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“No,” she said just as her belly gave one hell of a grumble that caused us to both last.
“Apparently, your belly would like for me to know that it’s hungry. Why don’t I make us some breakfast? What does your Daddy normally make?”
God I was really hoping she was going to tell me cereal or something simple. Maybe they had frozen waffles in their freezer.
“Anything,” she said with a small shrug.
“Okay, how about some scrambled eggs?” Please say yes, so I don’t burn down this beautiful kitchen.
“I like scrambled eggs,” she easily agreed, and I felt my heart go back in its rightful place.
I went and started to look through the cupboards until I was able to locate a frying pan. I then grabbed some eggs from the fridge and got to work on making the eggs.
“How are you feeling about the move? I know that can be a big deal with a move like this,” I asked. I needed to make sure that Zoey was okay with moving and with me living with her. I wasn’t going to put her in a position where she hated life and didn’t want to come home. That wasn’t fair to her.
“I’m excited. I don't like my school, but maybe this new school will be more fun, and I can have lots of friends.”
I could hear the hopefulness within her voice, but I could also hear the hurt. She wasn’t popular, and that wasn’t surprising considering she was going to a private school that catered to the one percenters. She was a bit of a nerd, and from what little Charlie had told me about her, she wasn’t very girly. There was nothing wrong with that though, and I knew she would fit in better at a public school with more down to earth kids compared to the ones at her current school.
“I have no doubt that you are going to make lots of new friends. Moving to a new town can be a lot of fun. It can be really exciting, but it can also be scary. It’s okay if you feel scared about it.” I didn’t want her to feel like she needed to hide her feelings from me. I was going to be around for a year, and I understood what Charlie was saying about making sure there was that wall up between us so Zoey wouldn’t get too attached. I also didn’t want her to feel like she had to hide who she was or what she felt around me. I wanted her to be comfortable with me and in her new home. She was the child; she mattered more than Charlie or me.
“It’s a little scary,” she softly admitted.
“Of course it is. It’s all new, and you don't even know what it looks like or where you will be living. I’m scared too, and I would be willing to bet that your Daddy is as well. But sometimes we need to embrace what makes us scared because something really great can come from it.”
“Like what?”
“Like making new friends. And getting to decorate a new room. I bet you there will be some pretty cool places to go and play in the new town. I don’t know what it looks like, but every small town has lots of hidden places that are really cool to find.”
“Really? Could we find them?” she asked, and I could see the excitement all over her face.
“Of course we can. I bet we could talk to some of the locals, and they will be able to give us a lot of great places to check out. Sometimes scary things can be the best thing in your life; you just have to get through the scary part first.”
I wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince, her or myself. Regardless, Zoey seemed to be believing me and that was all that mattered anyways. I was in this regardless, so at least she was feeling better about it all. I focused all my attention on the eggs. The last thing I needed were burnt eggs smell in the kitchen for the next few hours. I wasn’t really sure what was going on with me, because I normally liked eggs, but even just looking at them this morning was making my stomach do summersaults. I would have figured a decent night sleep would have fixed my stomach, but apparently not. Maybe it was because I hadn’t eaten much, and my stomach was just trying to adapt again. I would take it slow over the next few days, and hopefully that would help.
Once the eggs were finished, I plated them for her before I grabbed her some orange juice. I had no idea if she needed a lunch packed or not. Thankfully Charlie came into the kitchen, and he didn’t appear to be annoyed at my presence or that I cooked breakfast.
“They smell good,” he commented as he went and pressed a kiss to the side of Zoey’s head.
“About one of the few things I can cook. I hope you don’t mind.” I didn’t want to cross the line with Zoey, because I knew that was a hard rule for Charlie. As much as I wasn’t thrilled about living with him for the next year, I did need the money, and it would be a massive opportunity for me to finally get ahead.
“No, that’s fine. I had to make a call to get something set up for today,” he said as he went deeper into the kitchen and continued. “You eat up Ladybug and I will make lunch. Afterwards you gotta brush your teeth and get dressed right?”
“When do I get to stop going to school?” she asked, and I could see the hope shining in her eyes that Charlie was going to say tomorrow.
“We will be moving in about four days. So, you have today and two more days of school before you can say goodbye to it, and we will be on our way to our new home.”
Wow, okay so four days here, and then we would be off. I was glad it was happening fast, but damn, how the hell were we supposed to get everything done in four days? Did we even have a place to live yet?
“Okay Daddy,” Zoey said as she went back to eating. I crossed the kitchen and lowered my voice so Zoey wouldn’t hear me.
“Did you find a house, or do you need help looking for one? I could look online or make some calls,” I offered.
“We do have a house. It’s a four bedroom, and it’s the old mayor’s house. He died about five weeks ago, so I don’t know if it’s all cleaned out or not. I really have no idea what it looks like or the property. I have been told it is on ten acres of land, but it could all be trees or dead grass. I have no clue.”
He sounded a bit stressed, and I could imagine this was very stressful for him. He was trying to balance getting everything here finished up plus getting everything set up over there. On top of all of that, there was Zoey in the middle of it. I felt bad, but at the same time I didn’t because he put himself in this position. He wanted the town; this was just part of what went along with it.
“Well, I am happy to help anywhere you need it,” I offered.
