Bunny

59

The timer for the cakes went off and I grabbed them out of the oven to place on the counter.

I couldn't hear what the men were talking about or if they were even talking at all.

I looked for the cake stand I'd bought years ago and couldn't find it.

"Dang it." I sighed and put my hands down. I accidentally touched the hot pan and burned the side of my hand. "Ow!" I stated.

"Everything alright?" My dad asked.
"Yea, I just accidentally burned my hand." I answered and tried shaking away the pain.

I walked over to them to see if they were ready to eat.

When I got there, I saw Isaiah had his tie on and neatly done.
I looked at my dad.

"Which hand was it?" my dad asked.
"This one." I stated and held it out for them to see.
Isaiah took it and kissed over the burn mark. I was surprised he had the confidence to show me any affection while my dad sat right there.

"Try running it under cold water." he stated.
I nodded. "Okay."
I looked at my dad who shockingly had nothing to say about it. "The food is ready if you guys are hungry." I stated.

They both stood up and followed me.

I made miso bolognese. Something simple but very delicious.
And I had the ingredients lying around so that helped me make the decision.

I turned on the faucet and held my hand under the cold water.

The men came in and began fixing their own plates.

"Oh, I was gonna do it." I stated.
My dad stopped Isaiah with a hand on his shoulder. Isaiah turned and looked at him.
"If you ever demand my daughter go into the kitchen to fix your plate of food, I will find where you live, and I will harm you."
"Dad..."
"She's not your maid and she's not your mother." My dad pat him on the shoulder then continued to the stove to fix his plate.

Isaiah looked at me. "I wasn't gonna make you make my food."
"I know. I'm sorry."
We both walked over to make our plates too.

"Is this you trying to prove you're a better cook than me?" Isaiah asked.
"No, I would never." I joked.
"Right..." he scoffed.

Everyone sat down at the table.

"So..." I stated.
The men sat in silence.
"Dad, is there anything you'd like to ask Isaiah?"
My dad looked up from his plate and at Isaiah while he chewed. "Got a job?"
"Yea." I lightly kicked Isaiah's shin. "Yes, sir." he corrected.
"Doin' what?" My dad asked.
"I work in construction."
"So if she has an issue in the home, she doesn't have to call me? You can take care of it?"
"Pretty much. I've been doin' it since I was 17."
"How old are you now?"
"22. I'll be 23 in a couple of weeks."
"You plan on doin' that forever?"
"Probably not."
"What're you doin' when you get sick of it?"
"I don't know, yet."
"Hm."

It was quiet again.

"This is good, babygirl. Good job," my dad stated.
"Thank you." I grinned.
"Did you do your own thing or follow a recipe?" Isaiah asked.
"My mom had a recipe book that we kept and I follow what's in there."
"It's good." he stated.
"Thank you." I replied.
"I'm always tellin' you stuff about my dad but you don't really tell me stuff about your mom," he pointed out.
"I mean, I didn't really know her. If there's anyone you should ask, it's him." I said and gestured at my dad.
We both looked at him.
He took a deep breath then wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Alright, gather 'round, children. Time for a bedtime story," he stated and sat back in his seat.
I snickered.

"I'll start off by saying, her mother was the best woman I knew by a long shot." he stated.
Me and Isaiah ate as we listened.
"Best smile. Best charisma. Nice. So nice. Disgustingly nice. Shy."
Isaiah turned and looked at me. "She sounds like you."
"She is her." my dad stated.
I looked at my plate.
"They smile the same. They laugh the same. They walk the same. She was like me when she was a baby, but once she started to talk and walk, she was her mother."
I took another bite.
"For like a year after her mother passed, every time she laughed, cried, or even ate, my eyes would water because she looked exactly like her mother. And I knew Willow was gonna be an amazing person when she grows up. Just like her mother was. The woman was a saint. Helped out in nursing homes and homeless shelters. The amount of stray dogs she used to ask if we could bring home because she was sad that they were alone. I said no every time but it was hard."
I snickered.
"Did I mention she could sing? Lena could sing her ass off. Used to lay Willow on top of her and hum real faintly while rubbing her back. I used to laugh at how quickly Lo would fall asleep until I realized I was dozin' off too." He sounded offended by it and me and Isaiah snickered.
"She did all of that but if you asked her to meet new people she'd hold my hand and hide behind me like a sheep. This beautiful ass woman scared of attention. Made no sense to me."
Isaiah looked at me. "Yea, you're her." he stated and ate the last bite off his plate.
I scoffed. I'm not that shy.

"I know she was pissed when she saw I left Willow all alone." my dad stated and I looked at him.
"Alone how?" asked Isaiah.
"I was arrested. Served ten years."
"For what?"
"Battery and robbery."
"Damn."
We looked at Isaiah.
"My bad. I meant, aww man."
Me and my dad laughed at him.

"Was away from home from when she was 5 to 15. I'm surprised she didn't scold me like her mother would've."
"How would mom have scolded you?" I wondered.
"She would've just started hitting me on my chest like usual and told me to never do that again."
"You do that!" Isaiah yelled at me.
"No, I don't!"
He turned and looked at my dad. "I make her mad at me and she starts swinging and hitting me in my chest. Like an angry baby."
My dad laughed and I was offended. "That's what her mother did to me. It was like she was scared to talk about how what I did upset her because she didn't want to upset me so she'd just send a bunch of slaps into my chest. Then she'd get even more pissed when I laughed and now I had to apologize twice."
We laughed.

"She probably would've ran to me in the courthouse and started slapping me the moment I got my sentence."
"But I didn't hit you," I replied.
"No, you just didn't know who I was. Which was MUCH worse."
"You didn't know who he was?" Isaiah asked.
"Well..."
"I got back and I went to my mother's house who was who kept her while I was locked up. I knocked on the door. This girl comes and opens it. Yells 'grandma! There's some man here!' Then walks off. I just stood there recognizing that she was my kid and she just thought I was some strange man trying to rob her grandmother."
We both snickered.
"My mother walked out and pushed Willow back to the door. Willow followed and was so clearly confused until her grandmother goes, 'Willow, baby. This is your father'."
"Then everything seeps in." I stated.
"She just starts fucking bawling." my dad laughed and used his fingers to symbolize running tears.
Isaiah laughed too.
"You cried too! Don't blame me!"
"I might've shed a tear or two." He shrugged.
"Or fifty." I added.
"Fifty?!"
"Fifty!"
"Whatever." He sipped his drink.