“Carly is looking for you.” I just nodded and tucked the letter into my pocket, and we headed downstairs.
“Hey darling.” I called as I rounded the corner. She was sitting in a chair at the table, kicking her feet, waiting. A plate of food in front of her and one next to her. “You needed me?”
Carly nodded. “I helped make you a plate so we could go see daddy sooner.”
I gave her a quick smile. “Thank you.” I slid in next to her and dug in. “This is great.”
She smiled at me as she ate a few bites. “Daddy likes his pancakes like this.”
“He has good taste.” I smiled as I finished another bite. “And you are such an amazing girl to make me breakfast.” Everyone else made their way to the table with their plates and said their good mornings.
“So what’s the plan?” Hanna looked between Carly and me. “You both look very nice.”
“We are going to say goodbye to my daddy after breakfast.” Carly took another bite and missed the pitying looks every one flashed at her. She turned to me. “Can we plant flowers?”
I ran my hand down her hair. “Of course we can, baby girl.” I nodded towards her food. “Eat. The faster you eat, the faster we can go see your daddy.” I turned to look at Hanna. “After we gosit with Carl, I’ll take you guys back to school.” I turned to look at Toya and Wendy. “Which one of you two would be willing to stay here?”
Carly looked up at me. “You aren’t staying?” her eyes filled with tears.
I grabbed her hands.. “Hey. Don’t cry. I’ll be back later. I just ran directly here last night and I have things to collect. Move over and get ready.”
She wiped her face. “You promise?”
I nodded. “Of course I do. I’ll be here every night. But I’ll have to be gone during the day. Wendy and Toya here are going to help me with you.” Carly turned to them.
“Like babysitters?”
Hanna and Micca laughed. I smiled, but shook my head. “More than that.”
Carly furrowed her brow. “Like…aunts.”
“Exactly.” Wendy and Toya nodded. “They will be your aunts.” And twirled her ponytail. “The most important thing to remember though, bug, is that you can call us by our names, call us aunties, whatever you’re comfortable with.”
Carly met my eyes, and she sniffled. “What will you call me?”
I froze. “Well, I haven’t thought about it. I’ve called you a few names, but that isn’t fair to you either.” I looked around the table. “What would you like us to call you?”
She looked at her hands. “Daddy called me pup. Or baby girl.” I nodded when she looked up, her lip quivering.
“We can call you other things.” I offered.
She shot up. She raised her hands and waved them. “No, no, no, no.” She whipped her head back and forth.
I reached for her hands, worried that she would slip from the chair. “Sweet pea. It’s okay.” I slid my hand to her cheek. “If you want us to call you pup or baby girl so it helps you remember your daddy, we will. If you want us to come up with differentnicknames so that only your dad called you those two, we can do that too. Whatever you want, we will do.”
Toya stood and came over to her chair, kneeling. “If you want Amy to call you certain names, and the rest of us something else, we can do that too.” She gently took Carly's hand in hers. “We will do whatever makes you feel more comfortable with us. We’re going to be here with you and Amy as long as you need help.” She smiled up at her. “Tell us what you would like, little one. You don’t have to worry about our feelings.”
Carly looked around the table and then settled on me. “Do I have to decide right now?”
I shook my head. “No baby, you don’t. But if at any time what we say makes you feel bad or uncomfortable, talk to us…okay?” She nodded, and I leaned over and kissed her temple.
Toya stood and kissed her other side. “Eat, cub. Then we can say goodbye to your father.” She turned and went back to her chair as Carly settled back into her own. She dug back into her food as I turned to look at the girls.
“Is your place packed up?” I ask Toya. Wendy nodded.
“Yeah, we finished it the other day.” She picked up her plate to carry it out to the kitchen. “My stuff was sent back to my moms, but Toya’s is still waiting there.” I nodded. “But I’ll need some of my stuff.” She came back into the room.
Hanna and Micca looked at each other. “Our stuff was sent back to our packs.”
