*Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter. THey were greatly appreciated thank-you all so much!
"DADDY!" yells Kennedy as she runs out of school and into my arms as I scoop her up to give her a big hug and kiss.
"Kennedy," I say with a smile before I put her down and take her hand into mine as we walk to the car. "How was school?"
"It was good," she says with a smile. "How was work?"
"It was pretty good," I say with a smile as I think about my time away. Renee and I went out on our first date after RAW on Monday and on Tuesday we went out to get something to eat alone together for our second date before they taped Smackdown. I would say that Renee and I are doing pretty good so far. I don't feel pressured and we both enjoy each other's company. Renee is such a beautiful and amazing woman.
"That's good," she says as I buckle her into the car seat. "When do you go back, Daddy?"
"I leave tomorrow night," I say as her smile fades away. "We have events across the country and Daddy has an appearance on Friday afternoon so I have to leave a little early this week."
"Where are you going?"
"Florida," I say, "but I'll be back soon I promise."
"Okay, Daddy," she says before I shut the door.
I get into the driver's seat and start the car. She requests that we listen to the Frozen Soundtrack so I put it on for her and as I drive us home we sing along to every song on the CD. I hate to admit it but I am a Frozen fan. Kennedy and I have watched Frozen together at least 1,000 times probably more since the movie came out on Blu-Ray. It's one of our favorites. When I get us home I take her book bag go through it while she eats caramel and apples for her snack. "So it's back to school night tonight?"
"Yes, Daddy," she says, "do you want to go?"
"Of course I want to go. I want to meet your teacher and I want to see what all you've been doing this year so far in school."
"Yay!" she says, "you'll like my teacher. She is so nice. I love Ms. Callahan. She makes kindergarten so much fun."
"I'm glad," I say with a smile as I pull out a painting that she did in school. "What's this?" I ask.
"That's something that I painted for you," she says with a smile. "It's a garden with lots of pretty flowers. Remember when we pick flowers in the summer time?"
"It's one of my favorite things to do with you," I say with a smile. "All the pretty dandelions."
"And don't forget making wishes!" she says with a smile. "I found one today."
"You found a blowy flower?" I ask talking about the dandelion seed flower we use them to blow and make wishes in the summer time.
"Yes and I made a wish," she says with a smile as I hang her painting up on the fridge that is covered in pictures of Kennedy and me together, her school calendar, lunch menu, pictures of Kennedy and her mom and lots of her artwork.
"What did you wish for?" I ask.
"That you find me a mommy," she says with a smile. "I really want an Earth mommy," she says biting into an apple piece. "Can you find me a mommy?"
"I'm trying, Kennedy," I say with a smile. "What would you like for dinner? How about I make us grilled cheese and tomato soup?"
"Sounds good, Daddy," she says as she finishes her last apple before getting up to put her plate into the sink before washing her hands. She is pretty independent for a 5 year old but she gets that from Saige. "I'm going to color while you cook okay?"
"Okay," I say with a smile before she climbs up on the stool by the island where I am standing, wraps her arms around my neck and kisses my cheek. "I love you, Daddy."
"I love you too," I say before I kiss her cheek before I pick her up off the stool and place her down on the floor. She runs away to go get some paper and crayons to color while I get out what I need to make tomato soup and grilled cheese. This was one of Saige's favorite things to eat. As I am putting the soup onto the stove my cell phone rings. I smile as I see that it's Renee calling me. I answer it just as Kennedy comes into the kitchen getting herself comfortable at the island as she sits down to color. "Hey," I say with a smile as I answer the phone. "Did you get home safely?"
"I did," she says and I can hear her smile through the phone. "Did you get home safely?"
"I did," I say with a smile. "I picked Kennedy up from school and now I am making grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner."
"Sounds good," she says, "I love grilled cheese and tomato soup; it's one of my favorites," she says making me smile.
"I like it too," I say with a smile as I see Kennedy look at me and smile at me before she goes back to coloring. "So what's on your agenda for tonight and tomorrow?"
"Well, tonight I have to do some laundry and tomorrow I am going to clean up my apartment get it in some type of order. What's on your agenda?"
"Back to school night tonight and probably some cleaning and extra time with Kennedy before I fly out tomorrow night. I have that appearance on Friday afternoon at the bookstore."
"Oh yeah," she says. "I just wanted to let you know that I had a lot of fun the last couple nights with you."
"I had fun too," I say with a smile. "Would you like to hang out on Saturday before the show?"
"That sounds like fun. We could go to the beach if you want to."
"Sounds good to me," I say with a smile.
"Daddy!" says Kennedy. "Who is on the phone?"
"It's Renee," I say with a smile.
"Renee? The girl that interviews you?" She asks as I can hear Renee chuckle.
"That's the Renee I am talking about," I say with a smile.
"Hi, Renee!" she yells into the phone.
"Hi, Kennedy," says Renee sweetly.
"Renee says hi," I tell Kennedy as I stir the soup.
"She sounds so sweet," says Renee. "I can't wait till I can meet her."
"I'm sure you'll love her and I'm sure she will love you," I say with a smile. I had told Renee on our last date that when we are in Las Vegas in a few weeks that she would have to meet Kennedy and my mom. I need her to pass the Kennedy and the mom test before I consider going any further with her.
"I hope so," she says. "Well, I'll let you go so you can finish dinner. Maybe we can talk later?"
"Of course," I say with a smile. "Bye, Renee."
"Bye, Dean," she says making me smile before we hang up the phones together. Kennedy continues to color and remains quiet while I finish making our dinner.
I take a sandwich and a bowl of tomato soup over to her as I look at the picture she's coloring. "That looks pretty," I say as I get some milk out of the fridge for her.
"Thank-you, Daddy," she says with a smile. "It's a puppy. It's Elsa."
"I noticed," I say with a smile. "You love Elsa don't you?"
"Yes," she says as I give her the milk before I get my food to take a seat next to her. "Daddy, who is Renee?"
"Renee is one of my friends," I say with a smile. "She's the girl I went out on a date with."
"Did you like your date?" she asks taking a bite of her sandwich.
"I had a lot of fun," I say with a smile. "We are going to have another date."
"Do you like her?" she asks with a smile.
"I do like her. I like her a lot," I say with a smile.
"Is she going to be my new mommy?"
"I don't know," I say, "I haven't even thought about that yet. We're just hanging out right now."
"Okay," she says.
"When WWE comes to Las Vegas in a few weeks you're going to get to meet her."
"Really?" she asks.
"Really," I say with a smile.
"Cool!" she says.
"Yes cool," I say, "so Kennedy, your 6th birthday is coming up soon. Any idea on what you want to do for your birthday? Do you want to have a party or what would you like to do?"
"A birthday party with my friends from school and I want Renee to come to my party."
"You don't even know Renee," I say, "Are you sure you want to invite her to your birthday party?"
"Yes, Daddy," she says, "I want Renee to come to my party."
"Okay," I say, "I'll talk to her about it. What kind of party do you want to have?"
"A rock star party," she says with a smile.
"Sounds good," I say with a smile. "You don't want Frozen?"
"No. I want a Rock star party," she says.
"I'll see what I can do," I say with a smile as we finish our dinner.
"Actually," she says to me as we are in the car on the way to her school later that evening for back to school night. "I want a fairy birthday party. I don't want a rock star party."
"A fairy party I think I can handle that like Tinkerbelle?"
"No, like just fairies, Daddy, not just Tinkerbelle. I want fairy wings, wands and tutus with lots of fairy fun stuff. It's not about Tinkerbelle."
"Okay," I say. "I think I can do that."
"Thank-you, Daddy," she says with a smile making me smile as I see Saige through her smile.
When we arrive at the school I park the car and Kennedy takes my hand as we walk toward the doors of the school. As we get into the school we are directed to the auditorium where we take a seat as we hear from the principal about the school before she introduces all the teachers in the school before we are dismissed to go to the classrooms. Kennedy leads me to her classroom and as soon as we enter the room she says, "This is my classroom, Daddy." She takes my hand and takes me to her table. "And this is my table. I am at the red table," she says with a smile. "And over here," she says pulling me, "this is the reading center. I love the reading center because I like to read." I smile as I look at the comfortable reading center with three bean bag chairs and lots of books for the kids to read. "And here is my other favorite center, the art center. I paint and draw here," she says with a smile.
"Very cool," I say with a smile.
Kennedy goes on to show me around the classroom showing me her cubby, some of the artwork she has made in class as well as some class work. I smile at everything she has done so far. She takes me around the room showing me more centers and showing me where she hangs up her coat and book bag during the day. She takes me to her table to show me her work books as her teacher comes up to me. "Hello, I am Ms. Callahan."
"Dean," I say shaking her hand. "I am Kennedy's father."
"Oh Kennedy is such a sweet little girl," she says making me proud. "She is very proud of you. She can't stop talking about you. She tells us all about your trips and how you always bring something back to her when you're away. She really looks up to you."
"Thank-you," I say with a smile.
"And she is so helpful in class. She's always willing to help in any way that she can. She's also very bright, Mr. Ambrose. She's such a happy child. I enjoy having her in class."
"Well, she gets that intelligence from her mom," I say with a smile, "now if she was a bit rambunctious in class I would say that is from me."
"No she is not rambunctious at all," she says, "now she tells me that her mommy went to be an angel when she was really little."
"Yes," I say. "My wife died when Kennedy was 3 years old."
"I'm sorry to hear that Mr. Ambrose."
"It's okay," I say. "It was a hostage situation and she wasn't one of the lucky ones."
"That's horrible," she says as she touches my shoulder as I tense up a little from her touch. I get uncomfortable when people touch me. Other than Renee hugging me and holding my hands as well as Kennedy hugging me I don't like the touching; Saige is the only person that I let touch me in any way. "I am so sorry."
"It's okay," I say as I move my shoulder from her grasp.
"He doesn't like to be touched," says Kennedy not missing a beat.
"Oh I am sorry," she says.
"It's okay," I say, "It's just been a bit hard without Saige and I haven't really let anyone but Kennedy touch me it's just a personal thing."
"Okay, I understand," she says, "so it's just you and Kennedy?"
"Pretty much," I say, "my mom helps out a lot while I am away and even when I am home. She has been there since it happened."
"Well, I'm glad you have an extra set of hands in the house to help you out with Kennedy. She's such a wonderful little girl and I see where she gets it from."
"Thank-you," I say with a smile.
"It was nice to meet you," she says as she puts her hand out for me to shake.
"Nice to meet you too," I say as I shake her hand. "Your teacher seems nice," I say as I pick Kennedy up.
"She is," she says with a smile.
"And she thinks you're wonderful and smart just like I do! I'm so proud of you, Princess."
"Thank-you, Daddy, I'm proud of you too." I smile and kiss her tiny nose before we venture out of the classroom and she gives me a tour of the rest of the school showing me the art room, the cafeteria, the gym, the computer room and the library before we head back to the house so I can get her ready for bed.
Later that night after I get Kennedy into bed, read her a story and lie down with her till she falls asleep I get out of bed and walk to the living room where I plan to sleep that night. The pain is still too much to go into my bedroom to sleep so I grab a blanket from the guestroom and take it down to the living room with me. I get myself comfortable on the couch, turn on the TV and pick up my cell phone. I realize it's later in New York City than it is in Las Vegas but I decide to call Renee anyway. I listen to the phone ring a couple times before I get ready to hang it up thinking she's asleep but I smile as I hear her voice on the end of the phone. "Hello, Dean," she says softly.
"Hey. I didn't wake you up did I?"
"No," she says, "I was just getting ready to go to bed though. You caught me just in time. What's up?"
"I was just thinking about you," I say with a smile. "I wanted to see how your evening went."
"It went pretty well," she says. "How was your evening? How was back to school night?"
"My evening was good," I say, "and back to school night was fantastic. Kennedy's teacher seems really nice. She loves Kennedy she said she's intelligent, helpful and wonderful. All qualities she didn't get from me."
"That's great," says Renee, "and I think you're wonderful and smart. Don't lower yourself, Dean. You're a great guy. Kennedy gets the best from both you and Saige."
"Thanks," I say, "so."
"So," she says, "Can I ask you something?"
"Anything," I say.
"I know you want to take things slow and want to take your time but I like hanging out with you, Dean. Our last two dates have been amazing and I look forward to more dates with you. I like you a lot. I can't stop thinking about you," she says.
"Okay," I say. "I look forward to more dates with you too and I like you a lot also and I can't get you out of my mind either."
"So I was wondering if we can still take it slow but possibly just be exclusive to each other you know like not dating anyone else just you dating me and me dating you?"
"Like a boyfriend girlfriend type of thing?" I ask as my heart starts to race.
"Something like that," she says, "well, okay just like that."
"I mean that's a big step, Renee. I'm pretty fragile. I like you a lot but to be in a relationship. I'm not sure I am ready for all that."
"If you're not that's okay but I would love to have a relationship with you even if it's down the road."
"If I did this we could still take it slowly like no sex or anything like that just boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"We would still take it slow but we would be exclusive to each other. We don't have to tell anyone," she says, "if you don't want to that's fine but…"
"No," I say, "I'm okay with your idea as long as we can still take things slowly. I mean boyfriend and girlfriend is a big step but I am willing to try it out. Just a little bit."
"Okay," she says, "so does this mean we're boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"I think it does," I say with a smile.
"Great," she says and I can hear the happiness in her voice. "So I'm ready to go to bed. We can talk in the morning. I will see you later?"
"See you later," I say with a smile. "Goodnight, Renee," I say. "Sweet Dreams."
"Goodnight, Dean. Sweet dreams," she says before we hang up the phones. I don't know how I truly feel at the moment. I like Renee a lot and everything just seemed to take a huge leap but I also know I don't want her to date anyone else but me so maybe it was the right decision to make. I'm just not ready for the other physical parts of a relationship. I am ready to move on just not too much.
*A/N: What do you think KEnnedy thinks of Renee so far? Do you think she'll like her when she meets her? What do you think about her inviting Renee to her birthday party is that too much? Why do you think Dean has issues being touched? What are your thoughts on REnee asking for exclusivity is it moving too fast or is it good as long as they still take things slowly? Is Dean confused about the whole thing or does he know what he's doing? PLease review and thank-you for reading.
