Guardian Angel

Chapter 20

Veronica and Archie walk into Everleigh's preschool hand in hand. The little girl comes running towards them almost immediately. "Mommy, Mommy!"

"Hi sweetie" she smiles and lifts her girl into her arms. She covers her face in kisses before she turns to Archie.
"Look who came too"

"Archie" Everleigh giggles and reaches for him. He kisses her head before he sets her down.
"Put on your shoes and jacket little one. Mommy and I bought some ice cream. It's waiting for you at home"

"Ice cream" Everleigh squeals before she runs off to get dressed.

Archie wraps his arm around Veronica and kiss her cheek when suddenly an elderly woman walks towards them, Everleigh's teacher. She wears glasses and has her hair is in a bun.
She has a piece of paper in her hand. "Miss Lodge!"

"Hi Mrs. Miller, is everything okay?"

"Oh everything is perfect. Everleigh is so much more open the past weeks. She talks a lot more and I think the handsome young man next to you is the reason why"

Archie blushes. "Me? I don't think so. I mean we get a long well, very well but-"

"What's your name sweetheart?" The elder woman interrupts him.

"Archie Andrews"

"Mr Andrews" she smiles and hands him the piece of paper. "Last week we told the children to draw a picture of their family and that's what Everleigh drew"

Archie slowly unfolds the paper. He holds it in a way Veronica can see it too. A big smile grows on his face when he sees what is drawn on it.
Everleigh drew three people or what's supposed to be people. A little child with dark brown hair in the middle, a woman to her right in a dress with raven hair and a man with red hair to her left, it's him. She considers him a part of her family. He slowly runs his fingers over the paper before he looks to the woman. "Can I keep this?"

"Of course" Mrs. Miller smiles before she walks back to her class.

Veronica giggles. She wraps her arms tightly around his middle and just keeps looking at the picture her daughter drew.

•••

Veronica, Archie  and Everleigh are one their way back to their apartment. It's only two blocks away so they always walk.  Veronica walks in the middle. She holds her daughter's left hand and her boyfriend's right. Archie offered his hand to Everleigh but she felt more like holding mommy's today. Like always the little girl is really talkative and tells her mom about every single little thing that happened in preschool.

"Mommy do you know what- what happened in preschool - A birdie!" she trails off and points to a bird in a tree.

"Sweetheart do you think you can focus on telling me the story?"

"What story?"

"The one you where just about to tell me" Veronica giggles "Bennet mixed all the play doh together and now it's not colorful anymore but brown. What happened then?"

"Teacher got mad" Everleigh say and opens her eyes widely. "Mommy it's brown now. It was blue and red and yellow and blue and now brown"

"See that's why I tell you not to do it"

"Mhm" Everleigh says "I don't do it. I'm a good girl"

Veronica giggles and squeezes her daughter's hand lightly. Everleigh starts to hum a little song while swinging her and Veronica's intertwined hands back and forth.
Veronica smiles to herself. She feels so blessed. Her little girl is perfect. She's kind and loving and always open to new things and people and even though she usually is a little shy at first.