I burst out laughing. “You know what I meant.”
Unashamed, he smiled and shrugged. “We figured we’d come and help you pack.”
I wouldn’t front like Synder coming all the way here wasn’t sweet. It was. His eyes said it all. He was in too deep, too.
Covering my mouth with my hand, I whispered in Whimsy’s ear, “Is your dad telling a story?”
She giggled hard and pretended to whisper in my ear. It wasn’t much of anything, but I listened intently. After she got whatever it was off her chest, I cackled with her.
“Whimsy and I have decided that you will most definitely be helping me pack,” I told Synder
He grinned broadly. Unfortunately, his smile was still my undoing. That damn pep talk didn’t do shit.
Ellie came from the back to see what all the commotion was.
“Ellie, this is Synder and Whimsical. Synder… Whimsy, this is my baby sister, Ellie,” I introduced them.
Ellie shook Synder’s hand and smiled at Whimsy. “I love your name,” she said to Whimsy.
Whimsy giggled and blushed. It was strange that my sister, the one who hated anything that had to do with the holidays, loved a name like Whimsical.
“I’m done with the dress,” Ellie said. “I’m going home now.” Just like that, she was back to the Ellie I knew. I only laughed.
An hour later, instead of helping me pack, Synder was all inside my house bothering shit. First, it was my Christmas trees. Then, there were the pictures on the mantle above the fireplace. Now, he was inside my bedroom, looking for what, I wasn’t sure. Which was crazy. At his own house, he never came inside the guest bedroom. At least, not while I was present.
“Looking for something?” I asked him. I was almost done packing, so that we could hit the road.
“Nah,” he said but continued with his perusal. At any time, I could’ve put him out. Only…I liked seeing him in my space.
Shaking my head, I finished packing the last few things I needed for the next few weeks. Synder appeared next to me andbooted me out of the way. He closed my suitcases, then carried them to his ride and not my own. I placed Whimsy inside her car seat, to which she fussed.
“Hop in with me,” Synder stated while standing by the opened passenger door.
“If I ride with you, how will I get around for myself?”
He gave me a crazy look. “Girl, I got eight cars you can choose from. Now, get in. My baby said you can’t leave her with me.”
I burst out laughing. “Stop speaking for Whimsy. She has no clue how crazy you are.”
“She’ll learn,” he quipped. He waited by the door until I went over there and climbed in. It smelled like Synder ten times over inside there, causing me to regret my decision the second he closed the door.
Glancing back at the wide smile on Whimsy’s cute face, I just accepted that the both of them had me wrapped around their fingers. I was fighting a losing battle. So much for my boundaries, and my morals. They were both crumbling under the pressure of this man and his daughter.
CHAPTER 11
SYNDER
ThanksgivingDaygamesweremy favorite after Christmas Day games. Although it was all business on the court, we still went out there and had a good time. Many of us shared our thanks for the league, the fans, and our families who stood beside us as we walked the professional athlete path.
This year, the dynamics between me and my family were at the forefront of my mind. Midway through pre-game interviews, I glanced over to the sidelines at Sienna to find her and Whimsy clapping to the music. Sienna’s smile was infectious, and she was enjoying herself. That was when it hit me that she really hoppeda flight to follow me to New York, although Thanksgiving was today.
While I was okay with missing Thanksgiving with my folks, causing her to miss her family’s fellowship smacked me upside the head. Right before going on the court, I arranged for a private chef to prepare a Thanksgiving meal for me, Sienna, and Whimsy. That was the least I could’ve done for her.
For the entire game, I stewed over the way my family shaped me into a man who didn’t consider holidays as a time to fellowship with family. Every year, I decorated my house just to sit in it alone. I was thankful for holiday game days because I didn’t have to make an excuse to my family for why I wasn’t present to celebrate with them.
Truthfully, I never considered any of it. Until now. I wanted to be that man who took Sienna home for the holidays and allowed my family to shower her with love. It wasn’t so, though. My family was dysfunctional and would cause more harm than good.
When I made my first rookie money, I couldn’t wait to shower my family with better things than I grew up with. I let them pick the house they wanted and the cars they wanted. I let them shop at the drop of a hat, and I never told them no. Whatever they needed, I got for them. That was my duty. Or so, I thought.
