I watch him staring at the table, he makes us breakfast every morning. He loves to cook so he cooks breakfast and he lets us pick what we want too, he just has to make sure it's done before Noah wakes up or he has to sit and eat with us. "Sit with us." I smile while he finishes the French toast setting all of it on a plate setting the table as well. "I can't remember the last time we ate as a family." I plead and he shakes his head.
"I have to keep my baby girl happy, the therapist says so long as I'm respecting her wishes and not being pushy or bossy I may be able to gain my place in this family back. And I can't afford to try anything else." He kisses my softly. "She doesn't want me at the table, so I'll go back into our room and pretend to be asleep." It hurts my heart, he's always promised me he'd do anything for our happiness, told me countless amounts of times that this was his only mission. I didn't think he'd ever go to such extremes.
"You can sit today." Skylar nods, sternly almost but she's granting him permission to do something with us as a family and that's more than what we could've asked for.
"Thank you." He smiles pressing a kiss onto my forehead as he's unable to do so to our daughter. She hates contact, hates it, especially from him.
"Good morning buddy!" She smiles while Noah groggily walks towards the table. He's always hungry. And he loves when we eat meals because it's as a family and he likes family stuff.
"Daddy's awake today!" He gasps after checking our room like he always does. "Daddy's awake today!" He runs towards us jumping and clapping with excitement.
"Yeah I'm awake today." He smiles at our little boy, my heart melts.
"Let's eat," I smile while Shawn sits him at the table in the chair he knows Noah sits in.
"Where should I sit?" He stands a good three feet away looking down at the table.
"Here daddy, sit here!" Noah nods gasping and squealing. He was asking Skylar but he can't ignore Noah's request and Skylar will modify it if she doesn't like it.
"Alright, I'll see here." He smiles sitting himself next to our boy, I sit next to Skylar.
"Thank you," I whisper to my baby girl. "This means a lot to all of us." I hum and she nods rolling her eyes.
"Babe your phone is." Shawn points and I nod smiling and heading to answer it.
"Hello?" I smile into the phone, I can't help it. I just can't keep the smile off of my face.
"Hello, is this Mrs. Cameron Mendes?" Whoever is on the other end of the phone call asks.
"Yes this is." I nod.
"I'm calling from the adoption centre? You and your husband have been chosen by a wonderful mother to parent her child." My heart stops.
"Really?" I gasp into the phone while my family eats their breakfast. Skylar is warming up to Shawn, slowly but she really is. She let him eat with us this morning and I'm missing it for a phone call, but it's a very important one. "Thank you very much," I smile into the phone looking over at my concerned husband. "We'll be in touch." I nod before ending the call and returning to my place at the table. I'll tell Shawn once the kids are gone, they don't need to know just yet. I'll discuss with Shawn what, wether or not, and when we should tell them. We can always decline but I don't think he would. He's gonna be so excited, I'm really excited. I can't wait, things are starting to look up for us.
"Daddy?" Skylar questions turning him towards her instantly. No thought, no hesitation, he practically threw himself off of the chair just looking at her. "I'm sorry," she whispers, he's imagined her forgiving him but not once has he ever thought an apology. He talks to me about it when he thinks I'm asleep. How he believes that one day she'll grow to like him again and won't be so resentful. "You've missed a lot of family time." She mumbles disappointedly. "All because of me."
"Oh baby," he mumbles sadly moving quickly around the table until he's at her side. "You don't have to apologize." He touches her hand softly and she jumps away from him as if she'd never meant it in the first place. "I didn't mean to," he mumbles embarrassedly looking over at our confused son.
"I didn't expect you to get close to me." She shakes her head sitting in another chair. "I just wanted to tell you I was sorry." The look on her face plain, but she also looks like she's regretting her every decision. "I never said I forgave you."
"Shawn come," he stops me with the shaking of his head while he makes his way to our bedroom, unable to even face me because of the tears I know he's shedding. He won't let them see him like that.
"Daddy," Noah mumbles sadly. "Daddy come back," he begs putting down his fork and following his father towards the bedroom of which the doors are shut. When he opens the door Shawn's laying in bed pretending he's asleep. "Sh," Noah whispers to us shutting the door again. "Daddy's asleep."
"Alright sweetheart." I smile, his memory sucks. He's very good at remembering things, so long as they stay the same. If Shawn was still standing, or moving Noah would've known why he'd opened that door. "Come and finish your breakfast." I point at the food on the table and he nods.
"He ambushed me, it's his fault." Skylar spits while I turn to her. I was only gonna ask her why, why she'd play such a cruel trick on the man that loves her so much. He's been begging her for months for a word and the conversation he managed to have ended up ruined by his attempts to show her his affection.
"He was holding your hand." I shake my head at her, she's not supposed to be so angry yet, we're supposed to wait for the teenage years for that.
"I didn't ask him to," she groans at me as if I'm in the wrong. She nearly slapped him out of soul anger that he touched her. He just got excited. "I don't ever ask him to do anything but he always does." She shakes her head in anger. "I'm done," she nods storming off to her room.
"How about you sweets?" I smile at my little boy who's got his face covered in syrup.
"I'm done too mama." He smiles holding his hands out for me to wipe. He's such a good boy, very diligent, he's kind, and he's only here to be happy. He will not ever go a second without being happy.
"Go play with your sister," I smile kissing his head. "I'll come in soon."
"Ok mama," he giggles running off.
"Hey," I hum opening and shutting our bedroom door. "I have some," I'm cut off by his jump when my hand lands on him.
"It's a horrible feeling, to know that you repulse the one that you love." He turns to face me. "How can you live with yourself knowing that six years ago you managed to make your daughter so mad that she can't even look you in the eyes anymore?"
"You have two others to love you while she can't, you know how much we love you." I kiss his head playing with his hair while I listen to our kids giggles in the other room.
"Anything could make Noah smile," he huffs in defeat. "And you're forced to love me no matter what, so I don't know how much better that makes me feel."
"I don't have to love you, I don't need to be nice to you. I choose daily to wake up and love the man that's next to me, and to love the life I've been given. So stop taking it for granted when I tell you I love you."
"I believe you had news." He huffs a little in defeat yet again. As if I'd foiled his master plans or something and he can't get over it.
"We're getting another baby,"
