got out her pajamas. In between tickle battles, we managed to dress her. Afterward, Kyle sat her in the overstuffed armchair and began to brush her hair.
“No, Dada!” Katie shook her head, moving her head around when he tried to brush the tangled knots.
“She hates having her hair brushed. You’d think I was waterboarding her.” Kyle tried to take a swipe at her brown locks, but she screamed and tucked her head into the arm of the chair.
“Maybe you need to distract her,” I suggested, picking up a pig hand puppet from her dresser. “Hello, my name is Mr. Wiggles.” I flapped the puppet about and affected a deep voice.
Katie sat up and watched me, her eyes widening. “Pig!”
“Yes, I’m a pig. And what are you?” I danced around with the hand puppet, bopping her on the nose to make her giggle. The distraction worked. Kyle was able to brush her hair in record time.
“Mr. Wiggles says it’s time for bed,” Kyle said, scooping her up and flying her Superman-style to her toddler bed where he dropped her dramatically, but very carefully, onto the blanket.
Katie picked up the book of nursery rhymes on her bedside table and handed it to Kyle. I knew he read them to her every night. I usually stood in the doorway, not wanting to intrude, or I waited downstairs. I hadn’t wanted to force myself into their routine. This evening, Kyle handed the book to me. “You want to read tonight?”
“I’d love to.”
Thirty minutes later, we tiptoed out of Katie’s room and made our way downstairs. This was the time when we’d either turn on the TV or Kyle would go on to bed because he had an early start.
Tonight, things felt different.
“How about we sit on the patio,” he proposed.
“Sounds good.” I smiled, following him to the back of the kitchen and out the double doors that led outside.
I hadn’t spent much time in the yard since I had moved in. Of course, it was perfectly landscaped like the front. It was large for in town, probably close to an acre. Kyle had put up new fencing and erected a jungle gym and swing set that put the ones at the park to shame. It was leafy and full of blooming flowers that scented the approaching night air.
“Do you mind if I grab a beer?” he asked.
“Go ahead. Just because I don’t drink doesn’t mean you can’t,” I said.
He came back a minute later with a bottle of beer and handed me a glass of sparkling water, complete with a lemon wedge. He sat down beside me, stretching his legs out in front of him and staring out toward the yard. “I don’t spend enough time out here. Lord knows I spent enough time cleaning it up; you’d think I’d enjoy it more.”
“It’s beautiful. I love all the Magnolia trees.” I gazed up at the waxy leaves and huge white flowers.
“They’re a bitch to clean up in the fall, though.” Kyle took a sip of his beer. He was silent for a few minutes before speaking again. “I really liked having your help this evening with Katie. It felt like what a family should be.” He took another drink, looking thoughtful. I didn’t rush to speak; it seemed he had things he wanted to say. “When Josie told me she was pregnant, I freaked out.”
“That’s an understandable reaction,” I told him.
He continued to look out at the trees and flowers. “We hadn’t been together for months. We had sex one time after we broke up. It was that one time that led to Katie.” He drew in a deep breath. “I didn’t want to be a dad. I’m ashamed to say I hoped that Josie would get an abortion. We weren’t together, and it was obvious Josie hoped having a kid would mean I would take her back. I didn’t want a child being used as a reason to stay together.”
“Do you think she got pregnant to trap you?” I felt myself go stiff. Not because I didn’t believe Josie was capable of it, but I remembered all too well being accused of that myself. The bitter anger still resonated inside me after all this time.
“I think Josie hoped I’d want to play happy family with her. I think it was an accident, but one she was willing to capitalize on.” His lips pulled down, and his face darkened. “When I made it clear that wasn’t going to happen, she didn’t take it well,