Chapter 15 – Father and daughter
Seth walked round the house, picking up toys everywhere. The house was big and had lots of open spaces. The kids loved to play in the living room and Seth always let them take down their toys so they could play there. He liked the company and knew that the kids would play with each other if they were in the same room. He had always missed that when he was a kid; to have a brother or sister to play with. Summer was also the only child and they both found it important to have more than one child. Though Ava and Casey were very different and it was three years between them they still enjoyed playing with each other and didn't fight often at all. Ava loved to be a big sister, it made her seem older, and Casey always watched his sister with respect. They were the best of combination, because of their differences.
Seth was tired; he had been spending the whole day getting the kids ready for school, working, playing with them again and then take them to bed. Those were not new things to Seth; he did those things every day. It was jus that he had always had someone by his side to help him; he and Summer would always do it together.
As Seth were about to make some tee for himself, Ava walked into the kitchen in her pink pyjamas. She looked clear awake, though her hair was a little messed up.
"Hi honey, why aren't you in bed?" Seth asked as he took the water from the stove. He had put her to bed one and a half hour ago.
"I couldn't sleep daddy. What are you doing?" She asked as Seth lifted his tiny daughter up in his arms, kissing her forehead.
"I was just making some tee, nothing important. So, why couldn't you sleep?" Ava placed her arms around her father's neck.
"I miss mommy." She said and Seth began to stroke her back. He knew that this wasn't easy for any of them. It had now been almost two days since Summer left and this was the first reaction from the kids that they missed her.
"I know sweetie. Would you like to call her?"
"Now?"
"Yes, I bet your mother's up." The little girl smiled and nodded her head. Seth carried her to the phone and dialled Summer's number.
"Hello!"
"Hi Sum, it's me. Ava wants to talk to you. She's missing you."
"Sure, let me talk to her." Seth gave Ava the phone and sat down on the couch with her in his knee.
"Mommy?" Ava said with her cute voice; Summer had missed that.
"Hi sweetie. How are you?"
"I'm fine. I just couldn't sleep."
"Why don't you ask daddy to tell you a story. You have to sleep, it's school tomorrow."
"Okay, but mommy."
"Yeah."
"I want you to come home soon and daddy wants you too. He's feels lonely." The last words she said in a lower voice, but Seth could hear her since he sat next to her.
"He does? Well, I promise to come home as soon as I can, tell daddy that. But you know what, I think he's doing fine."
"I don't think so mommy, but I'm gonna make him tell me a story; I'm pretty tired."
"Yeah, you do that. I'll call you tomorrow. I love you and tell daddy that I love him too."
"Okay, I love you mommy. Bye." Ava gave the phone to her daddy and let him turn it off. She yawned and curled up in his knee.
"Daddy, mommy said that she loves you and she said that you should tell me a story." Seth stood up and pulled his daughter with him.
"Okay, let's go back to your room then." He said and walked to Ava's bedroom, where he laid her in bed and put the covers round her. He sat himself next to her and made himself comfortable.
"So, what story do you want to hear today?"
"I don't know. Pick whichever you want, but it has to be a good one."
"Okay." Seth started and thought of a very good story. "It was a pretty windy night in October. Your mother and I had been at your grandparents earlier that evening and we were both tired. But in the middle of the night we had to go to the hospital, because we were going to have a beautiful little baby. We knew that we would have a girl, but we hadn't decided the name yet.
When the baby girl was born and laid in her mothers arms, I thought that our baby was the most beautiful baby in the world. She had the cutest cheeks and eyes and looked so much like her mother. So I thought that her name would have to be special. I knew I wanted the name Summer the first time I saw our girl. Summer like her mother and Summer like the season; the season of joy and beauty. We also decided Ava, because that means bird. And what's more beautiful and fragile than a bird flying in the sky. We wanted our baby to have possibilities and feel free. Because our girl was so special, we wanted her to have three names. The third name we came up with was Jacqueline. That was because it was a name of excitement and feminine. So, the final name became Ava Summer Jacqueline Cohen. I remember the first time I held her; she was my first daughter, my first child and she was perfect."
Seth might have said the last part loud to himself, because the daughter was asleep. She looked really peaceful as she lay in her bed, her long hair spread over the pillow. Next to her was the teddy bear Seth had given her the day she was born. Its name was Honey and she loved her. Seth leaned over Ava and kissed her on her forehead. If it was possible he thought he loved her even more than before.
To be continued…
I wanted to show more of the children, but this chapter was just about Ava. Promise something with Casey will turn up in the next chapters. What do you guys think of Seth as a dad? I also promise that Summer will meet her mother soon and we will be seeing more of Summer in Minneapolis.