade worked. As soon as she went out of sight, Whitney collapsed on the sofa like a rag doll.