Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“It’s you?” I muttered, raising a brow.
“Yes, it’s me. How did you like the food my mom made?”
The girl was very straight to the point with things, and I didn’t want to be rude to her. “It was great. Thanks again for that.”
“That’s good. She will be happy to know that you liked it.”
She was dressed in leggings and a white sweater with tennis shoes, so I couldn’t help but notice how young she really was. For a girl that was in college, she barely looked older than fifteen. Yet, most of the women here looked like that. “I didn’t get your name the other day. I’m Les.”
“You can call me Sue.” She laughed, “If I gave you my full name, you would never be able to pronounce it. Sue is what all my friends call me.”
“Sue… I like it. Well, it’s a pleasure to see you again, Sue. I’m just headed up to the market,” I replied, watching as her eyes lit up.
“Oh! Me too! We can go together. Come on before they sell out of all the good stuff.”
The girl was far more energetic than I would have cared for this early in the day, but I followed behind her, and she continued rambling on about different things that were going on in her life and what her mother needed to do that she couldn’t find help with.
“So your mother needs stuff fixed in her home?” I questioned what she was telling me.
“Yes, but there is no one to do it.”
“Why doesn’t she have the maintenance guy come do it? The one that looks after the apartments?” My question made her sad for a moment as her smile fell and her shoulders slowly sagged. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to upset you.”
As her eyes met mine, she gave a small laugh and shook her head. “You didn’t… the maintenance guy was my father. They haven’t had luck finding anyone else to do it.”
Guilt hit me as soon as she explained, and I felt like a complete asshole for even asking such a thing. “Oh, Sue… shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize—”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. How could you? You only just moved in.” She laughed again with a small smile. “I will find someone eventually. Now come on, we need to get proper food in your house.”
After thirty minutes of taking me from stall to stall, she was able to help me collect various amounts of vegetables and other items to stock my kitchen with. I couldn’t help but admire her willingness to help those in need.
She had a drive that most young women her own age didn’t have, and it was refreshing to see that there were still people her age who wanted to do good in this world.
“Okay, I think the only thing left is fish,” she stated cheerfully as she gestured for me to follow her.
“Fish? What kind of fish?”
Laughter escaped her again as she looked over her shoulder at me. “It’s best you don’t ask and just do. There are things we enjoy here to eat that you may not, and it’s good, but if you know what it is, you won’t want to try it.”
It made sense what she was saying, and as we approached the booth, my eyes set upon a mother carrying her newborn baby, and my heart all but shattered. That would be Becca in a few months, and I wouldn’t be able to see it.
Sue must have noticed my quick change in mood because her hand gently touched my arm, pulling me from my thoughts, and when I looked at her, she glanced between the woman and me and frowned. “Are you okay?”
“Uh.. yeah. I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine. Does that remind you of your daughter?” she whispered, trying not to make the conversation more awkward but failing miserably at it.
“It does, but it also reminds me of someone else. Someone close to me who will be giving birth in a few months, and unfortunately, I can’t be there with her.”
I wasn’t sure why I had told her that, but there was a moment of hesitation before shock filled her face. “Is it your new girl?”
What was I honestly supposed to say?
I wasn’t supposed to have mentioned anything of my previous life, but I guess, in a way, I didn’t. “Yeah… she was.”
Deciding not to press further, she quickly turned back to the task at hand and ordered food she thought I might like as well as doing her own shopping. Before I knew it, we were both headed back to the apartment, and as we were, something inside me perked up—a sense of belonging that I needed to fill.
“Sue, if your mother needs help, tell her I would be more than happy to help her. It’s the least I can do for both of you being so kind to me.”
Sue’s eyes widened in surprise before softening, and as they did, she nodded her head.
“I will let her know, and I will also write some recipes down in English for you so that you know how to cook your food. If you’re going to make it here, you’re going to have to learn.”
The offer sounded good to me. It was an equal exchange of services, and I was grateful to have made a friend in this place. God knows I desperately needed it.
Becca.
I hadn’t remembered falling asleep, but the light filtered through my open window, and as it did, my eyes fluttered open, giving way to another beautiful day. Stretching my arms over my head, my hand touched a warm body, and quickly looking to my left, I spotted Neals’ sleeping form resting beside me.
I hadn’t even realized that he had come into my bed last night, but looking at him now, I saw him in a different light. He wasn’t the man I once knew, but instead, he was much stronger than I realized.
To be holding all of these secrets all these years and never having been able to talk to someone was something I would never be able to grasp.
How lonely that must have been for him.
Rolling to my side, I minded my baby bump and rested my head upon my hand as I reached over with my free hand brushing a strand of hair from his eyes. As quick as my touch had been, he grasped my wrist and slowly opened his eyes.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he whispered in a rough voice as he brought my hand to his lips, kissing my knuckles gently. “I’m sorry if me being here startled you.”
“Don’t be silly.” I chuckled, leaning over to kiss his lips gently. “You’re always welcome.”
“Are you sure?” His eyes cast down at my hand within his, and the worry I had seen the night before was more present than ever.
“Neal–” I whispered, raising my eyes to meet his, “I’m sure. No matter what happened, that doesn’t define who you are now.”
“Thank you.”
Furrowing my brows, I gazed at him with confusion. “Why are you thanking me?”
“Because you are forgiving me for something that I shouldn’t be.” Neal’s reasoning wasn’t what I expected, and I didn’t understand why he thought that what he did in his past should reflect on who he was now.
Neal was a good man who had simply made the wrong choices because of the circumstances he was born into and raised in..
“You’re worrying too much about things that aren’t important. What you did when you were younger, and the person you used to be, does not define who you are, and I wish you would stop thinking that you can’t be forgiven for something that happened way before you even met me.”
Slowly sitting up upon the bed, I turned to him again with a soft sigh escaping me. Sometimes I wished that he could see himself the way that I saw him.
“You’re right, I shouldn’t let it affect me,” he calmly replied as he, too, sat up and then slid from the bed, making his way towards my bathroom. “Let’s put all this behind us. What do you want to do today?”
I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do. There was so much exploring and even shops to venture through, but most of all, I just wanted to spend the day with him to let him know that I did care, that I was there for him, and even though our situation was complicated, it didn’t have to change anything between us.
“Why don’t we venture into town? After we have breakfast, of course,” I replied as I finally got out of bed, taking the silk robe that was laid across the chair and wrapping it around my body. First, I wanted to check on the baby and make sure that Sara was good for the day.
I was hoping that she would get out of the house for once. The last two times we had ventured out, she had decided to stay behind with the child, but the fresh air would do her good as well as the baby.