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Suddenly, we heard Dean walk in. “Ladies… I’m home.” He sounded so happy. How could he sound so happy when I was a nervous wreck? Ada ran to him as soon as he walked in. “How are my ladies today?” he asked. I blushed thinking about us as his ladies. So cute. I knew Ada wouldn’t think anything of it, but they meant everything to me.
Ada proudly announced, “We had a good day, Daddy. I cleaned my toys, see. And I already washed in the bath. And I made cookies today and Ms. Elly let me use a cutting cookie.”
We laughed and I said, “A cookie cutter…” Ada blushed and hid her face in Dean’s neck, embarrassed at the mix up.
Dean tickled her and said, “Ada, can I talk to you?” She nodded but didn’t say anything. “Let’s go sit. Ms. Elly can come with us.”
“Am I in trouble, daddy?”
“No, baby. You’re not in trouble.” We sat on the couch and set Ada on Dean’s lap. He smiled at her and said, “You know, Ms. Elly has been here awhile now and well, daddy real likes her.”
“I like her too, daddy. Duh.”
“Easy, girl with that duh stuff. You’re not a teenager yet.” Ada covered her mouth and giggled. “Well, what I mean is, I really love Elly. What if Elly and daddy were boyfriend and girlfriend?”
Ada sat quietly for a few seconds before she started to cry softly, so I asked, “Ada, what’s wrong, sweetie?”
“Daddy can’t love you because he loves me. And if you are boyfriends then you can’t be with me every day and I don’t want Ms. Elly to leave.” She sniffled into Dean’s shirt.
Dean hugged her and said, “Baby girl, my heart is so big that I can love so many people. I love you. I love grammy and papa and auntie Flora. And I love Elly. And you wouldn’t have to be without Elly because I want Elly to live with us.” Ada popped her head up and smiled. “Do you understand what I’m telling you, Ada?”
“You love Elly and you want to kiss her all the time.”
We laughed and when Ada saw us laughing, she laughed. Dean said, “You have a way with words, kid. Yes, Ada. I love Elly and I want to kiss her all the time. And she will live here with us and stay in daddy’s room. But she will still help you and love you.”
I wanted to chime in. “I do love you, Ada. You are so special to me. My heart is so big because I get to love you and your daddy, and my mom and dad, and your auntie Flora, too.” I gave her a hug and asked, “Is that okay?”
Ada smiled and yelled, “Yeah!”
Dean and I shouted, “Yeah!” in unison.
“Who wants hot cocoa?” Dean asked.
Ada scootched off Dean’s lap and jumped up and down. “Me, me, me!!! With mallows!”
My life was complete knowing that I would get to spend the rest of it with Dean and Ada. We knew it would be an adjustment and take Ada some time to fully understand, but she was a smart girl. I was looking forward to seeing us as a family of three, and grateful every day that I got to be Ada’s nanny. It changed our lives for the better.
Epilogue
Dean
Two Years Later
My wife was beautiful as she slept, with her big belly carrying my second child. Eliana was in her final month. “Hmmm. What time is it?” She said sleepily.
“You ready to start the day? It’s picture day. Ada has been talking about it all week and I’m surprised she hasn’t knocked on our door yet.”
“Yeah, we better get up. I love you.”
“I love you too!” I kissed her lips and her belly, “I love you, too, in there, baby boy.”
Ada was awake and sitting on the couch watching TV already. “Ada, are you dressed yet?”
“Yep. Waiting.”
I leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “Alright, Elly will be down in a minute and we can head out. Are you excited?”
“Very.” She looked up at me and smiled. She was seven but somehow was already acting like a teenager with her minimal vocabulary. In two years, she had changed so much, and I wondered what happened to my little girl. She’d been so helpful during Elly’s pregnancy though. One day, she had told Elly while I was at work, that she was worried that we wouldn’t love her as much after the baby came. So, we made it our mission to reassure her how much she is loved.
