Page 36 of Falling for the Unexpected

Marla told me last night that she invited Trent to join us today and that Kyle and Addie were coming as well. I knew Stella would be happy to have her Uncle Trent there and I was excited Addie was going. I really liked Addie and was so happy we had developed a friendship. In fact, I would say she was quickly becoming my closest friend besides Kayla. It may have been an unlikely friendship, but I was so grateful to have her as part of my life.

My anxiety came from knowing Kyle was coming with us. I knew Stella would love it, but I wasn’t sure I could spend an entire day hanging out with him casually without thinking of the way he made me feel. I knew it would never be reciprocated so it was silly of me to even entertain the lustful thoughts I’d been having of him.

Changing my focus to the fun day ahead, I finished packing my backpack with some snacks, sunscreen, diapers, wipes, and a change of clothes for Stella. It was the middle of August so I’d put Stella in a pair of red shorts and a white shirt with red polka dots. I was wearing a pair of dark denim shorts and an olive green tank top.

I brought our bag down and placed it by the front door. I could hear my little one chattering with her grandparents in the kitchen. Knowing they were ready to go, I put on my shoes and joined them at the counter.

“Good morning,” I said as I poured myself a cup of coffee. I wasn’t much of a breakfast eater, but I needed my coffee in the morning to feel human.

“Morning,” they all said in return. I took a few more sips of my coffee, already feeling more awake.

“Trent texted a couple minutes ago, Kyle and Addie just picked him up. They should be here in about ten minutes,” Jim informed us.

I tried to ignore the butterflies in my stomach at the mention of Kyle. I really needed to stop with this infatuation. All I was going to do was embarrass myself. A few minutes later we heard the front door open.

“Where’s the birthday girl?” I heard Trent shout from the entryway. Stella immediately hopped off the chair and went running to the living room.

“I’m here, Unky Trent!” she yelled, and giggled all the way to him. She was capable of saying the word ‘uncle’ just fine now, but she refused to call Trent anything except Unky. It was pretty cute and I had a feeling it would always be her thing with him.

I walked around the corner just in time to see him scoop her up in his arms and twirl her around twice. “Hey there, Simone,” he said as he set Stella down.

“Hi, guys,” I responded as we all moved around to greet each other with hugs. When Kyle hugged me, my imagination must have been playing tricks on me because it felt a little tighter and lasted a little bit longer than the others.

“Are we ready to go?” Marla asked, coming back into the room with her own backpack ready.

“Yes,” we all answered as I pulled away from Kyle. It appeared everyone was looking forward to the day at the amusement park.

Jim and Marla were taking their minivan and Stella and I were going to ride with them. I assumed the others would ride together in Kyle’s car.

“Can I ride with you guys?” Addie asked while looping her arm through mine as we walked out the front door. “I would much rather talk to you than listen to the two of them talk about baseball and chicks the whole way there,” she teased while eyeing her brother.

The thought of Kyle talking to Trent about other women had me feeling a pang of jealousy deep inside my chest. That was a new feeling for me. I had never felt that way about a man before. Not even Brad. I didn’t have time to analyze that thought, so I answered, “Sounds good to me.” It would be nice to have another person to chat with on the way up.

We loaded everything up into the two vehicles and headed out on the freeway for the drive there. I chatted with Addie about the classes I was enrolled in and she responded the same way her brother had—full of pride and encouragement. I felt lucky to have all these people who actually cared about me in my life. It wasn’t something I was used to, and it felt good.

The drive went by quickly, and before I knew it we were pulling into the parking garage. We had timed our trip well and it looked like we would be at the gates when they opened. We walked out of the parking structure to the trams that would drop us off at the front of the park.

“I want to sit by Unky Trent,” Stella called out as we walked off the escalator.

I had a feeling Stella would be making a lot of demands of who she would be sitting next to throughout the day.

We walked up to the entrance just as they started letting the guests in. As soon as we passed through the turnstile, Stella spotted her favorite princess. Of course, we had to stand in line to make sure she was able to meet her, and each of us must have taken a dozen pictures. I had to chuckle when I saw six cell phones all snapping photos of one little girl. Seeing the pure happiness on my daughter’s face filled my heart.

As we walked further into the park, Stella grabbed both Trent and Kyle’s hands while walking between them so they could lift her up and swing her. She was giggling and having the time of her life. Watching Kyle with her made me yearn to find a man that would love my daughter like that. In my dreams Kyle would be that man, but I knew that would never be a reality. He seemed quite content with his bachelor lifestyle and I was nothing like the women he dated.

The rest of the day was filled with rides, pictures with characters, lots of junk food, and endless smiles for all of us. I couldn’t remember a time when I’d had more fun. This was exactly the type of childhood I wanted to provide Stella with. Memories filled with people who loved her more than anything.

After dinner, we sat on Main Street and watched a parade. The park was open until midnight, but it became clear that Stella wasn’t going to be able to stay awake much longer. By the end of the parade she had fallen asleep in Trent’s lap. That was our signal to call it a night.

“Obviously, Stella is done for the night,” Jim said as he hefted her up on his shoulder. “We’re going to head home, but why don’t all of you stay?” he suggested.

I started to hug everyone goodbye when Jim interrupted me. “I meant you as well, Simone. We can take Stella home and you can pick her up in the morning.”

“I can’t leave her on her birthday,” I argued.

“She’s asleep and I don’t think she’s going to wake up ‘til tomorrow. You should definitely stay with us,” I heard Kyle say from behind me. “We’ll have a good time.”

“We’ve still got five hours before the park closes,” Addie chimed in.