Maybe I'm Amazed~Threequel to I Wanna Be Your Man~

Chapter 43

Alice's P.O.V

December 25, 1971

For Christmas, we went back to the farm. Linda and Joseph came with us, since they were staying with us until New Years. When I got up, I went out to the barn to check up on the horses.

"Morning Chester. Morning Chocolate" I said. They both whinnied at me in response. I fed the horses and took a seat.

"Ethel's eight today. Joseph and I are finally going to tell her. I'm just worried about how she'll take it" I spoke to the horses. Chocolate whinnied at me.

"I know. I shouldn't worry about it too much" I said.

"Mommy!" Ethel said as she ran into the barn. She ran up to me and gave me a hug.

"Happy birthday sweetie" I said. Paul came in shortly after her.

"I told you mommy was here" Paul said. Ethel smiled at me before walking over to Paul. He grabbed her hand.

"Linda has breakfast ready. She said to come get you" Paul said.

"Alright" I said. The three of us walked back to the house. Paul and Ethel walked ahead of me. I watched as they talked to each other. Those two may not be father and daughter by blood but they sure seemed like they were. They really love each other.

~

During breakfast, Ethel sat in between Paul and Joseph. She conversed with both of them. It kind of made me feel a little bit at ease.

"Ethel, when you're done eating, mommy and I want to tell you something" Joseph said

"Is it a surprise for me?" Ethel asked

"I'd say it's a surprise" I said. Ethel nodded and went back to eating. Joseph and I looked at and smiled at each other.

~

When Ethel was done breakfast, Joseph and I brought her up to her room so we could tell her I'm private. The three of us sat on her bed, with her sitting in between us.

"What's my surprise?" Ethel asked

"Ethel, do you love daddy?" I asked

"I do mommy!" Ethel said

"Will you always love daddy?" I asked. Ethel nodded in response.

"Well, what if daddy wasn't your real daddy?" I said.

"What do you mean mommy?" Ethel asked.

"Sometimes you will have parents that aren't your real parents but they love you like they were your real parents" I said. Ethel still looked at me with a confused expression.

"Ethel, what mommy is trying to stay that your daddy isn't your real daddy" Joseph said. Ethel looked at Joseph.

"Daddy isn't my real daddy?" Ethel asked

"No. I'm your real daddy Ethel" Joseph explained.

"You're my real daddy?" Ethel asked. Joseph nodded in response.

"Paul would be your step-daddy" I said. Ethel looked at me again.

"You're my real mommy, right?" Ethel asked.

"I am. Actually you have two mommies. I'm your real mommy and then Linda would be your step-mommy" I said

"Do you understand all this Ethel?" Joseph said. Ethel nodded.

"Does that mean Heather, Alex, Josie, Leo and Louise are my brothers and sisters?" Ethel asked

"That's right. Heather would be your step-sister. Alex, Josie, Leo and Louise are your half-siblings because you share the same daddy. Mary and Stella are your half-sisters because you share the same mommy" I said

"I think I understand now" Ethel said.

"That's good. Are you ready to go back?" I asked. Ethel nodded. We went back to the kitchen. When we got there, Ethel grabbed Paul's hand and brought him beside Joseph.

"What are you doing, little one?" Paul asked. She looked up at Paul. She then hugged him.

"Daddy" she said. When she let go of Paul, she hugged Joseph.

"Dad" Ethel said. I smiled at her. She wanted both of them to be her father. She was just going to refer to Paul as daddy and Joseph as dad. Ethel walked over to Linda and grabbed her hand. She brought her over to me. She hugged me first.

"Mommy" she said. She let go of me and then hugged Linda.

"Mom" she said. Linda smiled and looked at me.

"You told her I'm her step-mother, didn't you?" Linda asked

"I sure did" I said. She then hugged her step-daughter.

~

When it was late, I tucked Ethel into bed after I tucked her sisters in.

"I'm really lucky mommy" Ethel said

"Yeah? And why is that?" I asked

"Because I have two daddy's and two mommies" Ethel said.

"And we all love you very much" I said. I kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight sweetie. I love you" I said

"I love you too mommy" Ethel said. Her eyes closed and she fell asleep with a smile. I then left the room. I went to mine and Paul's bedroom to get ready for bed.

"There you are, love" Paul said as he walked into the bedroom. He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. He rested his chin on my shoulder.

"I think today went pretty well" Paul said

"Me too. Ethel was really accepting of both of you being her father. I was worried for nothing" I said

"She was also pretty accepting of Linda being her second mother" Paul said

"I wasn't even expecting that to be honest. I didn't even expect to tell her about Linda being her step-mother. I always thought she'd figure that one out on her own" I said. We were both silent for a moment.

"I'm glad she called you daddy. Even though she now knows that you're her step-father, she'll knows you're her true father. You're the father she's growing up around. You were a father to her since the moment she was born, and she knows that. That's why she calls you daddy and that's why she loves you so much" I said

"You have a way with words, love" Paul said. He pressed a gentle kiss to my neck.

"Do you think she'll still be calling me daddy when she's a teenager?" Paul asked

"Honestly, she'll still be calling you daddy when she's in her fifties and she'll still want to sit on your lap" I said