PATRICK
Being a single father should've been troublesome, but Patrick Jane made it look fairly easy.
His daughter, Charlotte Jane, was the spitting image of him, something he took pride in. Golden locks of hair, sea green eyes, a smile full of mischief. The seven year old could get anything she wanted as long as she beamed that smile and batted her eyelashes. It was unfair to him, since he could never say no to the girl, but in all honesty he didn't mind one bit.
Charlotte was the light to his darkness. She put a smile on his face whenever he was feeling down, she never judged him on the kind of person he was, and she managed to keep him on his toes instead of letting him drown in the deep end. If it weren't for her, he'd be thousands of meters under by now.
To say he was grateful for her was an understatement. Ever since her mother passed away, a heavy cloud had been lurking over him, but the pain was slowly lessening everyday. The ache in his chest wasn't as painful and he could finally inhale a deep breath without wincing. Charlotte was the reason he was still alive, the reason why he wanted to stay strong.
He loved her more than anything. And if he lost her, he didn't know what he'd do.
"Daddy," the seven year old bounced up to him in her princess dress, her blonde curls a mess on her head. She raked her fingers through the tangles. "Can you do my hair? It's crazy!"
Patrick chuckled, already reaching for the hairbrush on the coffee table. As he ran the brush through her hair, he asked, "do you really want to wear your princess dress to the store?"
"Yes, daddy," she answered with a tone of finality. "Everyone needs to know I'm a princess."
"Can't argue with that," he grinned. "You want your hair up or down?"
"Up. A bun, please."
"Okay, your highness." He easily put her hair up in a bun, a loose blonde tendril curling around her chin. She giggled and puffed it out of her face.
"Thank you, daddy." She turned around and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
"You're welcome, honey." He kissed the top of her head before getting up from the couch, patting his jean pocket to make sure he had his wallet and keys. When he was sure he had everything, he ushered Charlotte out the door, shutting and locking it behind them.
Despite being seven years old, Charlotte was still inclined to a booster seat due to her small size. As Patrick helped buckle her up, she poked his forehead. "When we get to the store, can we get blueberry muffins?"
He hummed. "We'll see."
"And marshmallows!"
"That's a lot of sugar." He tapped her nose and shut the door, walking around the car to slide into the driver's seat. Once they were both settled, he keyed the engine and pulled out of the driveway.
He listened to Charlotte babble with a smile on his face, always interested in whatever she had to say, no matter how random it was. At the moment she was ranting about how Rapunzel was the best Disney princess and he of course had to agree.
"I look like Rapunzel, daddy. Right?"
"Right," he agreed with a nod of his head.
"I want a chame...cham...chameleā¦" she tried to pronounce the name, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
"Chameleon, honey," he finished for her.
"Yeah! That." She nodded. "I want that. Then I'd really be like Rapunzel."
He laughed softly, pulling into the parking lot of the grocery store. He found an empty spot to park and got out of the car, helping Charlotte out and taking hold of her hand.
They headed inside the store with their fingers intertwined. She skipped alongside him, her pink dress bouncing with each step. "What are we getting, daddy?"
"Some stuff to make for dinner," he answered her, guiding her towards the frozen foods section. They stopped in front of the glass doors that held frozen vegetables, to which Charlotte wrinkled her nose at.
"I don't like vegetables."
Patrick glanced down at her, feigning shock. "What? You don't like vegetables? Why on earth not?"
"They're yucky."
"They are not." He opened one of the doors and grabbed a pack of frozen broccoli, setting it in the shopping cart. "Vegetables are good for you. They make you big and strong."
"I'm already big and strong," she said. "Ice cream is better than vegetables. Can we get some?"
He quirked an eyebrow at her. "I thought you said you wanted blueberry muffins and marshmallows."
"I do. And ice cream."
He was about to protest, but one look at her big, pleading eyes and he sighed. "Whatever the princess wants."
She squealed, releasing his hand and running off to find the ice cream section. He shook his head and followed after her, picking up his slow pace so he wouldn't lose her.
"Sorry!" He suddenly heard her apologetic voice echo from one of the aisles, and he hurried to find her. "I'm so sorry!"
He found her two aisles over, standing in front of a woman with her hand covering her mouth. The woman's phone was on the tile floor, the black screen shattered.
"I'm really sorry," Charlotte said shakily, clearly on the verge of tears. "I didn't mean to."
The woman bent down to retrieve her broken phone, silently assessing the damage. Patrick pulled Charlotte to him, his mouth open, ready to apologize, but she beat him to it.
"It's okay," she said finally, looking up from her phone and sending Charlotte a warm smile. "It was an accident."
Charlotte looked up at her dad with wide eyes filled with unshed tears. "I didn't mean to, daddy. I'm sorry."
Patrick wet his lips and looked at the woman, his eyes apologetic. "I'm so sorry, miss. I'll pay for the damage. Actually, I'll buy you a new phone."
The woman brushed off his offer. "No need. It's perfectly okay. She didn't mean to." When she smiled, Patrick finally took the time to drink her in and his heart hammered in his chest. "I was due for a new phone anyway."
He swallowed hard, taking in her calm features with his eyes. Her skin was pale and littered with freckles, her ebony hair hanging like a curtain in front of her face. Her face was heart-shaped with a button nose and small, pink lips. All of those factors made her beautiful, but what really stood out to him were her eyes.
Emerald green irises sat in her doe-like eyes, glittering with an emotion he couldn't quite make out. He'd never seen eyes as enchanting as hers; they made his breath quicken.
As he took in the rest of her, he saw that she was wearing a black button-up shirt and blue jeans that flared out at the ankles. A cross necklace hung around her neck as a remembrance to something, perhaps a deceased family member of sorts.
"Please, let me at least pay for the damage." He was already digging out his wallet, pulling out a wad of hundreds to hand to her. "It's the least I can do."
She shook her head, refusing to take the money. "It's fine, really. She's a kid, it's alright."
Realizing she wouldn't accept the cash no matter how much he urged her to, he frowned, rubbing his chin where stubble has sprang out thoughtfully. "Alright, if you insist. At least tell me your name so I can apologize properly."
She smiled softly at him, dimples appearing in her cheeks. "Teresa. Teresa Lisbon."
"Patrick Jane," he said, outstretching his hand for her to shake. She complied. "It's nice to meet you, Teresa Lisbon."
"Likewise." Her eyes flickered to the little girl who was still huddled against Patrick, her arms chained around his leg. She looked frazzled.
Crouching down, she flashed the girl a kind smile. "Hi, I'm Teresa. What's your name?"
Charlotte glanced up at Patrick, silently asking if it was okay, and the man nodded.
"Charlotte," she said in a soft voice. "I'm sorry for breaking your phone."
"It's alright. I needed a new one anyway." Teresa noticed the princess dress she was wearing and raised her eyebrows. "Sleeping beauty, huh? You certainly look the part."
Charlotte's apprehension was immediately washed away by Teresa's comment. Perking up, she asked, "you like princesses?"
"Of course. Who doesn't like princesses?"
"Daddy," Charlotte said matter-of-factly, jabbing a finger at her father. "When we play dress up, he says no to wearing a dress."
Teresa couldn't hold back the chuckle that escaped her. Her eyes flitted up at Patrick who simply shrugged, his eyes glimmering with amusement.
"Is that so?" Teresa straightened, stuffing her broken phone into her back pocket. "Well, not everyone can be a princess, I suppose."
"You could be snow white," Charlotte said with enthusiasm, her eyes huge with delight. "We could play dress up sometime!"
Patrick quickly threw himself into the conversation, linking his fingers with Charlotte's. "I'm sure Teresa is a busy woman, Char. Let's let her get back to shopping, okay?"
Charlotte pouted but didn't argue. As she busied herself with picking out an ice cream flavor, Patrick smiled sheepishly at Teresa. "We're very sorry about your phone. If there's anything I can do for you, please let me know."
She raised an eyebrow. "Think we'll bump into each other again, do you?"
His face immediately flushed. "Well, I-I wouldn't be opposed to it."
She laughed a sweet, rich laugh that tugged at his heartstrings. "Alright. Thank you, Patrick."
"It's my pleasure."
She shot him one last smile before walking down the aisle and disappearing around the corner, leaving him alone with Charlotte. He expelled a breath, rubbing the side of his jaw while Charlotte brought him a tub of rocky road ice cream.
"She was pretty," Charlotte said absentmindedly as he took the ice cream from her. "Like a real princess."
He allowed a small smile to take over his features as he thought back to the breathtaking woman. "Yeah. Let's finish shopping, shall we?"
