Past Mistakes
Chapter 13
Mike had not realized how exhausting it would be to reconnect with Hannah and fix things with Christine. His lunch out with Hannah had gone well, and he would be spending some one-on-one time with her to help her with her confidence. At times it would be a battle of the wills with her, but Mike would continue working on it. After supper that night, Mike settled on the couch out of sheer exhaustion. Christine and Katie were working on something, and Hannah was upstairs. Emma crawled up on the couch with him and settled under his arm.
"Hannah said you guys had a fun time. Can we go for lunch sometime?" Emma asked.
"You bet." Mike answered. He had wanted to get to know Emma better but just couldn't do much with her.
"I'm jealous of her and Katie." Emma remarked.
"Why?" Mike asked. He was exhausted, but Emma always had interesting insights.
"Because they have a daddy and I don't. I don't even know what a daddy is, but I want one." Emma said earnestly.
"A daddy…it isn't a physical thing and there doesn't have to be a physical connection. It just means that two people agree to love unconditionally." Mike tried to explain.
"Like you and Mommy?" Emma asked.
"Not exactly. It's a different sort of love. I really don't know how to explain it." Mike said.
"But no one loves me like that?" Emma asked, getting obviously upset.
"Moms love the same way." Mike answered, hoping it would diffuse Emma.
"Its not the same, though." Emma stated as she began tearing up. It was a make or break moment for Mike and he knew it.
"No, I don't guess it is. Tell you what; how about this? How about I just be your daddy?" Mike suggested.
"Do you want to be?" Emma asked.
"I sure do." Mike told her. He was even surprised at his answer, mostly because of how bad of a job he had done with Hannah. A thousand questions popped up, but he had no doubts.
"Does it mean that I can call you Daddy instead of Mr. Mike? It gets confusing sometimes." Emma asked.
"Yes. Can I call you…princess?" Mike asked.
"You call Katie sweet pea, and you call Hannah lady bug. I guess princess works for me." Emma said with a huge smile.
"Good. I think its perfect, Princess Emma." Mike said with a laugh before kissing the little girls on the top of the head and cuddling her close. Little did he know; Christine was watching and listening to the exchange and was smiling in response. It was just what she wanted to happen.