Puppy Dog Eyes
"Can we get a cake pop from Starbucks?" asked Makayla, tugging on Adam's hand, while giving him the puppy dog eyes. She knew exactly how to work him. He stared at her for a second, then looked at Kim, who laughed, rolling her eyes.
"Why do you even look at me? You've already agreed to her anyway," she said. They turned onto the corner toward the coffee shop, Makayla between Adam and Kim, each of hands in one of theirs. It was a cold Chicago winter day, but the sun was shining and the three of them were apartment hunting. After talking about their relationship, Adam and Kim had decided to look for a bigger apartment so he could have his own room. He smiled when he remembered the night he'd talked to Mak about the three of them living together.
"You're gonna live on the couch?" she'd exclaimed.
"No, we're gonna look for a bigger apartment," he'd chuckled.
Now, as he walked with both his girls, he felt happy, something he hadn't felt in a long time. After the baby, it had taken him months to finally get back to normal, and that had only happened after he and Kim had started hanging out again. Now he couldn't imagine his life without them.
They entered the coffee shop, Adam holding the door open for the other two. Mak immediately walked up to the display, ooh-ing and aah-ing over all the pastries.
"Makayla, just one, okay honey? We don't wanna spoil your lunch," said Kim, turning to look at Adam with warning eyes.
"Hey, you better not let her get more than one, Adam. You never know how to say no to her," she scolded, but her tone was amused.
"Yeah it took her no time to figure out how to get me to say yes to anything," complained Adam. Kim rolled her eyes.
"It's not fair! You're always the good cop, I have to be the strict parent," said Kim, while keeping an eye on Mak. They were waiting in line while she was ahead by the glass display.
"Do you think we should switch it up one day? I'll be bad cop next time," said Adam.
"HA! You won't last a minute. She'll pull that little puppy face and you'll melt into a puddle," said Kim as they both laughed.
When it was their turn, they ordered coffees for the both of them and a strawberry cake pop and hot chocolate for Mak. After paying, they exited the café and started walking the two blocks to the apartment they were showing Makayla. Kim and Adam had gone there a few days ago to take a look, but they wanted Makayla to have a say in this to make sure she liked the place too.
Once they reached the apartment, they took the elevator to the fifth floor and met the landlady at the door. They entered the place, and Makayla immediately went to the huge window overlooking the city.
"Hey, it kinda looks like the house we live in now," she said.
"It is kinda is similar, kiddo. There's just another room where I can sleep, but the best part is your room," Adam replied, to which Makayla looked at him in excitement.
"What is it? Tell me," she asked, jumping up and down, so Adam took her hand and led her through the hallway toward the bedrooms.
Kim had been looking around the apartment, visualizing where all the stuff would go, but she'd tuned into Adam and Makayla's conversation and watched them walk away with a soft smile on her face.
"You have a beautiful family," she heard from behind her, and turned to find the landlady, Jillian, standing behind her with a smile on her face. Kim was still not used to people referring to them as a family, but in truth, they really were one, and it warmed her heart to know that others saw it too. They weren't your typical family, but they were in all the ways that counted, and Kim was happier than she'd ever been.
"Thank you", she replied. "The place is great. As long as Makayla has no issues, we're looking to sign the lease and start moving in as soon as possible," Kim told her.
"Of course. Once all the paperwork is filled out, we'll hand the keys over and you can move-in right away," Jillian replied.
"Great," Kim replied, just as she heard a shriek from Makayla. Startled, she dashed in the direction of the noise.
"Adam? Makayla?" she called out. When she reached what would be Makayla's room, she stopped short. Makayla was holding onto a brand new bike, decked out with pink and purple tassels coming out of the handlebars and big wicker basked up front. She looked at Adam, who was looking down at Mak and showing her the training wheels. Kim smiled slowly, remembering the day she'd come to see this place with Adam. Upon finding out there's was a small park in the apartment complex where kids could ride their bikes, Adam had made up his mind to buy Mak a bike and teach her how to ride it. They'd talked about it, but Adam hadn't told her he'd went ahead and bought one.
He looked up then, noticing her. His eyes were nervous, probably because he was scared she'd be mad he bought it without telling her. She shook her head at him, giving him a smile. He smiled back, their sweet moment interrupted when Makayla asked Adam another question. She then noticed Kim standing in the doorway and started shrieking in excitement.
"Kim! Look, Adam bought me a new bike! Isn't it so pretty?" she continued chattering, not giving Kim a chance to respond. When Makayla started wheeling the bike around the room in circles, Adam walked over to Kim and put an arm around her.
"She seems happy, don't you think?" he asked her.
"You think? Look at her, she's running around with it like a headless chicken. I don't think I've ever seen her this excited," Kim replied, looking fondly exasperated at her daughter.
"You need to be careful, though. She's gonna start asking you for everything and you're gonna end up saying yes to everything," joked Kim.
As if she'd heard their soft conversation, Makayla turned to Adam and exclaimed "Adam! Can we get a puppy? Then I can put it in my basket and take it riding with me!"
Kim and Adam burst out laughing.
"Let's get settled into our new place first, lil darlin'. We'll see about the puppy, okay?" he said. Kim laughed and shook her head, while took her back in his arms and pressed to her forehead, just as Makayla started running around in circles again. Life was good.
