thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated thank-you all so much*
Kenzie's point of view:
"So Mari, how was Hawaii was it everything that you dreamed it would be?" I ask my 6 year old niece as we are in the kitchen baking a cake together while her sister Gatsby is at school after missing a week for their trip to Hawaii and my sister Madden is upstairs taking a shower.
"Hawaii was awesome, Aunt Kenzie," she says with a smile. "It was everything I hoped for and I got to meet Moana she called me a warrior like her. I am a warrior because I beat cancer," she says making me smile. My niece is the strongest child I know and she's a fighter for sure while everything has been against her in the last year she has overcome it. She's doing pretty good right now and hopefully it stays that way but we all know that cancer can come back at any time. "I even got a Moana makeover so I looked just like her."
"That sounds pretty fun, I wish we could have gone. I'm glad that you had a great time, Mari. What else did you do?"
"We ate a lot of island food the fruits were so sweet," she says, "and we went to these shows for dinner to watch people dance with fire. We went snorkeling and saw all these colorful fish. We also went on a Menehune hunt."
"What is a Menehune?" I ask.
"They are like unicorns," she says. "They are magical little people that no one has ever seen. They play tricks on the people on the island. They left us these necklaces," she says showing me a necklace with a little wooden creature on it. "We never found any they are very tricky."
"They sound tricky," I say as I hand her the spatula to help icing the chocolate cake with vanilla icing. "So you had a good time?"
"Yeah and my mommy's boyfriend came too and we had so much fun," she says surprising me with the news that my sister has a boyfriend. I had no idea.
"Your mommy has a boyfriend?" I ask.
"Yeah, Mr. Joe is her boyfriend," she says matter of factly as we icing the cake. "He's pretty awesome."
"Oh really?" I ask, "are you sure about that?" I ask.
"Yes," she says, "he spent the night with Mommy."
"Did he?" I ask curiously. "And where did Mr. Joe sleep when he spent the night with your mommy?"
"In her bed," she says.
"Interesting," I say with a soft smile.
"What's interesting?" asks my sister Madden as she comes into the kitchen after her shower dressed in a pair of faded blue distressed jeans with a black t-shirt with her hair hanging down to her shoulders showing off her fresh tan from Hawaii. "And what are you making?"
"A cake," says Mari with a smile.
"It looks good," she says with a smile.
"I hope I can have a piece," she says.
"Of course you can," says Madden before getting a bottle of water out of the fridge. "so what is interesting?"
"Oh Mari and I were just talking," I say with a smile waiting for her to tell me the big news in her life. I know she hasn't been ready to date because of losing Wyatt but also with Mari being so sick she didn't want to date because that's a lot for someone to take on plus her attention was where it belonged on her daughter. "You're looking pretty happy," I say with a smile, "and you're pretty dressed up to not be doing anything today."
"I am pretty happy," she says drinking some of her water. "It's been a good couple weeks. My baby is in remission of course I am happy."
"No other reason?" I ask.
"Maybe, it's just been a good couple weeks. I mean I was in Hawaii last week it doesn't get any better than that."
"Uh huh," I say, "so there isn't a man taking up some of your time to put that smile on her face," I say before she starts choking on her water. 'I thought so, Mari told me that you had a boyfriend that came to Hawaii with you. When did that happen?" I ask.
She lets out a breath and says, "I guess the secret is out now. Thanks, Mari."
"You're welcome Mommy. When is Joe coming?"
"He will be here later," she says. "Can you go upstairs while I talk to Aunt Kenz please?"
"But the cake," she says.
"Mari, we'll finish it later," I say, "your mom and I need to talk."
"Okay," she says before jumping down from the chair. She's looking pretty good she's gaining back the weight she lost, her hair is growing back in and she's not as lethargic as she used to be.
"So a boyfriend huh? That's new," I say.
"Because it is new," she says.
"But he went to Hawaii with you," she says.
"No, that's not how it happened," she explains. "Joe asked me out on a date so we went out on a date and then we were just talking to each other after that. He showed up in Hawaii as a surprise to ask me to be his girlfriend. I had no idea he was going to show up but he did. And when he showed up he asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes."
"When did you plan on telling me this news?" I ask.
"I don't know today but I didn't get the chance. Joe is coming tonight to hang out with the girls."
"I see," I say, "you don't think it's weird that this guy flew all the way to Hawaii to ask you to be his girlfriend the same man that donated bone marrow to your daughter?"
"What's weird about it?" she asks. "He's not a bad guy he's a pretty good guy and he's awesome with the girls. You have wanted me to be happy for so long and I am finally happy can I please get my happiness without judgment?"
"I don't know his intentions make me nervous," I say, "something seems off with him."
"Nothing is off," she says, "I promise."
"Okay," I say, "and he slept with you does that mean you two are sleeping together?"
"Kenzie, I am a woman that has needs, needs that haven't been satisfied by a man for nearly 3 years and just a vibrator of course we are sleeping together."
"Are you at least being safe about it, birth control or condoms?" I ask with concern for my little sister. I don't know much about this Joe guy but I plan to find out a little more about him. Especially if he's hanging around my nieces and my sister, they have been through enough.
"Um," she says and I already know the answer to that question.
"Madden, come on! At least protect yourself you don't know how many women this man has been with. And you're not exactly infertile so what if you get pregnant, do you think you can handle a pregnancy right now?"
"I probably can't but if it happens it happens it's too late to go back now," she says.
"That's so careless and foolish," I shake my head. "You know better."
"I probably should have learned my lesson huh?" she asks.
"I didn't say that I just care about you, Madden. I don't want to see you get hurt you've had a rough 3 years so I am just looking out for you."
"I know but Joe coming to Hawaii wasn't the only big thing that happened. We ran into Wyatt's sister while we were there. She was working in that little salon that did the girls' makeovers. Later that night we had a sit down her, me and their parents. Of course they made me out to be the bad person that took Wyatt away from them and the one keeping their grandchildren away from them but that's not true. I have been reaching out to them even before Wyatt died. His mom tried to turn it around on me like I have deprived her of her grandchildren when that's not the case. I tried and I even reached out to them when Amari was sick and needed a donor they didn't want anything to do with her or anything to do with it."
"So what happens now?" I ask.
"They want to be in their lives and they believe that they need to know their culture. I'm sorry but I have a thing for Polynesian men obviously and I am very educated on the Polynesian culture and I can teach my kids about their heritage. They are very proud to be Kahele and to be Hawaiian but they want to be in their lives. I don't know if it will happen but I told them to start off slow. I told them to start by writing letters and the girls will write back to them and then we can go from there. I don't want to overwhelm the girls."
"I understand that, do you think they will actually write them?" I ask.
"The ball is in their court. I will go on living my life without worry if they don't. My girls have never asked about their dad's family so the ball is in their court. I'm not saying I don't want them to have a relationship with their family it's just I'm not going to be upset if Wyatt's family falls through on their end. I reached out several times I'm not reaching out anymore."
"Good for you," I smile.
"Thanks," she says.
"So back to Joe," I say, "what made you ready to date again and be in a relationship? I have been trying for months and you haven't been ready."
"I don't know there's just something about him, Kenzie. He's the sweetest man I know and somehow the stars all aligned and I just feel something about him. I haven't felt this way about anyone except Wyatt."
"I see," I say, "I can't wait to meet him tonight."
"You will love him too. I promise," she says.
LATER THAT NIGHT:
JOE:
I got into Philadelphia in the late afternoon and arrived at Madden's house around 4pm. I left my things in her bedroom before I took the girls out to hang out so I could get to know them more and know more about them. Our first stop was to go out to eat to have some pizza together. We enjoy a nice pepperoni pizza together before we go to play a game of bowling. "Do you two like to bowl?" I ask them as we are putting on our rental shoes.
"Yeah," says Gatsby. "It's a lot of fun. Do you like to go bowling?"
"I don't really get the time to go out bowling," I say. "I'm always working."
"Oh," says Amari. "Where do you live?" she asks.
"I live in Florida," I say, "I live in Tampa with my cousin Nia," I say honestly.
"Oh," says Amari, "that's far away. We went to Florida once before my daddy died. We went to Disneyworld but I don't remember because I was only 3."
"I see, I haven't been to Disneyworld in a long time I used to go when I was little with my family for family vacations."
"That sounds like fun," she says. "Do you have a dog?"
I chuckle and say, "I don't have a dog but my cousin Nia has a dog. I just haven't really had the time to get a dog."
"Dogs are cool," she says, "I want a dog but my mom told me I can't get one until we move out of our Aunt's house. We used to have a big house but then I got sick and my daddy died so we moved into our Aunt Kenzie's house."
"I see," I say. "Maybe one day you'll be able to get the dog that you want because I am sure your mommy is going to get her house soon." I understand the financial hardships of losing a spouse. You have funeral expenses and then your child gets sick. Surgeries and transplants as well as hospital stays and all kinds of treatments are expensive so I understand Madden's hardship and why she chose to move in with her sister. My goal is to hopefully get a place together whether it be here in Philadelphia or in Florida but we'll wait on that.
"I hope so," she says. "Do you have kids?" she asks.
"No, I don't have any kids," I say.
"Oh," says Amari as we get ready to bowl. "Are you sleeping over with my mommy again?"
"I planned on it unless your mommy wants me to go to a hotel," I say knowing that her sister is ready to question me when I take the girls home. I avoided it earlier but there's no avoiding it now. I don't want to be disrespectful to her sister in her house if she doesn't like me when we talk.
"Oh," she says.
We play a couple rounds of bowling together and I realize that I am not a very good bowler. I suck even with the bumpers on the side to prevent gutter balls. Gatsby and Amari beat me in bowling and they are pretty good at the game. I stop to get them some ice-cream before we head home so that they can both get ready for bed since they both have school in the morning. I pull up in front of the house in my rental car and open the door for them to get out of the car as I grab Amari's booster seat to give to Madden. We walk to the front door and I ring the doorbell before Madden answers the door a couple minutes later dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top with her hair up in a messy bun looking beautiful. "Hey," she says giving me a smile before greeting me with a quick kiss. "Did you have fun?"
"A lot of fun!" says Gatsby, "And Joe isn't a very good bowler."
"No he isn't," Amari shakes her head in agreement. "He did a bad job."
"I wasn't that bad," I say as we walk into the house. "Just not that great either."
"You didn't get a strike," says Mari.
"Okay," I say putting my hands up. "I'm not good at bowling."
She smiles up at me and says, "no but you're a good person. I love you, Joe." She wraps her tiny arms around me as I wrap my arms around her.
"I love you too, Mari," I say with a smile as Madden looks at me with a smile.
"All right, girls, it's time for you two to get ready for bed. Tell Joe goodnight," she says.
"Goodnight girls," I say with a smile hugging both of them.
"Goodnight, Joe," they say together before heading upstairs.
"I'll be right back," Madden promises, "talk to Kenzie." I nod and make my way to the living room feeling anxious to meet her sister.
I walk into the living room to see her sister sitting on the couch. They don't look like sisters to me. Madden has blue eyes and blondish brown hair while her sister has dark eyes and dark hair. "You must be Joe," she says, "Please have a seat. Let's talk."
"Okay," I say before taking a seat on the chair near the couch.
"I want to start off by saying it's very nice to meet you. I am Kenzie."
"Hey, Kenzie," I say shaking her hand, "I'm Joe."
"I want to say thank you for saving my niece's life. It was very nice of you to donate your bone marrow to her."
"I just wanted to help someone."
"I understand," she says, "so tell me a little about you."
"Well, my name is Joe, I live in Florida but I'm a WWE superstar so I have a heavy schedule. I travel all over and I am on the road a lot so I am hardly ever home more than 2 days a week. Right now I am sharing a house with my cousin Nia in Florida. I'm a big family man and I love my family. My wife passed away a couple years ago in a work accident. I don't have any kids. I enjoy traveling and I love football."
"I'm sorry about your wife, I'm sure you know about Wyatt and his passing?" she asks.
"I do know about it," I nod.
"So what are your intentions with my sister? She has gone through a lot in the last few years. I need to know that your intentions are pure."
"I am very attracted to your sister. I have never felt this way about anyone except for my wife. I think your sister is amazing and strong. I think she's beautiful and she's an awesome mother to her children. I want to get to know her, love her and hopefully one day marry her and have a family with her as long as Madden is up for that. I do want to make this relationship last as long as I can but I also understand your sister's grief and I am not going to rush her or push her into anything she's not ready for so we are just going to take it one step at a time and enjoy what we have now and not think about the future."
"I see," she says, "and how do you plan to have a relationship with her while you live in Florida and you're on the road a lot?"
"Well," I say, "I'm here now to see the girls and see her. Having a relationship while on the road is going to take some time to adjust to but we can make it work by talking every day."
"And my nieces what do you think of them and what's your intention with them?"
"I think Gatsby and Amari are great kids," I say. "I enjoy spending time with them and getting to know them. I care about them as much as I do their mother."
"Okay," she says, "I don't want to see their hearts broken they have all been through enough."
"I have no intention of breaking any hearts," I say, "I promise."
"I should hope not but I have to look out for my sister and her girls, we don't have much family left. She's all I got and I am all she's got since our parents passed away. I don't want to see her hurt."
"My intention is not to hurt her, you have my word," I say as Madden comes back into the living room.
"If you're done harassing my man I would like to go spend some time with him before he has to leave again," she says.
"I'm done harassing him," says Kenzie, "he is all yours."
"Damn right he is," she says making me smile. I stand up and take her hand into mine pulling her close to me. I capture her lips for a soft sweet kiss. Kenzie clears her throat causing us to break the kiss. "Come on," she says taking me upstairs to her bedroom. She shuts and locks the door behind us and then kisses me again. I kiss her back, cupping her face in my hands as I kiss her. She guides me over to the bed without breaking the kiss. "I missed you," she says.
"I missed you too," I say kissing her again.
As things start heating up between us, as we strip each other out of our clothes, kissing and feeling all over each other just as we are about to make love again she stops me and says, "my sister brought up a good point earlier, maybe we should be more careful. I'm not on birth control and we haven't been using any protection. I think we are taking a big risk."
"I'm not worried about the risk," I say with a smile. "I knew the risk the first night we were together and I was fine with the risk. Are you okay with the risk of having a child?"
"I mean, I guess," she says wrapping her arms around me.
"If it happens, Madden it happens, I'm not going to be a shit father if it does happen. I'll be there. We'll deal with it and get through it together. Do you want me to wear a condom?"
"I think we are okay," she smiles. I lean down and kiss her lips softly as I slowly enter her to make love to her over and over again this night.
*A/N: What did you think of Mari telling Kenzie the news about Joe and Madden? Do you think Kenzie likes Joe and thinks he's good enough for her sister? What do you think of Joe's relationship with the girls? Do you think Wyatt's family is going to write to the girls? And finally what do you think of the risk Joe and Madden are taking together? What about Joe's intentions for his relationship with Madden? Please review and thank-you for reading.
