Chapter 29
Adam couldn't believe what he'd let himself be talked into. He was now certain that Melia and Alannah could talk him into just about anything. He wasn't sure how he and Alannah were going to take care of an infant and a teenager, but it was to late now. Alannah would be home alone lots of the time anyway, so it shouldn't have surprised him that he gave in. Adam was gald this was temporary though. He loved Kennedy, but she was just like him at her age. Thier father, unfortunately, is nothing like his mother.
His father is permissive with Kennedy; he knows it. Adam's mother had never been permissive with him or Melia. He didn't know right now who had it worse. He knew this was going to be a difficult few months.
"Is the room ready?" Alannah asked. She knew he was nervous about this.
"It's fine. I've checked it like three times in the last hour," Adam said.
"Adam as crazy as this sounds, your doing the right thing. Kennedy is lucky to have siblings like you and Melia," Alannah said. She knew he was having his doubts. She would be to if she were him.
"I know. I'm just not sure this will be a positive relationship building experience. I mean she isn't going to be an easy child," Adam said.
"Sometimes the most difficult child is the most rewarding. You have an oppertunity to make a huge impact on her life.You can't say you wouldn't regret making this decision at some point," Alannah told him.
"But I can regret actually making it. Things are just starting to calm down and now this," Adam said.
"This isn't forever. It's just for a couple months," Alannah rmeinded him. "Your just being a drama king. I'm married to a drama king. That sounds like some MTV show."
"It couldn't be as bad as listening to the crap music they play on MTV most of the time," Adam siad.
"Amen," Alannah agreed before going to check
on thier three month old son, Alexander.
-
Melia and Dave were beginning to look for a house. Dave wasn't looking forward to it much. He and Angie had a lot of difficulty house hunting, and hoped problems would arise again, even though he wasn't looking forward to dealing with them.
Melia, on the other hand, was thrilled about finding a house of her own. "Our flight is tomorrow morning right?" Melia asked.
"Yes, we
should be there before Kennedy," Dave said. He'd been hearing
this all day.
"Good, I don't want her to think she's being
pawned off on someone," Melia said.
"Adam's gonna need all the help he can get," Dave said.
"She's a good kid; she just needs some guidance," Melia insisted. She knew Kennedy did need more than just a little guidance.
"She tries to flirt with Randy every chance she gets. He's nine years older than her and in a serious relationship," Dave pointed out.
"Your nine years older than me and we're going good," Melia said.
"She's 15 and you were 23 when we met. I don't recall you flirting with me right away either," Dave said. "It's not just Randy either. She throws herself at half the male locker room."
"Let's not talk about this right now," Melia said. "We don't have time right now. We need to get ready."
"Fine," Dave said. "The girls are going to stay with my mom for a couple days still right?"
"Yeah, that's the plan. Let' get everything
together so we don't forget anything," Melia said. She'd wanted
to take the girls with them, but in the end practicality had won out.
Neither her nor Dave were sure how this would go and didn't want the
girls to feel awkward. She decided that he was
right.
-
Adam hadn't been able to sleep well that night. Both his sisters were due in the next morning, and he knew things could get out of control quickly
He cursed his father
for not telling Kennedy what was going on, but he knew it was the
other man's choice to make. Kennedy only knew that she was going to
stay with Adam and Melia eventually. She might suspect the cancer is
back, but his father didn't plan on confirming or denying
anything.
-
Kennedy was upset. There was something that she was being kept out of the loop of. She wasn't thrilled with the prospect of going to live with either of her siblings, who she barely knew, but that wouldn't matter to any of them. She wasn't sure if Alannah liked her, but she knew Dave didn't like her much.
She had to get up at an ungodly early hour. This was one
more thing that Kennedy was going to told against them. She was 15
not five like everyone kept treating her as. She wasn't going to be
that little girl ever again. She wished they would accept that she
was growing up and didn't need the help they thought she did.
She
was going to resent them for a long time. She wasn't going to make
this easy on them since they weren't making it easy on
her.
-
When Kennedy arrived in Tampa she found her siblings an thier significant others. Sh wasn't thrilled with the idea of waling with a pregnant woman, especially now that Melia was beginning to show, and two wrestlers. She wanted things to be as low key as possible, but it didn't look like it was going to work.
"Does he go everywhere with you?" Kennedy asked referring to Dave.
"He had a name," Dave said gruffly.
"You'll get used to it," Adam said. "He usually just observes. He's pretty quiet.
"He's a harmless teddy bear and he's practically part of the family," Melia said.
"But he's not. You haven't married him. He doesn't belong here," Kennedy said.
"Kennedy Elizabeth-" Adam began.
"Let me," Melia said. "Dave will be part of our family. I know right now things aren't easy for you, but they aren't easy for us either."
"What makes it hard for you?" Kennedy asked. "I'm the one who's moving from place to place. I'm the one who's in the dark as to why."
"Kennedy, we're happy your staying with us. Dad will tell you why in his own time. He just wants you to be happy right now," Adam said.
"Why would I be any more happy with you guys than I was before?" Kennedy asked. "You don't want me any more than he does."
"Look, sweetie, we know you don't think we want you here, but you should at least try to be happy. You deserve to be happy," Alannah said. She knew this was going to be a challenge.
"If you really want me how come your sharing me?" Kennedy asked.
"Because not only do we want you to be happy wherever you are. I'm sure my couch or livingroom floor isn't looking very pleasant right now," Melia siad. "If you like saying with Adam then by all means you can stay there. If not you can try living with Dave and I."
"So you're saying I ge some say in this.?" Kennedy asked.
"As long as you don't abuse it," Adam said. He and Melia had already talked about this and keeping things pretty much consistent.
"Just give it a shot. If you weren't happy with your dad then what have you got to lose?" Alannah asked.
"Time with my friends and doing what I want," Kennedy said.
"We know Dad pretty much let you do whatever you please, but we do have a couple simple rules. The biggest one is we need to know where you are at all times, and the other is that you respect the fact you will have to help some around the house," Adam said. He knew this was going to turn into a good guy bad guy thing. Most likely he and Dave were going to end up the bad guys. It was pretty much inevitable.
"Can I travel with you guys?" Kennedy asked.
"We'll talk about it," Melia said. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea right now with everything else changing. She needed to be in a regular school, and when Melia was on maternity leave she was going to be at home. She and Adam hadn't expected that question, and she had a feeling more unexpected questions were yet to come.
