Chapter 3

The first thing Genevieve said upon us reaching home was: "Wow! Big house!"

"Yeah, well, it comes from being a billionaire genius," I said casually.

"What's...what's a billy...billy air," she struggled to say, obviously frustrated.

"Billionaire genius," I stated again.

"What Tony means to say is a rich, smart person," Pepper put in, shooting me a look that said: "Try to tone down the vocabulary."

I shrugged, inwardly annoyed. Great. Now I had to talk like a normal person? Those words weren't even that hard!

As it turned out, Genevieve looked as if she'd completely forgotten her predicament as she skipped up the path toward the house.

"Gosh, she's fast," I muttered as I took long strides to catch up.

"At least we have something to keep us on our toes," Pepper pointed out, her pace matching mine. "Wait up, Genevieve!"

The girl stopped before she went inside and turned to face us, bouncing up and down. "You're slow," she giggled.

"Ha ha. Hilarious," I said, my voice dripping sarcasm.

Genevieve looked perturbed at my change of tone and I mentally smacked myself when Pepper nudged me.

"Let's just go in," I said as the double glass doors opened automatically.

Genevieve's eyes widened in surprise. That wasn't too ridiculous considering the place she had lived in before. She'd probably never seen an automatic anything in her life.

J.A.R.V.I.S. scanned her as she went inside like he does to everyone. She watched the line of light run her up and down with fascination.

"I see your visit to the orphanage was a success."

Genevieve squealed in fright when my AI spoke and she darted behind Pepper's legs to hide. After a mere second, she peeked out, curious.

"It's okay," Pepper soothed, crouching down to pick her up. "That's just J.A.R.V.I.S."

Genevieve wrapped her arms around Pepper's neck and peered at me over her shoulder. "Who's J.A.R.V.I.S?"

"He's my AI." At the confused look I sighed. "My artificial intelligence." More confusion. "My...computer."

"Oh! But...how does he talk?"

I could have gone into a tangent about technology and voice chips, but I decided against it and said: "He's smart."

That was an understandable answer, apparently, because she nodded. When Pepper put her down, Genevieve looked around as if she was trying to spot J.A.R.V.I.S. She finally decided on talking to the wall.

"I'm Genevieve Charlotte," she said with a proud nod.

"Well, I must say it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Genevieve."

I would have gladly left Genevieve happily chatting with J.A.R.V.I.S. had Pepper not prodded me in a way of saying it was time to get on with it.

I was about to say something about taking a tour when the look in Genevieve's eyes became vacant.

Pepper and I exchanged worried glances as she began to speak.

"No, leave me alone! I like it here...No! I hate you!"

She obviously wasn't talking to us and I moved forward to crouch in front of her. "Genevieve, can you hear me?"

"Leave me alone! I like Pepper and Tony...Yes, but you're mean."

"Genevieve," I repeated, sharper this time as I put my hands on her emaciated shoulders. We had to get this kid something to eat.

The touch snapped her out of it and she looked up at me as tears caused her teal eyes to turn a dark blue. To my surprise, she stepped toward me and threw her arms around my neck, sobbing into my shoulder.

I awkwardly patted her back and shot Pepper a look of sheer panic. In all honesty, I had no idea what to do.

Pepper picked up on my uneasiness and came over to stroke Genevieve's hair. "Come here, sweetie. Let go of Tony."

She shook her head at the suggestion and clung to me tighter. At this rate, I'd be choking in no time flat.

Pepper tried a different approach. "Are you hungry? I can make you something to eat."

That worked. Genevieve released me from her clutches and ran into Pepper's arms who scooped her up.

I resisted the urge to rub my neck as Pepper told me to go get a room ready for Genevieve. She recommended number C12 which just so happened to be two rooms away from us.

When I opened the door to the area that had been indicated, I realized my wife must have already been planning on adopting a girl. Why else would the whole place be mostly pink and purple?

The queen bed was made up with a frilly pink bedspread with a magenta bed skirt to compliment it. There was a...well, the best word to describe the rainbow rug was shaggy. The curtains on the large window that ran from the ceiling to the floor were also decorated with the colors of the rainbow.

All of it made me want to gag, but I supposed Genevieve would probably enjoy it. Although I had to admit that I was curious as to why Pepper had sent me up her in the first place. It was obviously already prepared for an owner. The answer came to me in the form of the little girl herself. Pepper must have wanted me to spend more time with our new daughter. Figures.

"Will you read to me?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin as Genevieve spoke behind me. She'd been so quiet that I hadn't heard her sneak in.

"What?

"Will you read to me?" she repeated emphatically, pointing at the small wooden bookshelf in the far corner of the room.

"I, uh, where's Pepper?" I stammered, eyes darting to the door as if I was a caged animal.

"She's cleaning up," Genevieve answered, having gone over to the cabinet to find a book. "Read this one."

I reluctantly took the object from her and read the title out loud. "If You Give A Pig A Pancake. Huh. Sounds delicious. Bacon and pancakes all in one sitting."

She giggled. "No, silly. The pig eats the pancake."

I found myself chuckling, her laugh contagious. "Oh, right. I guess that makes more sense."

"Come on," Genevieve insisted.

Before I could protest, she grabbed my hand and dragged me over to her bed. I had no choice but to get situated comfortably, leaning against the bed frame.

She crawled across the mattress and sat next to me, gazing over my shoulder at the pictures.

I felt slightly ridiculous reading about the pig wanting syrup to go with her pancake and tap dancing with the shoes she found under the bed. Not to mention building a tree house. How did a pig do that with hooves in place of fingers, anyway?

By the time I had finished reading the story, Genevieve was yawning sleepily, her head nodding against my shoulder. A glance at the clock showed it was 8:23 p.m.

"Okay, kiddo, time for bed," I announced as I got up.

I would have suggested she changed into her sleep clothes, but she had already snuggled down underneath the covers. I was about to leave the room when she stopped me.

"Wait!"

I paused. "What now?"

"You didn't tuck me in and kiss me goodnight. Ms. Cathy always did."

I thought about pointing out that she had tucked herself in, but decided it wasn't worth it. As for the kiss? Yikes. Apparently, she didn't find it as absurd as I did, but with the way she was looking at me I couldn't exactly say no.

With a sigh, I strolled back over to her bedside and bent over, giving her a quick peck on the forehead.

"Satisfied?" I asked somewhat sarcastically.

"Uh huh." She seemed content as she closed her eyes.

"Goodnight, Genevieve."

I went back to the exit and flicked the lights off before silently shutting the door behind me.

Yes, I'm sure you're inwardly making fun of what a softie I'm turning out to be. Well, guess what? Having to take care of a four-year-old girl kind of does that to you. I thought that dealing with Genevieve's...state of mind was as difficult as it was going to get, but boy was I wrong.