CHAPTER 245: MY DADDY

Josh had a wide smile on his face as he sat on the tall chair by the shiny island in the kitchen, swinging his legs back and forth, watching his parents rummage through the fridge and cupboards for something they could all eat.

His chest felt warm as he watched Abigail and Jamal, his beautiful mummy and handsome daddy, together.

Jamal took out a crate of eggs and held it up high like it was gold.

Josh clapped his small hands. "Eggs, eggs, eggs!"

Abigail laughed and pulled bread from the fridge. "We can make toast."

Josh sat up straighter, hugging his arms around himself. His heart felt big. His dad and his mommy looked like a team. His eyes followed Jamal as he cracked eggs into a bowl.

"Do you want to stir?" Jamal asked, watching him.

Josh nodded fast, his curls bouncing. Jamal brought the bowl over, and Josh held the spoon with two hands. Jamal’s hand rested lightly over his, showing him how to stir it.

"You’re so smart," Jamal said, his voice proud.

Josh wanted to whisk the eggs forever if it meant Jamal would keep holding him and looking at him like that.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Abigail drop slices of bread into the toaster, and his smile grew so wide it almost hurt.

He remembered all the times he had wondered about his daddy being old, unlike the other kids, and why he couldn’t call his mommy, mommy.

He was very happy that now he was with his real daddy and mommy, and they were all together like a real family, and he could call them daddy and mommy freely.

When Jamal saw that he was getting the hang of it, he walked over to the refrigerator to pour Josh a glass of orange juice.

"Daddy," Josh said as though he was still tasting the word on his tongue, even though that was probably the hundredth time he was calling Jamal that since he learned Jamal was his father.

Jamal’s heart skipped a beat as it always did each time he heard Josh refer to him that way.

He turned from the fridge and smiled at Josh. "Yes, Buddy?" Jamal responded, then glanced sideways at Abigail. "I think Josh wants to make sure I get used to being called Daddy today," he whispered, making her giggle.

"When I call Mommy, Mommy, she says yes baby," Josh said, and Jamal chuckled.

"Uhm, that’s because she is mommy and you’re a boy. If you were a girl, I’d call you baby, but you’re a boy, so I can’t..."

Abigail rolled her eyes at that, "Really?"

Josh’s brows pulled together in confusion. "If I were a girl, would mommy call me buddy? And you call me baby?"

Jamal and Abigail laughed. "No. It doesn’t work that way. You’d still be baby to mommy."

"But I’m your baby, too," Josh pointed out.

Jamal nodded. "Yes, you are. But it’s sort of different... You know what? Forget it!" Jamal said, unsure how to explain it without sounding weird. "What do you want, baby?" He asked sweetly, making both Abigail and Josh giggle.

"I just love to call your name, Daddy."

Jamal chuckled as he poured the juice into a glass. "Knock yourself out, baby."

Jamal sipped the juice before taking it to Josh. He then took Josh’s bowl of eggs and handed him the glass.

Josh drank, grinning. "It’s yummy."

Jamal and Abigail laughed as they continued to take out the items needed for breakfast.

Josh rested his chin on the counter, watching as Jamal poured the eggs into a hot pan, the yellow turning fluffy. Abigail buttered the toast.

Soon, breakfast was ready, and as they ate together, talking and laughing, Josh’s chest felt warm again. He hoped they’d always be together like this.

He liked this breakfast where everyone was laughing better than the one they had at home.

As he thought of that, he remembered his other daddy, Ryan, and his smile wavered.

Even though he was a bad man and had kept his mommy and daddy away from him, Josh was still going to miss him. He was going to miss Genny, his nanny, and his new friends at school, too.

Still, he was happy to be with his mommy and Daddy.

"My daddy," Josh whispered to himself.

Jamal leaned down, close enough that Josh could feel his breath tickle his ear. "What did you say, baby?"

Josh turned his head, his eyes shining. "You’re my real daddy."

Jamal’s hand squeezed his shoulder gently. "Yes, I am."

"We are always going to be together now, right?" Josh asked, looking from Jamal to Abigail, and they both nodded.

"As soon as your mommy marries me, yes," Jamal said, and Abigail blushed mildly while Josh laughed happily.

"Will Genny live with us?" He asked hopefully.

"She can visit us a lot. But she will also have to get married and have her own kids, so that you will have cousins. Don’t you want little cousins?" Abigail asked, and Josh’s eyes lit up as something else occurred to him.

"Will you have another baby, too?" He asked excitedly.

Abigail’s hand froze around her fork, and her cheeks turned pink. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and glanced shyly at Jamal, who had nearly choked on his orange juice and looked just as embarrassed.

"Uh... well..." Jamal rubbed the back of his neck, his ears turning red. "That’s... that’s a big question, Buddy."

Josh tilted his head, not understanding why they were both acting funny. "Will you?" he pressed, his little voice full of hope as he sat up straighter, eyes wide, waiting for an answer.

Abigail laughed softly, her shoulders shaking. She leaned forward and kissed Josh’s curls. "Why don’t we all wait and see?"

Josh looked between them, still waiting. "Why do we have to wait?"

Jamal chuckled, reaching over to ruffle his son’s hair. "Because sometimes the best things in life are worth waiting for. Like I waited for your mommy and you. We will all have to wait."

"How long do we have to wait?" Josh asked again.

Abigail and Jamal’s eyes met across the table. For a moment, neither spoke, but their smiles grew soft, warm, and a little shy.

They both knew they still had a long way to go in their relationship. They still needed to get to know each other better before thinking of other kids, and that was something they. Jamal had no intention of having babies anytime soon until he had spent and recovered all the lost time with Abigail and then with Josh.

"We’ll see, baby," Abigail finally said gently, brushing her thumb over Josh’s cheek.

"That means yes!" Josh squealed, bouncing in his chair, his curls bouncing too.

Jamal and Abigail laughed. "She said we’ll see. She didn’t exactly say yes," Jamal pointed out.

"Whenever my Daddy says..." he trailed off and pressed his lips together, not sure how to address Ryan now in front of his real daddy. "I’m sorry," he murmured, looking from Abigail to Jamal guiltily.

"You don’t have to be sorry. You didn’t say anything wrong. He was your daddy for a long time, so it is okay," Jamal assured him, leaning down to kiss the top of his head.

"What can I call him now that I have my Daddy? Or should I never talk about him?" Josh asked, looking at Abigail.

Abigail looked at Jamal for a beat and shrugged. "How about you call him your granddaddy instead?"

"Can I call him that?" Josh asked, and Abigail nodded. "Yes, you can."

"And guess what? You have another granddaddy, and you also have a great-grandpa, and so many uncles and aunts. You’re going to be the most loved little boy," Jamal said, and Josh’s eyes widened with delight.

"Do I have a grand-mommy, too?"

Jamal laughed. "Yes, you do. And she adores you already. Want to see their pictures?"

Josh bobbed his head, eager to see everyone his daddy was talking about.

"Tell you what, we will do that after we finish eating. We will all clear up the kitchen, and then I’ll connect my phone to the television, and we will look at all the pictures together like a movie. How does that sound?"

Josh grinned so wide his dimples showed. "Perfect!"

Josh wrapped his little arms around Jamal’s neck, pulling him close, and then reached one hand out for Abigail. "Family hug!" he exclaimed, as he always saw them do in one of his cartoons.

Jamal and Abigail laughed as she slid her chair closer. She wrapped her arms around both of them, squeezing tight.

The three of them stayed like that, wrapped in warmth, laughter, and the kind of love that made Josh’s little heart feel as if it could burst.

Josh closed his eyes, his small voice muffled against their shoulders. "This is the best day ever."

"It is, isn’t it?" Abigail said as she reached for Jamal’s phone and did what she had wanted to do the last time they all ate together in Ryan’s kitchen.

She took pictures of them together—their first group family photo.