CHAPTER 7
Two weeks later on a Saturday morning, Cal was making pancakes and Gillian was seated at the table drinking coffee.
A knock sounded on the back door and Cal looked at Gillian and frowned. "Who the hell is that so bloody early?"
Gillian grinned as she got up. "It's 10:00, Cal."
"It seems earlier…" Cal grumbled as he flipped the bacon in the pan.
"Maybe if you hadn't stayed up all night…" Gillian teased him as she made her way to the door.
"Making love to my wife!"
"Twice!" Gillian giggled as she opened the door and gasped. "Kyle?"
"Yes, Dr. Foster."
Gillian motioned for him to come in. "It's Lightman, Cal and I got married last week."
"Congratulations," Kyle said as he entered the kitchen and greeted Cal. "Good morning."
"Kyle!" Cal frowned with surprise.
Kyle reached into his coat pocket and brought out some papers then turned to address Gillian. "These are the final documents for the adoption. Amy is officially your daughter."
Cal came around and kissed Gillian's temple. "At's great news."
Gillian smiled as tears came to her eyes and she hugged him warmly. "The best!"
Emily bounced down the steps with Amy in her arms. "Hello!" she said to Kyle.
"Hi," Kyle smiled as he extended his hand.
Amy squealed and ran to Kyle who promptly scooped her up and kissed her before he tickled her. "Hi, Amy!"
"Kyle is a friend of Amy's family. He's the lawyer Isabel used to file the adoption papers. He just brought them by…Amy is officially ours!" Gillian explained.
"Cool!" Emily exclaimed as Amy reached for her. "Hey, that means you're officially my sister!"
"Sissy!" Amy squealed. "Eat!"
Kyle nodded. "I should probably leave you to your breakfast."
"Care to join us?" Gillian asked.
Kyle shook his head. "No…I…uh…ate already."
Cal laughed aloud. "At's a bleeding lie that is…go ahead and have a seat and join my family," he ordered.
"Thank you, I'm starving," Kyle grinned as he sat.
Gillian guided Kyle to a seat then grabbed a mug. "Coffee?"
"That would be wonderful!"
Gillian quickly poured him a cup then pushed the cream and sugar closer to his side.
Cal came in with two plates. One was filled with pancakes and one was filled with bacon and sausage. "Eat up!"
"This smells fantastic!" Kyle gushed.
"Dad makes an awesome pancake and he always makes enough to feed an army," Emily added.
Gillian was cutting up a pancake into small pieces. "They're Amy's favorite."
"Eat!" Amy asked as she wiggled her fingers in anticipation.
"Give me a second, sweetie," Gillian answered as she sprinkled a light amount of syrup over the pieces.
"EAT!" Amy squealed demandingly.
"Hey now!" Cal said as he pointed at Amy. "None of that squalling coming from you, you can wait for a second, you're not starving!"
Amy looked at him and smiled sweetly. "Dadadadada…"
Cal rolled his eyes. "Always trying to butter me up that one is…"
"I taught her that!" Emily announced proudly.
Everyone started to fill their plates and eat when Kyle smiled. "Congratulations on your wedding. Aunt Isabel said she knew you should have been together years ago."
"Thank you," Gillian said. "Your Aunt was a special kind of person."
"She was."
"I wish I could get some of the pictures she had so I can keep them for Amy."
Kyle nodded. "My mom and I are going to start cleaning out her house next weekend. I'll gather up everything I can and send them to you."
"At's great," Cal nodded. "We want this little one to know she was loved."
Gillian looked over at Kyle. "I was wondering if you would be willing to file the paperwork needed to start Cal's adoption of Amy?"
"Sure, I'd be happy to get the papers started for you."
"So what all would be involved?" Cal inquired. The door bell rang and he rolled his eyes. "Here comes the army I cook for…"
"Dad!" Emily reprimanded after she shot up and ran to the door then walked back with a young boy. "Kyle, Liam, Liam, Kyle."
They shook hands while Gillian handed Liam a plate.
"Good morning, everyone, hi Amy!" he said as he ruffled the girl's hair.
"Iam…Iam…Iam…"
"Can you be a big girl and eat that so we can go play?" Liam asked.
"Eat!" Amy asked as she offered him a piece of her pancake.
"No…" Emily shook her head. "That's Amy's…Amy needs to eat it…Liam will get his own."
Amy looked at Emily then shoveled the pancake into her mouth. "Mmmmmmmm…."
Emily and Liam laughed at Amy's antics. Amy continued to eat as she steadily grew sillier.
Cal finally had enough when Amy threw her food at Liam.
"No, Darling, we don't throw food," he reprimanded lightly.
Gillian tried to look stern as well. "Let's get you cleaned up and out of that chair."
Emily shot to her feet. "I've got her Gill, it's my fault Liam and I got her to act up. You guys sit and enjoy the rest of your breakfast."
Liam was holding Amy in the air while Emily quickly cleaned her hands and face.
Gillian looked over at Cal who shrugged as he smirked at her. "Thanks, Em."
"No problem…" Emily said as they left and went to play with Amy in the living room.
"You have a wonderful family," Kyle said as sat back in his chair and rubbed his stomach. "And that was a fabulous meal."
"Thank you," Cal smirked proudly.
Gillian stood and started to clean up the table. "My husband is a great cook but he's an even better father."
"At's one thing I do right…well most of the time," Cal smiled affectionately.
Kyle nodded, "I'd say more than most of the time…your daughter Emily seems like a great kid. I can tell Amy is in good hands here and I'll relay that information to the judge."
"That's great news!" Gillian gushed. "Would you like more coffee?"
"No thank you, I should really get back on the road."
Kyle stood and extended his hand to Cal. "The next time I see you I hope to tell you you're a father again."
Cal chuckled. "I already am, a piece of paper won't make me love Amy any more than I already do."
"Still, it'll be nice to have it official," Gillian added as she walked over to his side.
Cal slipped his arm around her and kissed her cheek. "We're a family either way."
They followed Kyle to the back door.
"I'll be back…" Kyle grinned as he imitated The Terminator's famous saying.
"Bye, Kyle safe travels…" Gillian called out.
"Later," Cal added.