Little Angel

Chapter 52- Father's Day Sunday, June 21, 2015

I took notes from mother's day and sat Danny on Derek's back. Derek chuckled as he turned around to give our son the attention he deserves. He kissed the baby's head.

"Good morning, Daniel." He greeted, before turning to me to kiss me. "Morning, baby."

"Happy Father's Day." I whispered in soft voice, causing Danny to squeal in excitement.

He smiled as he thanked me. I don't know how much this day has that much effect on him, but it does mean a lot to me that he's here to celebrate. Not many teen moms are lucky to even have the father of their child present in their lives, let alone get along with them. So many deadbeat dads and Danny has yet to realize how lucky he is to have someone who just wants to make sure that he is cared and loved for.

I dressed Danny in an 'I Love Dad' onesie and put Derek's presents in his hands, which I'm surprised that he didn't end up chewing as that is what does.

"What's this" Derek furrowed his eyebrows as he retrieved the piece of paper. It had Danny's footprints in red and blue with his birthday under it. He kissed our son on the cheek. "Thanks Daniel. Such a nice present you got me."

He responded with an upbeat babble, ending his speech with a giggle signifying that it was a funny story.

Derek just laughed along with him, responding with, "That is an interesting story. Thanks, Mel."

"Oh, it's not a problem, Derek. It was actually a funny story, you see.." I said, but was cut off by the phone ringing.

The call is for Derek. I don't know who it's from, since I know he turned down the job in New York due to moving location. But I also know that he has been applying to other jobs. It must be, since he took the call by the third ring.

"Hello." He rasped.

I stayed quiet as I listened to Derek's end of the conversation. He changed his rasped tone to a much more professional one. He gave a lot of affirmative responses and seemed to be conscious of formatility. Once he hung up, he beamed at the ceiling.

"Congratulations on the job, babe." I commented as I pecked his lip.

"Thanks." Derek replied. "Babe."

He sat upright on the bed, looking at me.

"Yeah?" I said.

"I have to tell you something." He told me.

"Oh no, you're not pregnant, are you?" I joked, causing him to laugh. Derek shook his head. "I thought we've gone through process of it already."

"No, not that." Derek said, still shaking his head at my poor joke.

"Alright then, shoot." I said, getting serious as I pulled the baby closer to me.

"As I was in Fair Oaks, doing my interview, I was hanging out with my father for a while going around the small town just like normal father and son would do. What we were doing was, going house hunting with a really nice real estate agent that he knew and she helped us pick out a really nice, affordable, white and burgundy house at a neighborhood close to where dad lives. It has everything we have here except it includes a pool and a really nice front yard." He said, looking at me, before continuing. "I signed the papers for rent, however, it is not official until you sign it too. I know this is sudden and everything, but I did this so that we can quit mooching off of mom and get our asses out of here. I just want to run it across you before we do anything rash."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "Hold up. So you went house hunting with your father and some random lady and sign a paper for a house I haven't seen yet?"

"I was planning that we can go this afternoon." Derek said.

"How much does it cost?" I asked, curiously.

"Around 1,400 dollars." He told her, "It may look expensive, but I figured if we split the money up, it could be affordable."

"Derek, do you think money grows on tree? You do realize we have to pay for not only the house itself, but we have to pay for electricity, water, gas, and a lot of other things. Not to mention we already have to pay for child support with Danny, gas for our car, baby clothes, baby food...Do you really think we can afford this?" I asked, hoping that he put some logic to this whole situation. "What about college and my job?"

"Hey, we're moving to another town, not across the country. You can work at Starbucks, or maybe apply for a better job and you can still go to the community college around here. But trust me when I say, I know what I'm doing. Just come with me today and see the house for yourself. It's really nice." He assured, circling his thumb around my knuckle. "Everyone is going their way at the moment. I know Mike and Jack are; we should probably do the same. I know they don't have the same circumstances as us, but still we need to try to branch out of this guest house. For Danny's sake."

"And if all fails?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

These questions are valid.

"Then we will figure out a way to make it work again. But I promise you that in the end, it will all work out. Just wait and see." He whispered to me.

I stayed silent for another minute, processing everything that he just said. Ultimately, I knew I couldn't talk him out of this, so I sighed and nodded in agreement.

"Fine. I just hope you know what you're doing." I stated.

Derek wrapped his arm around my shoulder and kissed my head. "Trust me, I am."

"Well, in that case, why don't we go to the kitchen, eat breakfast, and celebrate Father's Day like we should?" I said, placing my hand on his lap.

Derek smiled at me. "Sure. But you give me the baby."

I rolled my eyes as I handed over the six months old infant into his arm. He turned around to grin at me, showing off his growing baby teeth, causing Derek to smile back. Definitely luck to have him. Derek and I got up and walked to door to let this holiday, meant for appreciation, begin.