The Fallen One

Chapter Twenty

I stand outside her classroom, under the warm vent, standing beside the other parents. Most of which are women in their thirties. However, some are like me - parents in their early twenties who got pregnant young. Some are stay-at-home dad's and others are single parents.

"Tonight's the night?" Lisa Caldwell grins.

I nod, my body filled with nerves.

"Don't stress, you'll do great" Jennifer Phillips assures.

"I'm hoping so" I admit.

The classroom door swings open and dozens of kids come running out. My daughter is all smiles as she walks from the room in pigtails.

"Hi, dad" she giggles as taking my hand.

"hi, baby" I grin, "are you ready for tonight?"

"Yep," she grins.

"Do you want to go over the plan again?" I ask.

"Mmm" she purses her lips, "one more time"

"Okay, Sherry and I are going to leave for the restaurant at around six and while that's happening, Aunt Jenny is going to be babysitting, so she'll get you all dressed for tonight. After dinner, I'm going to take Sherry to the park outside the restaurant...That's when Jenny will bring you to us and you'll ask Sherry to adopt you and you'll give her the papers" I explain. "you got it?"

"I got it" she nods, "are you nervous?"

I smile as approaching my car.

"Yeah, a little" I admit, "what about you?"

I swing the car door open, letting Cleo into the backseat.

"No" she shakes her head as sitting in her booster seat, buckling her seat belt.

"Not even a little?" I raise a brow then slide into the driver's seat.

"Nope" Cleo giggles, "today my birthday wish comes true, I'm getting a mommy"

My eyes soften. "That was your birthday wish?"

She nods "and whenever I go to sleep...before bed I pray for one..."

There's a moment of silence as I look at my daughter through the review mirror. She's only five years old and yet has so many complex thoughts and emotions. She got all that from Elise.

"You pray for a mommy?" I sigh.

"I ask God every night to give me a mommy" she admits.

Gina is a strict Catholic and raised the Carters the same way. Ned never believed in that stuff but Elise did. I never objected to Gina teaching Cleo her beliefs, I guess I just want Cleo to feel connected to Elise somehow. By doing so, Gina has given Cleo the ability to believe in something bigger than herself, to have faith and hope. That's something I never had growing up.

"You know, you had a mommy once," I tell her slowly.

Cleo nods "I know...I wish she lived with us...Gina says she's in heaven...do you believe in heaven?"

I start the engine and begin driving.

"I don't know" I admit.

"Can you tell me stories about my mum, again?" she asks.

I nod, driving down the street.

"The first time I saw your mum, I was at football practice after school" I explain with a smile on my face as my eyes are focused on the road ahead. "I looked up and there she was, walking across the street and boom! fireworks, I was a sucker from then on...She loved ancient history, you know? She called me Mark Antony and she called herself Cleopatra...That's why we named you Cleo"

"Woah," Cleo says. "I wish she was alive...but if she was, I wouldn't have Sherry"

My heart sinks as my eyes begin to water. Cleo is right.

I force a smile "Sherry loves you so much"

"I love Sherry too" Cleo grins, "did my mum love Sherry?"

Sherry and Elise cheered together in high school. They weren't close but they respected each other greatly.

"She sure did" I assure.

The rest of the car ride was silent. When we arrived back home, I jumped in the shower. Tonights the big night. The night I finally ask Sherry to adopt Cleo. I want Cleo to be our daughter and I want Cleo to finally have a mother.

Butterflies flap their wings violently in my stomach as I step out of the shower. My eyes move to the sink where I analyse my reflection in the foggy mirror. Cleo was conceived in this bathroom.

"Elise...What are you doing?" I looked up at her as we laid on the bathroom floor.

"It's just so hot," she said drunkenly before kissing my lips.

It's weird to think that if Elise hadn't been drinking that night, she would still be alive and I wouldn't have Cleo. Who knows, maybe we wouldn't have gone the distance and Elise would have married some rich lawyer. Elise would have been a historian, I think. But there's no use thinking about the 'what-ifs' or the 'could-haves' now.

I go back to my bedroom with a towel around my waist. My suit is laying on my bed, ready for tonight. Sherry is getting ready at her parent's house then meeting me here. Once I get dressed and comb through my hair, I walk into Cleo's bedroom to find her in her robe.

"When is auntie Jenny coming?" Cleo sits at the end of her bed.

"Soon, honey" I assure her as spinning around slowly, "how do I look?"

"Like a prince" she grins.

Suddenly there's a knock at the door. I find Gina standing under the frame, wearing a smile.

"Time to get dressed" Gina walks towards Cleo. "We make you look like princess"

Cleo grins.

I kiss Gina's cheek and say "thank you" and with that, I leave the room.

When I walk down stairs, that's when I find Sherry standing at the front door beside Justine. She's wearing a red silk dress and her dark hair is curled. I kiss her cheek before looking back at Justine.

"Have fun, you two" Justine smiles as we walk towards Sherry's car.

Tonights the night that everything will change.