Page 101 of Chasing the Sun
“She’s with her friend Elle, but she’ll be back soon.”
“Okay.”
Lucy had emerged out of hiding to greet them, and Molly immediately picked her up and cradled her like a baby.
“How about if we take Lucy and go sit down in the living room? There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
Once they were seated, he realized he had no idea where to begin. He hadn’t had much time to prepare since he’d gone straight from the hotel to pick her up. Luckily, Molly didn’t notice his discomfort since she was paying attention to Lucy instead.
“So, you know how Miss Chloe is supposed to leave at the end of the summer?”
Molly popped her head up. “I don’t want her to leave.”
“Me either. What would you think if she stayed here with us instead?”
Molly’s eyes got huge, almost like he’d said she was getting another pet or a new doll. “Really, Daddy? She can stay with us?”
“Only if you want her to.”
“I do, I do, I do!”
He chuckled. “I had a feeling you might say that.”
“Does Miss Chloe want to live here?”
“Yes. She cares about you…about both of us…very much, and she’s decided to stay.”
“Yay!”
So far, so good, but now came the hard part.
“There’s one more thing. Miss Chloe and I…we…”
“Love each other?” she asked innocently and, it appeared, hopefully.
Wow! Either his little girl was highly intuitive or she was a hopeless romantic at age five. He wasn’t sure which, but she was certainly making this easy on him.
“Yes, we love each other, but that that doesn’t mean I love you any less.”
“I know, Daddy.”
“You can love more than one person at a time and in different ways.”
“I love lots of people!”
He smiled. “I know, like Nana and Papa, and Uncle Seb.”
“Don’t forget Mommy. I love Mommy too.”
He moved closer and put his arm around her slender shoulder. “Of course you do. You and Mommy will always have a special relationship, but that doesn’t mean you can’t love Chloe too.”
She nodded emphatically like she’d understood that all along.
“I also want you to know that you can come and talk to me about anything, anytime, okay? The same goes for Mommy and Chloe.”
“Okay.”
“Do you have any questions?”
