The Dom and The Daddy

Chapter 2: The Unexpected

"Daddy!!! Daddy hurry up, Mrs. Stone is gonna be mad if we're late." Small hands tugged at Saint's overcoat trying to pull him toward the train platform before the doors closed adding 20 more minutes to their journey. "Gimme a second Mia, I need to scan my pass. And for the record, young lady, I warned you not to try juggling those water balloons. You my sweet, silly girl made us late cuz I had to change you out of those wet clothes." Saint replied smirking down at her embarrassed little face. "It worked on the tv when they did it daddy." she replied with a pout. Saint could never be anything but amused by his daughters antics. He reached over, pinching her chubby cheek as they stepped on to the train and said, "Well I guess you need more practice then huh." The ride to Mia's elementary school was relatively quiet giving Saint plenty of time to evaluate his current situation. His best friend and business partner Perth, had been bugging him to go clubbing for months. Perth and Saint have been best friends since middle school, when Perth saved the new kid Saint, from the school bully. Perth was always trying to drag Saint out of his shell and into the "Real world" as he liked to call it.
Saint just never really enjoyed drinking and hooking up with random people. In high school he would go just to keep an eye on Perth and make sure he got home safe. He would often times just sit and watch as his friend would flirt and dance with any pretty girl he could find. While still trying to discover himself and his sexuality, Saint had briefly dated his friend Yiwah. They had bonded over the fact that neither had family. Yiwah had left an abusive home at 15 and was living with her aging, grumpy grandmother. While Saint had been raised in foster care after his parents had died in a car accident when he was just 6 years old. One night, senior year after way to much liquor and not enough common sense, they had sex. No protection and nine months later they had Mia. Yiwah had a terribly difficult pregnancy luckily Saint was with her for every appointment and test. If it hadn't been for his constant encouragement and tutoring she never would of made it thru senior year and graduation. They had mutually decided to just be friends and co parent together. Fate stepped in, as so often is the case, and changed the narrative of their family forever.
Saint and Perth had just started working at a design firm when he got the call that changed his life, Yiwah was in labor. They raced to the hospital only to be told that she had passed away due to unforeseen complications. Saint was still in shock at the loss of his friend when the nurse laid his daughter in his arms. She was 8 lbs of perfection. No words can accurately describe the feeling Saint got when he looked into those beautiful brown eyes. He knew in that moment that the only thing that mattered was this little girl and giving her what he and Yiwah never had, a real family. Mia was Yiwah's middle name and Saint wanted his daughter to always carry a piece of her mother. There was little time to grieve while caring for a crying infant. Perth quickly became a crazy uncle and source of constant support for Saint. The first few months past in a blur as they gathered all the baby things Yiwah and Saint had collected from her grandmother's house. Saint was living in a small one bedroom apartment walking distance from his new job. The single bedroom was quickly converted to a nursery while Saint took up residence on the futon in the livingroom. As so often is the case, life goes on and Mia's laughter filled the small apartment with joy. Saint's work at the design firm had been receiving recognition from several companies interested in new projects. So much so that Perth suggested he and Saint go into business together. It would allow Saint to work from home and spend more time with Mia and finally give Perth the opportunity to be his own boss and control his own future. Saint was hesitant about the idea because he didn't have the money for such an investment. But Perth, coming from a wealthy family with corporate connections assured him that money was not going to be a problem. Saint listened to his adventurous, ever optimistic friend and 4 yrs later their dream had become the hippest new design frim in the city. Saint and Mia had a cute 2 bedroom house with a small back yard and a swing set while Perth had a luxury highrise appartment which overlooked downtown and the nightlife he loved. Perth was happiest brokering deals and commanding meetings while Saint flourished in the solitude of his studio cranking out the highly sought after designs. They were as always a great team. Perth was always trying to drag Saint out of his comfort zone. This was no exception.