A/N: Didn't realize I had left this story hanging on FF, as I've been updating it regularly on AO3. Sorry FF readers!
"Uncle Roy, can Annelise and I sit at our own table?" Elysia asked after they had ordered their food. Her and Roy were gathering some straws and napkins, while Edward and Annelise were already sitting at a table.
"Well, that's up to Annelise's Father, so you might want to ask him." Roy said, "But if he says no, don't get too upset."
Elysia smiled, "Okay." She replied, as she walked off towards the others.
"Take these with you, please." Roy said, handing Elysia her and Annelise's lemonades. Elysia nodded, taking the glasses. "Be careful!" Roy called as she walked away, watching as Elysia carefully walked away with the cups.
Annelise sat in her Father's lap, she was coloring on the kids menu that Miss. Martel had given her. Edward also had a crayon in hand, coloring alongside Annelise, a wide smile on his lips.
"Mr. Edward?" Elysia asked, shifting back and forth on her feet, "Is it okay if Annelise and I sit at our own table?"
Edward looked a little uneasy, "Well," he started, "that's up to Annelise, Annie would you like to sit at your own table with Elysia?"
Annelise looked between her Father and Elysia, not really sure what to do.
Edward smiled, "It's okay if you want to sit with Elysia, me and Mr. Roy will be alright." Annelise nodded, jumping down from her Dad's lap and following Elysia.
Edward watched as they walked to a table just a little ways away, and he sent Annelise a smile when she looked back and waved at him. She was getting so big, and Edward wondered how he was so lucky to have such a good kid.
The sound of a glass being set down brought Edward out of his thoughts, Roy had brought their lemonades and some napkins over. "The girls sitting at their own table?" Roy asked, looking over at Elysia rambling to Annelise.
"Yeah." Edward said, "Annelise seems so nervous to be by herself with a friend."
Roy chuckled, "Well Elysia can be a little overbearing sometimes, she gets it from her Father." Roy said, "Martel said our food should be ready in about ten to fifteen minutes."
Edward smiled, "Great, after all of Elysia's rave reviews I'm excited to try the food."
Roy nodded as he took a seat, "I promise all her reviews are accurate, this is one of my favorite places to eat." Roy replied, "but it's definitely Elysia's favorite place to eat if you couldn't tell."
"So, where's your favorite place to eat?" Edward asked, twirling the straw around his glass.
"Hmm…" Roy replied, "I'll have to think about that." He paused for a moment, thinking of all the restaurant in town. "It's this place on the other side of town, about twenty minutes away and it's called Launceston Place." Roy paused, "But it's more formal, and so I don't go to it very often."
Edward smiled, "I'd love to go there sometime." He said, and Roy saw something in Edward's golden eyes that made his heart do a flip.
Roy sent him a smile back, "Well, I might just have to take you there sometime."
"So, Uncle Roy really likes your Dad." Elysia said, stirring her straw around her cup of lemonade. She lifted her head up, her wavy hair bouncing around slightly, turning her bright green eyes to Annelise. "They should hang out together, but like, without us."
Annelise cocked her head to the side, "But they are hanging out." She said, not really understanding Elysia. "And they are sitting all the way over there, and we are all the way over here." Annelise continued, pointing towards the three table space that separated the girls from Ed and Roy. They were just out of range where they couldn't hear each other.
Elysia rolled her eyes, "That's the point, Annie." She replied, "They need to spend some time alone together."
Annelise took a sip of her lemonade, "But why?" She asked, not really understanding Elysia's point.
Elysia let out a big sigh, letting her head fall slightly. "Annie, they need to get to know each other like, without us kids around." She started, "so they can, you know, like have dates or whatever."
Annelise cocked her head to the side, "Like play dates?" She asked, taking another sip of her drink. She turned to look back at her Dad, feeling kind of nervous without him being near her. Edward happened to turn just as Annelise looked back at him, and he sent her a warm smile. It made Annelise feel better, and she turned back to look at Elysia.
"Well, sort of." Elysia started, "But more like dates Mommy and daddy's have, where they get all dressed up and go to dinner or whatever."
"Ohhhh." Annelise said, "But why do we need to do that?" Annelise asked, she just didn't understand what Elysia was saying. Annelise already had a Mommy, even if she was gone. Why would Daddy need to go on fancy playdates with Roy?
Elysia let out a sigh, "Because silly!" She started, "They make each other happy, and I haven't seen Uncle Roy this happy in a long time." A soft smile found way to her lips, as she looked over at the two adults sitting several tables away, they were laughing and both had wide smiles on their faces.
"Your Dad looks pretty happy too, don't you think?" Elysia asked, looking at the blond man who looked far happier right now than he did back at the dance studio.
Annelise turned to look at the other table, and she watched as her Father and Roy were engaged in conversation with wide smiles. Even at four, Annelise knew that something had changed in her Dad since he met Roy. "Yeah, he's like super happy and Daddy hasn't been super happy in a looooong time." Annelise said.
"So you'd want him to be super happy, like all the time, right?" Elysia asked, taking a drink of her lemonade.
"Yeah, I like when Daddy is super happy because then he plays with, and watches tv with me, and reads stories to me." Annelise said, "When Daddy is sad, he lays in bed all day and it makes me sad."
"Well it looks like Uncle Roy makes your Daddy super happy, so if they hang out a lot then maybe your Daddy won't be so sad all the time." Elysia explained, "So we need to come up with a plan to make sure they spend, lots and lots of time together."
"Okay," Annelise said, "How do we do that?"
It was then that their food arrived, Martel bringing it over with a wide grin on her face. "Here you go, girlies!" Martel said, "I hope you enjoy!", before she vanished back into the kitchen. Annelise squealed when she saw Martel cut her sandwiches into little flowers like she had promised.
"Yummy, peanut butter and jelly flower sandwiches!" Annelise exclaimed, "What did you get, Elysia?"
"I got turkey and cheese butterfly sandwiches." Elysia replied. "You should get them next time, they are super tasty."
Annelise nodded in agreement, taking a bite from one of her sandwiches. "So how are we gonna get Daddy and Mr. Roy to 'ang out together?" Annelise asked, still not fully understanding Elysia's ideas.
Elysia's lips fell into a slight pout, "That's a good question.." She muttered, "I think we have to set them up, like at my house or something ." Elysia explained, taking a bite of her food. She was quiet for a minute, before her eyes lite up. "Hey I've got an idea!" She squealed, leaning over the table and whispering it into Annelise's ear.
"That's perfect!" Annelise exclaimed, a wide smile on her lips.
"Well they're hitting it off swimmingly." Roy said with a smile, "Don't you think?"
Edward sat across from Roy, watching Annelise and Elysia sitting at their own table just a short ways from them. He smiled, "Yeah, I'm glad." Pausing for a moment to take a sip of his drink, "Al's told me that they are worried about her somewhat because when she's not with one of us she becomes very shy and won't really talk."
Roy nodded, "That's what Al was telling me the other day, she was super quiet when she was at my house." Roy said, stirring his straw around his cup. "He says the teacher is worried about it."
Edward nodded, "Yeah, I am too." Edward started, "But in a way I'm not, because I was the same way as a kid, just introverted." He continued, "Back in Resembol, things were different because it was the country so I think the city has thrown her off some." Ed paused for a moment to take a drink, "Everyone knew everyone in Resembol, so she never had to deal with new people, and of course starting school has been an adjustment." Edward was quiet for a minute, "And, well, my wallowing in bed for the last few months clearly hasn't helped."
Roy nodded, "Change is so hard for kids, I'm sure she will grow out of it." He answered, "Oh look, here comes our food!"
Martel came walking over with two large plates in her hands, "Here you go guys," She said with a smile, sitting the plates down in front of them, "Enjoy!"
The two fell into silence as they started eating their food, Edward had ordered a Turkey Club sandwich while Roy had ordered a grilled chicken panini. Edward smiled, "This is good, thank you." He said.
"You're welcome." Roy said, a soft smile on his lips.
"How much do I owe you?" Edward asked, "I can give it to you before we leave."
Roy shook his head, "No, no." He replied, "You don't owe me anything at all."
Edward felt his cheeks heat up, "But, but that's not fair." Ed replied, "I should give you something."
Roy merely shook his head again, "No, you don't owe me anything at all." He paused for a moment, resting his head in his hand. "Actually, a promise is all you owe me."
Edward paused for a moment, "What?" He asked.
"Promise me that we can do this again?" Roy asked, looking into Edward's warm amber eyes.
"Fine, but only if I can pay." Edward agreed, pausing to take a bite of his sandwich.
"One more condition." Roy added, gears turning in his head.
"Hmm?" Edward asked, his mouth full of food.
"No kids next time." Roy said with a grin, "I want to learn more about you, not just about single parenting."
Edward felt his face flush once more, "Okay." He agreed, his voice soft, "Deal."