Cookie baking day number 2 was a whirlwind. Adam has taken the kids out once again but this time to the mall. He wanted to search for a ring for Kim. He had two months to find the perfect ring but truly didn't think it would be an issue. Kevin has met them at the mall. He took the kids to find gifts for their parents so Adam could look without the kids. He knew they couldn't keep a secret worth a damn so this had to be the way. The store was busy being the holidays but he took time to browse the cases and get some ideas. He had a second thought and pulled out his phone making a quick call.
"Please tell me we don't have a case Ruz!" Erin asked in a very grumpy tone. "It's always nice to talk to you too Linds. But it's not a case it's actually a favor. So can you do me a favor?" Adam laughed at her grumpiness. "Oh well what do you need? Are you okay? Is Kim okay?" Now Erin was worried. "Everyone is fine. I have a plan to propose to Kim in February when we go on vacation alone together. And I would like your help picking out a ring since you've know Kim forever. So are you in?" Adam asked right before Erin started screaming with excitement. "Erin baby? What's wrong?" Jay ran in the room scared to death. "Adams going to propose to Kim! He needs help picking a ring!" Erin yelled loudly. Jay took the phone wanting to hear it himself with out all the yelling.
"Okay so what's all this yelling about?" He asked hearing Adam cracking up. "Okay so in February I'm taking Kim to NC to the beach where we met. I plan on proposing to her at the spot of our first date back then and now. So I wanted Erin's help finding one perfect for her. So I'm sorry to get Erin all upset I didn't thin, she would freak out so loudly. That wasn't my intention." Adam was quick to assure him things were okay. "Well I'm happy for you. For you both. I'm also thrilled nothing is wrong. How about you video call us from the store and we can help out. Especially since it sounds like you are there already." Jay was calming down fast now he knew what happened. "Perfect. I will call you right back." Adam hung up and called right back with FaceTime.
"Alright so this is the selection in this store. I see several I think she would like. One or two I think she would love. What about you guys?" Adam had the phone looking over the case. He had hope three heads would help him find the perfect ring faster. Hopefully before the kids came back. "Adam is the one with three diamonds one that you thought she would love?" Erin asked seeing the three princess cut diamonds. One in the middle larger and two smaller, one on each side. "Yeah. One diamond for each of us that love her so much. Me and our kids, because they are both Kim's kids. Biologically or not. What do you think?" Adam asked.
Jay looked at Erin to see her crying. "Adam. Um Erin's crying right now. So I think that's a yes from her. And I agree with your assessment. They are both your kids and hers. Even if Allie has a dad, you are also her dad. She calls you daddy Adam. I think that's proof that you guys have created a family. The ring, the wedding is just formality." Jay stated comforting his girl. "Thanks guys! I think it's set! Talk soon." Adam hung up fast after that knowing it was his turn in line. "Sir I assume you found the right one?" The associate asked having seen his phone call. "Yeah we have all been friends for years. They would know it was right or not. I just need to figure out the size. So can I purchase it and leave it here till I know the size?" Adam asked her.
"Of course. That happens more often than not. Let me get all your information and payment and then let us know when you know the size." She answered with a flirty voice. "Yeah I'm gonna leave my friend Erin's number so my girl won't get any ideas. I don't want to ruin the surprise." Adam was answering when he heard his name being yelled. "Daddy!" Both kids ran towards him hugging his legs. "Hey guys where's Uncle Kevin?" He asked picking Riley up who looked half asleep. "He's outside. He said the lady was flirting with you so he set us loose on you." Allie explained as Adam cracked up. "Well He was right. Let's finish up and head home to mommy." Adam answered.
The three exited the store with the receipt in hand. "Thanks Kev for sending in the calvary. That women looked sick when she saw two kids calling me daddy! Epic move for sure. Alright I'm taking the kids home. Thanks for the help today. Whatever we owe you for the gifts just let us know." The guys shared their bro hug before they went separate ways. "Did you guys have fun with Uncle Kevin?" Adam asked as he got the kids in the car. "It was fun. Now tired want sleep!" Riley said sleepily. "Okay Ry we will get you home." He knew Riley would t make it home even with Allie singing in the back seat.
As the pulled onto the garage Adam unbuckled Allie first who ran inside the house right away leaving Adam to get a sleeping Riley out of the car. He walked in to see lots of cookies covering the table and both Kim and Eric covered in flour. "Oh someone had too much fun. Put him to bed then you can taste test." Kim showed him off knowing Riley needed to sleep in his own bed. When he returned he saw Kim had washed her face off and had started to clean up. Allie had run off with Eric to play in her room.
"Well looks like you had a productive day? I have missed you!" Adam walked over wrapping his arms around her. "It was productive. And I missed you too! I'm so happy you are home." He felt Kim tighten her grip. "Darling what's wrong? You sound upset. And your grip is tight." Adam pulled back slightly to see her face. "He wants Allie for Christmas. He wants to take her to see his family. I know she's not going to want to go. You see her when she talks to them she bare,y says anything. And that's not our daughter. I don't know what to do." The tears were rolling down her cheeks now. Adam had nothing to say. He just held her tight and let her cry.
"We will figure it out. If she doesn't want to go then we won't force her to. She's old enough to decide if she wants to go or not. Let's sit down with Eric and talk about it. Then we talk to Allie about it. Let her make the decision." Adam kept his tight hold rubbing her back. "Yeah I know. I just don't want her rejected again like they did at her birthday. No child should go through that. She accepts you and Riley as her family and that's all that matters. The rest is crap." Kim rubbed her eyes on her hand before looking up at him. "Come on let's clean up these tear stains and let's get you something to eat. I'm sure you will feel better once you eat something." Adam knew her and knew she hadn't eaten since breakfast once again. And he knew her emotions were driven off the charts when she hadn't eaten.
Kim nodded and washed up in the half bath before heading back to the kitchen where Adam was making her some food. Nothing fancy but it would fill her up quick and it was mostly healthy. Kim ate quietly while Adam clean up the kitchen. He knew she was done cookie baking so he knew it was safe to clean. After it was all put away he scrubbed the counter top and vacuumed the floor. It had flour all over it and it was quite slippery. Kim just watched him move around the kitchen. It was very domestic and Kim was enjoying it. "Thank you for lunch and thank you for cleaning up. I really do appreciate it." Kim sighed looking towards Allies room. "Hey your welcome. This is what we do. Now come on let's snuggle up with the quiet time while we can." Adam led her to the couch pulling her on to his lap to snuggle.
He wasn't surprised when he realized she was asleep. He covered her the blanket she kept on the couch. She was always cold and kept blankets everywhere. Eric came down shortly after without Allie. "She's asleep?" He asked looking towards Kim. "Yup. I assume Allie is as well." It wasn't a question more a statement. "Yeah. Busy day. I'm sure she told you about Christmas." Eric asked already knowing the answer. "Oh yeah she told me. But we aren't talking about that right now. Kim is asleep and we will not discuss this without her. I already promised that. But I'm telling you right now if Allie doesn't want to go, she's not." Adam spoke harshly but quietly.
"I get it. But they feel bad. They want to make amends. They don't want to lose their only grand child." Eric knew he misspoke right away. "Well that's funny because my family accepted Allie as their own. Kims family accepted Riley as their own. And yet your parents treated him like dirt because he's mine. Allie loves her brother and he loves her too. We told you before, they accept them both or they don't see her. They will not bad mouth Riley or myself to her. Now I'm done with this conversation till Kim wakes up. And I'm not rushing that." Adam was harsh for sure but he didn't care. Eric left shortly after saying he would back after Kim was awake again. Adam didn't reply.
It was close to an hour later when he heard movement upstairs. He slowly moved Kim trying not to wake her. As soon as she was settled he headed for the kids rooms not knowing which was waking up. He had been surprised to see Riley was the one awake considering how tired he was. "Hey bud. Did you have a good sleep?" He asked watching Riley rubbing his eyes nodding. "That's good. You ready to get up and go potty. They we can have a snack Okay?" Adam had already picked him up and was carrying him to the bathroom. He wasn't fully awake but everyone knew it took time for Riley to fully wake up. A slow process for sure.
After Riley used the bathroom Adam checked on Allie seeing she was still sound asleep. He quietly left and brought Riley down the stairs to get a snack. Kim was big on fruit for snack time so Adam had gotten in that habit as well. Though he tended to give the kids cheese as well. Adam made the snack plate quickly before placing Riley in his high chair to eat. "Is it good?" Adam watched his son shoveling food in his mouth. He was obviously hungry. "Yeah. Kimmie seeping." Riley pointed towards her sleeping body. "Yeah Kimmie was tired today. So we have to be quiet but we can play upstairs after you finish eating." Adam explained knowing he would understand. "Okay daddy. I love Kimmie." Riley stated as he ate. "I know bud. Kimmie loves you too." He loved how much Kim loved his son. With no question Kim was the mother of his child. He wanted it to be legal but they needed to marry first.
"Daddy? Kimmie mommy?" Riley asked out of the blue. They had never used that word towards Kim so Adam was taken aback. "Yeah Ry. Kimmie is your mommy now. She is always going to love and protect you. Is that okay with you?" Adam hadn't thought it would be an issue but wanted to double check. "Yeah. I wanted a mommy. So Kimmie mommy now." Riley nodded his head like it was the final word causing Adam to chuckle. "Yup Ry. Kimmie is mommy now." Adam watched him finish his plate before carrying back upstairs to play. Adam would have let him walk but the kid got side tracked very easily and he didn't want Kim woken up.
Adam saw Allie walking out of her room as they walked up the stairs. "Hey Allie Cat. Momma is napping. How about we play up here till mommy wakes again. Okay?" Adam asked the small waking child. "Okay. I'm going to potty be right back." Allie ran off to the bathroom. "Okay bud just the three of for a bit." He moved towards Riley's room to play quietly. The three played with blocks building towers and knocking them down for another hour before Adam heard the front door open. "Be right back guys." Adam left the room. He was sure it was Eric but the door slammed loudly so he wasn't sure. He jogged down the stairs to see a very startled Kim and Eric in the kitchen.
"Hey Darling it's okay. It was just Eric slamming the door. The kids are playing upstairs. Try to relax." Kim was very confused and agitated from being woken. Adam tried his best to calm her. He watched her nod understanding his words as she tried to calm her breathing. While she had made tons of progress with her anxiety, being startled was still a trigger when awoken like this. When he saw her calm down he left her side. "Really dude! You had to slam the door? I get you have a key but this is still not your home. Treat it and the people in with respect. Kim was still asleep and luckily the kids were already awake. If you are still pissy leave. The kids don't need to see this." Adam was stern and harsh with his tone and words.
"You would love that wouldn't you?" Eric started but didn't make it far. "Eric stop! We have been through this too many times. And right now I agree with Adam. Slamming doors is not okay. We don't tolerate it from the kids so I won't tolerate it from you. Now I know we have a lot to talk about and while I welcome the chance to talk about it now is not the time. You need to calm down. Now you have to decide if you can do that or not." Kim was just as stern as Adam. Kim and Adam wanted a calm home for their kids. None of the chaos they lived as their parents split up. They both to this day lived with the emotional scars of that time. Kim was older when it happened so it's more fresh for her. She also knew Eric grew up in a home with lots of yelling and anger. It was very unhealthy.
"I get it. But I don't want my daughter taken from me. I want allow you to keep her from me and my family. I know how you feel about that them and I get why. But they are still her family." Eric argues loudly. "Lower your voice. The kids don't need to hear this. And I will never keep you away from your daughter. But what they did to her, to our family was unacceptable. Your daughter told us that she doesn't want to be around them. Honor your daughters wishes." Kim begged on behalf of her daughter, their daughter. "Kim she's 6! She doesn't know what she wants. She's just going off how you feel. I'm sure she over heard you both talking about it." Eric was cut off once again.
"Daddy! No! I don't want to see them. They were mean to me, to Riley. They scared me with all the hate. Want go there again. I'm sorry!" Allie cried as she entered the room. "See? She knows what she wants to do." Kim stated harshly. "Allie sweetheart. It was all a mistake. They didn't mean it. They were just upset. I promise they didn't mean it. Please let them see you again." Eric was on her level begging for her to let them in again. "I don't know. I don't trust them. They should come here if they want to prove it." Allie stated with pure attitude. "Allie that attitude isn't okay." Eric tried but knew he was failing. "Sorry but family is important and they don't want to be my family with Daddy Adam and Riley so that's on them." Allie huffed and left the room. Leaving Eric stunned and Eric and Adam beaming with pride.
"They really are sorry. And they really do want Allie in their lives. I can't make them change. I've tried. I will see what I can do." He turned and left. No one tried to stop him. When the door closed behind him the couple sighed in relief. "You grab the kids and I will set up a movie. I think we could use a little down time." Adam offered hoping to bring the normalcy back to their home. "Sounds like a really good plan. Thank you!" Kim kissed him softly before heading off to find the kids. No further words were exchanged. Kim jogged up the stairs and found both kids playing sweetly. "Hi babies. Daddy and I were thinking about watching a family movie. Care to join us?" Kim asked as she watched them playing.
"Yes mommy! Is daddy gone?" Allie asked not looking up. "Yes sweetheart. Head down and join daddy Adam. Riley are you coming sweetie?" Kim asked watching him playing. "Okay. Um Kimmie? Daddy says you mommy. Can I call you mommy?" Riley asked shyly. "Oh my baby boy! I want that more than anything. To me you have always been my son. I would be proud to be your mommy!" Kim hugged him while she cried tears of joy. "I love you mommy!" Riley whispered. "I love you too my Ry Guy. Come on daddy's waiting." Kim carried their son downstairs with his head on her shoulder. Adam noticed the two coming in with tears in their eyes.
"Everything Okay?" Adam asked curiously. "Oh yeah. All good right my little Ry Guy?" Kim smiled as he snuggled closer into her chest. "Yeah. Love mommy!" Riley whispered. "I'm glad to see everyone is happy. Let's watch the movie Allie picked out." Adam kissed Riley's cheek before kissing Kim's lips. The small family cuddled on the couch together enjoying the quiet movie time. Both kids were watching the movie as the snuggled between their parents. Riley leaning into Kim and Allie leaning against Adam. It was a perfect family moment. It was only after the movie finished that the couple worked on getting dinner ready.
The kids colored happily in the living as the couple worked. "So how are you doing with what happened earlier?" Adam asked watching her work. "Um not great but damn proud of our daughter. Standing up for herself like that was probably one of the best things I could have witnessed. That is definitely helping me keep it together but I have to admit I didn't expect Riley to about me being his mom. I was shocked. But so happy! It's all I have wanted since I met him. And I will do everything I can to protect him." Kim finished with a happy, content sigh. "He mentioned it earlier when you were napping. I knew you would be thrilled but I wanted him to approach the topic with you. That seemed important for both of you. As for Eric and that issue, it's tomorrow's problem." Adam said with a shrug. "I agree. Hopefully he finds a way to work it out. We've done our jobs in protecting our kids. He needs to do that too. I get it's his family but toxic people need to be kept from my kids. I don't care who the hell you are." Kim was pissed at the situation.
"Kids dinners ready!" Adam called out watching the kids run to the table. "Alright who wants a drink?" Kim asked grabbing drinks for her and Adam first. "Water pease." Riley asked. "Juice please" Allie asked. Kim grabbed the drinks while Adam cut up Riley's food. "Of course babies. Here you go." Kim sat after putting the kids drinks down. Adam joined them shortly after so the family could eat together. It didn't happen as often as they would like so they made sure when it did phones were banned from the tables. They enjoyed small talk about the upcoming holidays and the fact that Riley was starting school in the new year. They had gone back and forth on the topic but Kim was right he needed to learn to socialize with other kids and learn the essentials before heading into Pre-k.
As Adam cleaned up the kitchen after dinner Kim and the kids were dancing around in the living room. Kim and Allie did it often and happily included Riley and Adam when they were home. Adam was almost finished when Kim came in to grab a drink. "Thanks for cleaning up. I appreciate it." Kim whispered hugging him from behind. "It's no problem you that." Adam was about to continue when Allie ran in. "Mommy! Your favorite song is on. Can we dance?" Allie was jumping up and down. "Sweetheart I think I owe daddy Adam this dance. It's long overdue." Adam was confused but took her hand and followed her to the living room to dance. "Just listen to the words. It's how I felt for years." Kim held him close singing each word softly as they danced.
He felt the wetness on his shoulder. He could tell from her voice she was crying. He had also never heard the song before. However he recognized the voice, Janet Jackson. He tightened his grip hearing the chorus 'where are you now. Do you still think of me, or does your heart belong to someone else's'. He understood completely because it was how he felt as well all those years. "Oh darling. Please don't cry." He rubbed her back softly. "Every time I hear it I cry. The first time I heard it it seemed the perfect fit." Kim quietly explained. "Well I can understand that because it is the perfect song for that time in both our lives. I honestly have never heard this song before. What is it?" He was shocked by how fitting it was. "It's called where are you now. By Janet Jackson. The album is literally 30 years old but so fitting. You should listen to the entire album it's pretty sexy at points." Kim giggled a bit. "Have to check that out." He kissed her sweet.y before heading back to the kitchen to finish up.
The rest of the evening was playing with the kids before bathing them and getting them into bed. The couple then settled by the fireplace enjoy the warmth. Adam could tell Kim was far away. "Whatcha thinking about?" He asked watching her stare at the fire. "That morning we found each other again. I don't know if i ever told you but Allie woke me that morning out if a nightmare. It was one I had often. But it wasn't the rape. It was us. I was watching our fight, that fight. When I walked away and ruined our lives. The last thing I saw was the door closing before I slid to floor in tears whispering I'm sorry. I just needed you to know that." Kim still stared at the fire.
"Oh Kim hunny! I never blamed you. I was upset but mostly understood. You were in a bad place, trying your best to protect yourself. It's completely understandable. Most people in your situation would have reacted the same. After all these years I'm just so proud of how far you have come. It's truly an inspiration. You should be very proud of yourself as well." He was beyond proud of her and the life she built. Any women would be proud to be in her shoes. "Thank you for saying that. I sometimes need to be reminded of that. I love that song but it brings me down sometimes. But I'm happy I finally got to share it with you. Share what it meant all those years apart." Kim relaxed further into his embrace. It felt like heaven to them both.
"You ready for bed? We have work tomorrow and it's been a emotional day." Adam asked feeling her nod. He helped her up as they headed for bed. "Okay cuddle time in bed. Rest well darling. I love you." Adam whispered. "I love you too baby!" Kim fell asleep shortly after with her head resting right above his heart. It was soothing. Once he was sure she was sound asleep he allowed himself to fall asleep as well. Both dreaming of the days ahead together.