He slowly drags his eyes from me to his daughter, who stares at him hopefully. “Please help?” she asks him.
I smile and finish my cone as he plays the ring toss for her, winning enough points to get her a bear.
The game attendant asks what he wants, and Naomi points to her giant bear.
“Thank you, Daddy!” Naomi squeals, hugging it tightly even though it’s nearly as big as her.
“You’re welcome, sweetheart,” he says.
She makes her way with the string of tickets to a shooting game where she aims a salt pelt gun at balloons to make them pop.
“She’s surprisingly good at this game,” Cooper says.
Naomi hands the lady her tickets, and Naomi picks up the small kid size rifle and aims it at the balloons.
I look up at Cooper and he’s watching Naomi with a light in his eyes and I feel the tears come again. I’m so overwhelmed andhappy.
“Why did Naomi pat her chest with her hand earlier?”
He glances down at me and pecks my temple before refocusing on Naomi. “She had been living with me for over a year. She was uh … about four at the time, throwing a fit and I …” he trails off and smiles. “Her toddler years were not easy. It was all I could do sometimes to get through the day. I was at my whits end, so I tried to talk to her and patted my heart to try to help her understand what the emotional hurt meant or maybefeltlike? I don’t know, but it clicked inher and she’s used it ever since to communicate with me when she’s struggling to explain how she feels.”
I’m in awe of this man. He has no idea how amazing he is. For him to be able to help a young child understand something so difficult for even adults to reconcile with is … there are no words.
He glances at me again, and I pat my chest. And if I didn’t know his smile could get any brighter, it does.
He kisses me short and quick, and I nearly fall over myself, wishing he never stopped.
Naomi squeals, hitting her last target, and she points to a small stuffed horse.
Cooper groans. “We’re running out of room for all of these animals. I’m going to have to build an addition to fit them all,” he says with amusement in his voice.
“Daddy?”
“Yes, princess.”
“Why do you keep kissing, Mae?” she asks. Her face open and curious.
He glances at me and, right in the middle of the fair, drops down so they’re eye level. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.”
She tilts her head, squeezing her horse.
“How would you feel if Mae lived with us?” he asks.
I stiffen, nervous, scared, unsure.
She tilts her head and furrows her brows as if she’s thinking about it.
“Is that okay, Naomi?” I ask her. I’ve never been so nervous for the opinion of a seven-year-old.
“Why?” she asks.
Cooper picks her up. “Because we love each other and we’re going to get married.”
“Do I get to wear a pretty dress?” she asks.
Cooper chuckles and kisses her cheek. “Yes, princess, the prettiest dress you’ve ever had.”
She purses her lips. “Does this mean I get to paint a girl’s nails instead of yours now?” she asks.
