Lover From The South

Chapter 26

I'm so sorry!! I know it's been a long time but here is a new chapter!
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"Babe!" Archie yells as soon as he opens the door to their not so new anymore house. They moved in a couple of months ago and turned the house into a home. They even celebrated Daisy's fifth birthday in the backyard.

Veronica can hear Daisy throw her backpack into a corner in the entryway and then run into the living room. "You need to talk to your daughter!" Archie continues.

"What happened?"

"Look mommy!" Daisy squeals "Noah gave me a ring"
Daisy smiles widely as she holds her hand towards Veronica. There is a pink plastic ring on her finger. Veronica smirks. This explains why Archie is upset. She looks from the ring into her daughter's eyes. They shine bright. "He said he's going to marry me when we're grownups"

"That's amazing love"

"No! No! Not amazing!" Archie argues as he walks into the living room with his hands on his hips.

"You're just jealous daddy!"

"Uhm excuse you? No! I have mommy"

"And me!"

"Exactly" Archie nods "you're my baby. You're five! You're not engaged" he turns to Veronica. His eyes are full of desperation and fear. "She's not engaged right babe? I mean she's five! No, just no"

Veronica giggles. She pats the space next to her and wraps his arm around his neck as soon as he sits. She gently kisses the side of his head and runs her thumb over his cheekbone while she whispers into his ear. "You know this is not serious lover. I bet she's just happy about the ring"

"I can get her a ring" he says and turns to his daughter who sits on the floor now and stares at the jewelry on her finger. "Do you want daddy to get you a ring? One that's way prettier"

"No thank you. I like this one"

"Babe!" Archie whines as he lets his head fall onto her shoulder. He takes her hand and squeezes it. "Make it stop! Please! She's my baby"

"My love?" Veronica asks with a soft voice and a smile on her lips. Daisy looks up. "Mhm"

"Why do you like this ring so much?"

"Because Noah gave it to me. He's my best friend and it's pink and pretty"

"Do you know what it means to be married?"

"Yeah. I can spend everyday with my best friend just like you and daddy but we won't kiss. Kissing is yucky. We just want to play outside"

Archie sighs relieved. "You're my hero Ronnie"

"You know lover, talking to her would help" she giggles. Archie lifts his head, cups Veronica cheeks and kisses her. He can't put into words how much he loves her. Their love story is different and out of the ordinary but it's their love story and they have everything they need. A roof above their heads, a wonderful daughter and of course each other. "You're my hero. I love you Ronnie"

"I love you too" she giggles and leans in for another kiss.

"See, yucky" Daisy says as she shakes her head.

"It's not yucky baby. It's love" Veronica giggles

"No no. Let her think it's yucky" Archie argues. "She's going to stay my baby for as long as possible"

Veronica rolls her eyes. Archie can be so overprotective sometimes but she'll make sure to slow him down and give their daughter enough room to experiment and explore so she can find herself.

"My mom called earlier. I promised to call her back once I'm home so I'll do that" Archie says as he gets up from the couch and walks to the bedroom. He quietly shuts the door behind him.

Daisy stares at the closed door for a moment before she gets off the floor.

"Mommy? Do I have a grandpa?" she asks as she climbs on Veronica's lap.

"Of course love. You have grandpa Fred!"

"I mean two grandpas. Where is your daddy?"

Veronica sighs. She knew this would happen someday but she didn't expect it to happen so soon.

"When daddy and I started dating, he didn't have anything but his sweet, kind heart. My father didn't approve of him because he wasn't rich but I didn't care. I fell in love with his heart and his smile and his hugs and I didn't care about anything else and look where we are now" Veronica smiles and cups her daughter's cheek. Her thumb stroke her skin. "We have a nice house, we can do fun things and go on adventures, we have yummy food everyday and we have you. You're our greatest accomplishment, our biggest love, our whole world. You are the living representation of the love daddy and I share"

Daisy giggles and covers her eyes before she falls into Veronica's arms. Her mother holds her close and kisses her head which the little girl enjoys a lot.

"But what did daddy do that your daddy doesn't like him?"

"Daddy did nothing wrong love. My father is just a very mean man and to be honest I'm happy that he's not part of your life. You don't need that negativity in your life"

"Okay" the little girl sighs.

"Hey I want cuddles too!" Archie chuckles when he sees his daughter in Veronica's arms. He sits down next to them and doesn't even have time to put his arm around Veronica because Daisy already crawls on his lap and wraps her short little arms tightly around him. "I love you daddy! You're the bestest and not at all mean"

"I love you too munchkin" he smiles. He rests his head on the girl's and look at Veronica with a questioning look on his face.

"We talked about my dad" she whispers.

"He's a meany daddy" Daisy mumbles. "What he said was not true. It doesn't matter if someone has a lot of money or nice clothes or pretty hair or cool toys. What matters is how kind they are"

Archie smiles widely. He cups his daughter's cheeks and kisses her forehead. "Are you still five? Because you sound like a wise grownup"

"I'm still five" Daisy laughs. "I'm happy mommy fell in love with you because now you're my daddy and your the best"

"I'm happy too that mommy fell in love with me" Archie smirks. He then leans closer to his daughter and whispers into her ear. "Because she's kind and loving and she's the prettiest girl I've ever seen. And she gave me you. You and mommy are my whole world"

Daisy doesn't say anything. Instead she wraps her arms tightly around Archie's neck and holds him as close as she can. She doesn't know what she's feeling but her father's words make her very happy.
The little girl doesn't know yet that not every parent is as loving as they should be, as lovingly as her parents are but the older she will get, the more she will appreciate it.