In a Perfect World

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"You ready to see daddy?" I asked Hayley before I knocked on Damien's dorm room door.

"Dada!" she exclaimed, happily clapping her hands together.

            Two months passed since Hayley’s first birthday party and Hayley and I were ecstatic to finally see Damien.  It was the first day of Damien’s winter break so I brought Hayley to help Damien pack to go home for break.  After Hayley’s birthday party, school became increasingly tough and both Damien and I were loaded up on homework.  Our schedules stopped meshing together so time together with or without Hayley with us became a rarity, and I didn’t even know how many time Damien saw Hayley since her birthday.  He constantly assured me that he went to his parents often when Hayley would be there when I was at school, but there was no way to be sure.  I didn’t doubt Damien’s role as a father, but I wanted Hayley to see her dad just as much as she saw me, which obviously wasn’t possible.  In any case, today was the first time I would see Damien since Thanksgiving break, three weeks ago. 

"Hello?" someone said, opening Damien's dorm room door.

            "Oh, hi, you must be Damien's roommate," I answered, startled by his beautiful blue eyes. He was an all-American looking boy, wearing a polo shirt and khakis, with light brown hair and tan skin. He looked exactly like a student would who was studying to be a doctor and he looked pretty damn fine.  I shook my head quickly when Hayley began tugging me into the room, trying to push her way through the guy standing in the doorway.  I quickly picked her up before she pushed her outstretched hand against Damien’s roommate.  “I'm Brittany, Damien's girlfriend, and this is Hayley.  Is Damien around?"

            "No, sorry, but he said he would be here soon.  Come on in," he said, stepping aside for Hayley and me to enter. He motioned to Damien’s bed for us to sit, where there was an open suitcase filled with a few pieces of clothing.  “By the way, I’m Noah.”

            "It’s nice to finally meet you," I said, sitting Hayley down on the bed next to me, as Noah goes to lie down on his bed and pull his laptop open on his lap.  He nods slightly to me and I give him a gentle smile.  Hayley and I sit awkwardly across the room from Damien for a moment before she quickly wiggled off and toddled around the room.  I watch as she walks to the desk next to Damien’s bed, which I assume is his desk as well.  Hayley takes hold of the chair, steadying herself before continuing on around the room, as I get a text from Damien, telling me that he is running late.  And when I look up, Hayley has found her way by Noah.

            "Oh hello," he smiled down at Hayley, sliding his computer onto his bed beside him. "How are you?"

            "I'm sorry," I apologized, scrambling off Damien's bed and plucking Hayley back into my arms.

            "It’s fine, she's adorable, how old is she?" he asked, shaking Hayley's hand.  Hayley wrapped her fingers around his pointer finger and giggled. 

            "She's almost fourteen months," I said proudly, putting Hayley back on the floor in front of Noah's bed.  It seemed like, unlike most people around Damien’s and my age, Noah wasn’t afraid of toddlers of teen parents, and I really appreciated it. 

            "Wow, she looks a lot like you," Noah mused, picking Hayley up and sitting her down beside him on his bed.

            "Thanks," I said, sitting down on the other side of Hayley. I looked over to Damien's side of the room and saw that it was pretty bare except for a few photos of Hayley and all of us together. There was a pile of books at the corner of his desk and a stack of papers at the opposite corner. Damien was a minimalist and I was even surprised to see the few photos he had, especially since he was usually kept his personal life private.  I guess he and Noah had a pretty stable relationship for Damien to trust Noah enough with the photos of his family on display.  "So, what are you doing for your break?"