Sophie
"Babe, are you sure you're ok with this? That was a drastic decision you took back there. It won't be too much for you? I mean you already have your writing, and your photography studio, Nate....and now this?" Logan whispers in the kitchen as I prepare the chicken we will be having for dinner. McKenzie and Nate sit by the coffee table in the living room of our open concept, they are enjoying their time together coloring in Nate's coloring books.
I look back at them, Nathan can feel me starting, and throws a bright smile my way. "Logan, as much as I want to sit around and pout, or be mad at Amber, I can't. I know she did wrong lying to me, but it's much her fault as it is mine for believing her. Besides..." I say turning around to continue seasoning my batter and begin to place the chicken on it. "It's not Kenzie's fault, and I don't want to hold any grudges towards Amber. I'm past the revenge on her phase. We have to act civilized and show these kiddos who the bigger person is, don't you agree?" I smile at him, winking an eye.
He smiles, wrapping his arms around me, his hard chest pressed against my back. He slowly brushes my hair back and kisses my neck. "This is why I love you. You are an amazing person Sophie. You've become such a wonderful woman, you know that?" he slowly begins to trail his hands down to my butt, squeezing my butt cheeks, making me squeal quietly. "Stop it. The kids are right behind,"
"Mom." Nate abruptly calls me from the side of us, making us startled. "Yeah, baby," I reply. "Can Kenzie and I have a snack while we wait for dinner?" he asks with a smile. Logan clears his face and walks towards him, "Of course, buddy. What do you want? I can get it for you." He responds. Nate taps his chin pensively with his deep dimples showing, "CHEESE-ITS!" he blurts out with a smile.
Logan acts excitedly and smiles, "Cheese-its?" Nathan giggles, and covers his face, "Cheese-its and chocolate milk." Nathan says, making Logan and I giggle. "Alright, buddy, cheese-its and chocolate milk it is." Logan grabs a bowl, pouring cheese-its in the bowl, and then grabs two cups, filling them with milk and chocolate mix, he mixes them and hands the bowl to Nathan, grabs the two cups, and walks behind Nathan towards the coffee table.
I fried the chicken in a simple batter, prepared white rice cooked in chicken broth, steamed veggies, and a salad for Logan and me. Logan had Nathan and Kenzie help us set the table, while he poured us a glass of wine and orange juice for the kids. We then sat to eat together, enjoying Kenzie's company. Just a few minutes into our dinner, Lexie came home and sat with us to eat. She surprisingly got along so well with Kenzie. She made both kids giggle and even had McKenzie talking more.
After dinner, Lexie volunteered to do the dishes while we sat with the kids and helped them with homework. McKenzie was really good at math, but she struggled a bit with her reading. She stuttered a little, which was evidence of her nervousness. That's when Nate had told us what was happening. A little girl whom Kenzie thought was her best friend was now bullying her. I wasn't sure if Amber was aware of it. But what bothered me was that she had told us about the pushing and shoving, "Did you tell your teacher this is happening? You must tell an adult when this happens, sweetie." I looked at her with a concerned look and cupped her tiny cheek. "I did. But, Ms. Roxie said I need to stop being a tattle-tail, and stop fighting with Stacy. But, I don't fight with her, I swear." she blurred out the end, making my heart feel ache.
If I didn't like Roxanne before, I definitely did not like her now. I sighed, closing my eyes and nodding as I looked away. Amber was outside, getting out of her car and speed walking towards the house. I feel so bad for this little girl. I know too darn well how it feels to be pushed around and not being able to do anything about it. McKenzie ran to her arms as soon as I opened the door to let her in, getting Amber to reach down and embracing her in a bear hug. "There's my gorgeous, I missed you so much baby," she tells McKenzie, making her smile. "Mommy, I'm almost done with my homework. Uncle Logan and Auntie Sophie helped me," she says making Amber glance at me. "Thank you, Sophie. You didn't have to," she says with an apologetic look in her eyes.
Logan winks at me, and I was Nate to take Kenzie to his room to play one last game on his console while I sat with Amber to talk to her.
"Amber, I know you and I have our differences. What you did was unforgivable, and I'll be lying to you if I said I wasn't angry with you when you told me the truth, but this is beside the point. I didn't like the way Roxanne talked to you back there, she had no right. I get that you're busy and sometimes circumstances are unpredictable. Believe me, I know how hard it is to raise a kid on your own. I went through it, and I am far too familiar with the busy days when things just don't go your way and no matter how hard you try, you find yourself running from one place to the other. If it's ok with you, and honestly, I don't mind... I can pick up McKenzie and look after her for you while your day of work ends." she looks pensively my way, then looks towards Logan and sighs.
Logan sits at the dinner table, tapping away in his laptop answering emails, and going over piles of paperwork he needed to review for a case hearing he had coming up. "Sophie, I appreciate it. I really do, but, but don't want to be a bother. I know you and I had it really bad in high school, I was mean to you...and I made your life difficult. I don't understand, why are you trying to help me? Why are you being so nice? I don't deserve your forgiveness, or Logan's for all that matters. Honestly, I will work something out with my boss." she slumps her shoulders and looks towards the room where Nate and her daughter laugh and play together.
"I'm not doing it just for you Amber. I'm doing it because Kenzie has no fault in all of this. She has nothing to do with what happened in our past. Besides, you see it... My son adores her. They have become great friends. Did you know that my son is already calling Kenzie his sister? He loves her, Amber; and if my son sees her as an important person, then she is equally important to me. I have a flexible schedule, I can come and go as I please because I am my own boss. You can count on me to look after her when you're busy working. And if there is a day I can't look after them, I have Nancy. She is really good with kids, and I trust her completely with my son, rest assured she will look after Kenzie with the most care."
She thought it through, and we talked some more and worked out the details. She was still unsure this was a good idea, but she realized that leaving McKenzie with her grandparents was not always a good idea. Her mom was doing bad, or at least she told me. Her dad had to work until late at times, which meant she either had to drag McKenzie along to her meetings at times or leave her with her mom, which was almost as if she was leaving her alone. Her mom had little body movement due to her partial paralysis and gave McKenzie a hard time when she tried helping her grandma eat.
I still managed to convince her, and as of tomorrow, I was going to be picking up my baby and McKenzie from school. Let's see what Roxanne had to say now? She was certainly going to get an ear full if I see another scrape on her little body. "Ok, just make sure you call the school tomorrow morning and add me to her emergency card. This way we won't have any issues when I pick her up. Oh, and, Amber... One last request." she looks at me as she gets ready to stand up to leave. "Yeah, anything."
I looked at Logan and then towards Mckenzie who was now standing next to her with her backpack on, "Why don't you request a transfer for McKenzie? Teacher Omar is amazing with kids, and it seems that Kenzie is having a hard time in her class right now. Besides, it will be a bit more convenient for them to come to the same class and leave together, don't you think so?" I said as an excuse. I wasn't sure if she was aware of what Kenzie was going through at school, but I think this is something that Kenzie had to tell her on her own. Which, she had promised me that she would.
Amber sighed and looked down at her daughter. McKenzie smiles, nodding her head to convince her to transfer her to my son's class. "Ok... I will call the office and have her transferred tomorrow. Again, thank you for all of your help, Sophie. I'll see you tomorrow. Say goodbye baby." she says, smiling at her daughter. "Bye. See you, tomorrow brother," she says with a bright smile and hugs Nathan real tight.
They make their way out and to their car. I stand next to the door, Nathan waving goodbye as they leave. Logan comes behind me, engulfing me in a tight hug, and having his chin on my shoulder. "You are amazing, you know that? I love you, baby," he says, kissing my cheek, and making me smile. "I learned from the best," I reply making him chuckle. "You sure did," he says looking down at Nate and winking at him.
"Come on, I'll leave my work for later. Let's sit down and watch a movie together. What do you want to watch buddy?" he says, lifting Nate in a bridal style and tossing him in the air, making him go into a laughing frenzy.
"Paw patrol," Nate suggests, making Logan chuckle. "Awe, paw patrol? But we watched it yesterday, bud." Logan grunts. We have been stuck watching the same paw patrol movie for the past five days, request from our little one.
"But, I like that movie, dad," he says, smiling and winning the battle. Logan loves when Nate calls him dad, so, he gives in just by hearing Nate calling him dad. "Ok, ok. Paw patrol it is," he says as he starts the tv, and we sit together to watch paw patrol for the sixth night in a row.
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