Page 103 of At The End Of The Day

She shrugged and reclaimed her spoon. “It’s weird, Daddy.”

My heart twisting, I swallowed against the lump in my throat, my voice coarse. “What’s weird about it?”

“It’s Vinny.”

I grimaced, ashamed that my homosexuality seemed to have rubbed off on my innocent little girl. My ignorance was now going to infect Piera. I screwed up.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s Vinny,” I sighed, straightening my stance to fold my arms. The top one lifted to rub at my eyes, wondering how the hell to fix this.

“He’s Eddie and Edwina’s uncle.”

Stilling, my eyelids opened behind my fingers, my sight blurring a moment before focusing around them. “What?”

“It’s weird.”

My pulse quickening, my hand lowered to see her properly. “Wait, so it’s weird because he’s their uncle, not because he’s a man?”

Confused, her head tipped again. “Huh?” A sudden thought occurring to her, she choked on a gasp and threw the spoon down, both sticky palms slapping to the counter so she could stand on the wrung of the chair. A pinkness rising to her cheeks, her eyes were bulging. “Does this mean me and them are gonna be cousins now?”

Gawking, my arms fell to my sides. “Uh…yeah?”

Elated, she started squealing and clapping her hands, plopping back to the seat. “Oh, my god! This is so cool.”

“Whoa, wait. Hang on. So, you’re okay with me and Vinny being together?”

“Yeah, why?” she asked, shoving more ice cream into her mouth.

“Because he’s…” I clucked my teeth and shrugged my arms out. “Because he’s going to be your daddy, too. We…We’re together, acorn.”

The spoon lowered with another stern scowl. “Like how you were with Mommy, right?”

“Yeah, like that, like I said walla go.”

She shook her head and went back to the ice cream yet again. “It’s weird. But it’s cool we’re gonna be cousins. I miss them,” she stated, dropping the spoon. Pouting, she gazed up at me, completely changing the subject. “When can I see them?”

“Uh, s-soon…acorn. About Vinny—”

“Can I call them?”

“Y-Yeah. So, Vinny—”

“Yay!” she squealed, hopping from the stool. Running around to my side, she tugged on my jeans, wiggling her fingers. My eyes rolling, I cursed under my breath, dug out my phone, and dialed Violetta’s number before handing it to her.

“Tiny? Can I speak to the Eddies? Yay!” Giggling, she jogged for the stairs, her tiny feet sounding like a buffalo as she charged up them for her room.

“Shit.”

I snatched the bowl and spoon, taking them to the sink to wash away the remnants. Maybe she was just too young to fully comprehend what was going on, what I was trying to tell her. I’d try again in a few weeks. Perhaps seeing us, living the life, would help her grasp the concept better.

As I was dropping the spoon into the basket in the dishwasher, the side door opened and Vincent strolled in, and I’ll be damned if my heart didn’t turn over and shake with excitement at just the mere sight of him. Before I could delve into that thought process, however, I noticed his deep scowl and dark complexion.

Frowning, I closed the washer and inched closer, realizing he was on the phone. Curious, I mouthed, What’s wrong?

He huffed, pulled the device away, and put it on speaker.

“…a lot of explaining to do, Vinny. I haven’t heard from you hardly at all since we moved to Tennessee, and now my kids are screaming from the rafters because Piera is going to be their cousin?”

My heart skipped a beat and my stomach plummeted, a knot clogging my throat. Gulping, I gawked at his sinister scowl, all that gladness seconds earlier zapped away to dread. “Oh, shit.”