Winter in Spruceworth | Spruceworth 4.3 (Short Story)

13. Josh

13. Josh

       I really wished I could just make a choice right now on how I really wanted to live the rest of my life with. I loved both Cassidy and Cleo, but it was so confusing for me. I didn't want to hurt the other one.

       At least my daughters had no problem getting along.

       Cassidy was busy finding a job, and Cleo was working, so I was babysitting both Guinevere and Celeste. It was the first time I was babysitting the two of them alone. I had babysat the both of them with other kids but now, it was just the two of them.

       Honestly, I was a bit worried Guinevere wouldn't like Celeste, though I wouldn't know why because Celeste was one of the most adorable babies ever.

       Celeste was sleeping for a while after Cassidy dropped off Guinevere, and as soon as she woke up, Guinevere asked if she could hold her.

       "Yeah, of course," I said. Guinevere hopped on the couch eagerly, a wide smile on her face. She held out her arms and I gently placed Celeste in Guinevere's hold.

       "She's so cute," Guinevere said. "I always wanted a sister. Is she my sister?"

       I smiled softly. "Yeah, kind of."

       There was a sudden knock on the front door, so I told Guinevere to just call me over if Celeste starts getting squirmy. I then got up from the couch and walked over to the door. As soon as I opened it, I was ready to close it again.

       "Cleo's not here," I said. "She's at work."

       "I'm not here to see Cleo," Brody said. "I'm here to see my daughter."

       I just stared at Brody for a bit before closing the door. However, Brody stuck his foot in the way so I couldn't close it fully. "Go away, before I call the cops," I said. "Because right now, you're trespassing."

       "That would do nothing," Brody said. "I'm a lawyer."

       "So?" I asked. "Lawyers aren't exempt from the law. What kind of world are you living in to think otherwise?"

       "Look, I just want to see my daughter," Brody said.

       "Well, sorry, but that's not happening," I said. "If you want to, you're going to have to talk to Cleo about it since she has full custody. You'll have to come back later. Or not."

       "I'm serious, John," Brody said.

       "I don't care, Broden," I shot back. "This is my house and you don't have custody of her, so you can't decide when you get to see her unless you talk to Cleo, especially when your 'daughter' is in my house right now. Now move your foot because I will actually call the cops."

       Brody, however, wasn't taking no for an answer.

       Well, neither was I.

       When he still refused to leave, I pulled out my cell phone and called Horatio. "Hello?" he answered.

       "Hi, do you think you can come to my house and arrest Cleo's douchy ex-husband?" I asked. "He's trespassing and he refuses to leave."

       Brody actually took the hint and left, slamming the door shut behind him.

       "Oh, wait, no, he left," I said. "Guess he was scared. Sorry to bother you."

       "Don't worry about it," Horatio said. "I'm a police officer, so it's my job. So, why was he refusing to leave?"

       "He wanted to see Celeste, but it's not my place to let him," I said. "Especially with his and Cleo's history. Cleo has full custody, so it's up to her to decide if she wants him to see Celeste or not, and she's at work."

       "Oh, yeah then I see why you called me," Horatio said. "I don't know much about that guy, but Calvin is always telling me how he seems quite stuck-up and I hate those kind of people."

       "Oh, trust me, Cleo's ex-husband is very stuck-up," I said. "Again, sorry for bothering you."

       "Josh, I told you, don't worry about it," Horatio said. "If he didn't leave, I would have actually had to go to your house to arrest him. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go because I'm at my brother's house and he's complaining that his stomach hurts."

       "Is he okay?" I asked.

       "Oh, yeah," Horatio said. "He just drank a full carton of eggnog. I swear, that kid is obsessed. I'll see you around."

       "See you," I said before we both hung up.

       I went back to the couch and sat down beside Guinevere. I asked if she wanted me to take Celeste from her, but she was still fine holding the baby, and that made me smile a whole lot. After finding out I had a daughter, I was worried I'd have to neglect Celeste more.

       I was so happy I didn't have to.

       Later in the afternoon, Cassidy showed up to pick up Guinevere. "So, Josh," Cassidy said as Guinevere got ready to leave. "There's that 50's celebration on Saturday and it seems really fun. Maybe we can go together? We haven't spent much time together since I came back to the village."

       I smiled softly. "Yeah, for sure. I'd love to spend more time with you."

       "Okay, great," Cassidy said, smiling back.

       As soon as Guinevere was ready to leave, she rushed over to me and gave me a hug. "Bye, Daddy," she said. She then something that completely warmed my heart even more.

      She hugged Celeste and then kissed her forehead. "Bye, Celeste."

       Celeste smiled and squealed happily. She was always such a happy baby, and that was the many things I loved about her.

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Aww, sisterly love <3 (dont tell me they're not really sisters because they are and you can fight me)

I'm continuing my spam update. I'm for sure getting two more chapters up, but I might even go to three. We'll see.