Until the Stars Fall From the Sky (27 page)

I roll us over so that I can sit up against the headboard. I gather her up on my lap and kiss her tenderly, trying to convey what there simply aren’t words for in one
uncomplicated gesture. She fits into my chest as naturally as a puzzle piece.  She snuggles into place and sighs in contentment.

“Thank you, Pip, that was beautiful,” I whisper running my fingers through her hair and massaging her neck.

She has a look of wonder on her face as she comments, “People tried to explain to me that ‘The Big O’ would be different when I was in love,” she gave a small shrug, “I didn’t believe it; because body mechanics should mean a physical reaction would be the same no matter what the stimuli.”

I chuckle at her reasoning because it’s entirely consistent with my approach to problem solving too. “Well, Pip, I think there’s more to it than body mechanics
— ” I reply.

Kiers gives me a little shove as she answer
s playfully, “Oh hush! I know that now. It’s not as if I had a lot of control groups. It’s been you or B.O.B, and you are exponentially better.”

I smirk and wipe the sweat off of my forehead as I quip, “Whew, you’ll neve
r know how relieved I am to hear my ranking. I’d hate to come in second to a couple of Duracell AA’s.”

“No, seriously, I thought there was something wrong with me because all of my friends were raving about all of their screaming orgasms and I felt stupid admitting that although mine were a nice release of tension they were nothing to write home about,” she confesses, a blush tinting her breasts a delightful shade of pink. “Come to think about it, I have no earthly idea why I’m even telling you any of this.”

“Pip, I share things with you that I’ve never told another soul. Hell, before you came into my life I didn’t even acknowledge that I even have feelings and I certainly didn’t talk about them to anyone. I played the role of someone that was happy and emotionally connected, but I was neither of those things. You’ve given me the freedom and support to be the real Jeff. The one that you still love — even if sometimes I am a butterfly.”

Tears well up in Kiera’s eyes, “Jeff, my PC, that’s why I love you,” she explains, “you care enough to be distressed that you acted like a butterfly, but you’re not delusional enough to make empty promises that it won’t ever happen again. You are professional and insightful, yet you can be fanciful enough to weave magic ribbons into a little girl’s hair to help her vanquish some very real boogeymen.”

“I love all of my girls.” I reply with a slight shrug. “Loving all of you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done and a few ribbons weren’t such a big deal.” Out of habit, I start braiding Pip’s hair as she leans against my chest. Reluctantly, I sit up and check the time on my phone. “Speaking of the girls, we better get moving.”

“I think Mindy would argue with your characterization.” Kiera grabs my duffle bag from beside the bed, fishes out a large Willamette Law t-shirt and pulls it over her head. On her, it looks like a dress, but she still looks phenomenal.

Abruptly, we hear pounding on the door and Denny’s voice. “Are you kids planning to come to breakfast or should we just shove food under the door?”

Even though Denny can’t see us, Kiera blushes like a fire engine as she replies, “We’ll be right out. We’ve just been studying.”

Denny laughs outloud as he quips, “I’ll be darned. I would’ve thought that with all the advances in technology, they’d be calling it something new by now. I used those lines when I was a kid.”

~*
~

As I’m driving Kiera’s freshly detailed van away from the curb at the hospital, Mindy is bouncing up and down in her car seat, I catch her eye in the rear view mirror as I ask, “Are you still buckled in like a NASCAR driver, Mindy Mouse?”

“Uh huh, Becca too, but she kicked her blankie off,” she answers, taking in her surroundings. “How’s come there’s a TB in the car?”

Kiera chortles as she says, “Because your Papa thought you girls needed spoiling. After I figure out how to use it, you can watch movies on it when we go on road trips. Isn’t it cool?”

Mindy whoops and claps her hands. “Does this mean I can watch Princess Movies while the car is moving and I don’t have to be bored?” she clarifies.

“That’s right,” I confirm.

“I’m going to live in the van,” Mindy states firmly, “this is way nicer than where I used to live.”

I nod as I reply, “I agree. It’s really nice, but you might not want to make up your mind just yet
. Miss Kiera made a very cool place for you to live. I think we should go out and have hamburgers and milkshakes first though. What do you say?”

Mindy vibrates with enthusiasm as she practically shouts, “Yes, pl
ease. I want a root beer float!”

“A&W it is then,” I respond as I glance over at Kiera and I notice that she has an eyebrow quirked at me and a smirk on her face.

I shrug my shoulders in question and she whispers, “You couldn’t even wait until we got home to get her all loaded up with sugar, could you?”

I flush and chuckle as I answer, “I do believe
I’m going to have to be prudent and plead guilty as charged. Be honest, can you really resist that face?”

Kiera just grins and rolls her eyes as she grabs my hand and interlaces our fingers.

After I unload the kids from the car and get Becca situated in the front carrier on Kiera’s lap, I pull Mindy aside as I whisper in her ear, “Are you ready, Princess? It’s show time.”

Mindy looks stunned for a second, but soon a huge grin crosses her face. “For reals? Do you gots everything?” she asks. “She’s gonna say yes, ‘cause I saw her kissin’ you and holdin’ your hand,” she assures me.

I smile at my unlikely cheerleader, “Yeah, Mindy Mouse, I think I’m all prepared. There is no way she can turn down that beautiful card,” I remark. “I love the flowers and butterflies on the front. They are amazing. Thank you so much for making it for me.”

As we sit down at the table, I wonder if Kiera even realizes that she’s already dressing us alike. After my shower this morning, she tossed me a pale yellow polo shirt, she is wearing a white sundress with yellow and black poppies and the girls are in matching yellow cotton dresses. Becca has a floppy hat and a duck binkie. Today, we look like a modern twist on the Norman Rockwell family. I can’t help but feel content and satisfied about that. Thank God for pedal boats.

I spot the Girlfriend Posse in the corner. At a table not far away, Ty is chatting with Kiera’s dad. I have to do a double take because Ty isn’t wearing a cowboy hat and Denny is wearing a bandana on his head instead of his customary racing hat. What really blows my mind is seeing my mom in a beat up fishing hat, happily munching on a fry and laughing at something Denny said. I try to compose my face so that I don’t give anything away as I look back at Kiera and the girls.

Kiera is cutting Mindy’s burger into four pieces and spreading a napkin across the front of her dress as she instructs, “You can have your float after you eat two of these sections. You don’t have to eat fries if you don’t want them; but you can if you’d like.”

Mindy looks at the burger skeptically as she tentatively whispers, “Are you gonna hit me if I don’ eat the pickles? They make me puke.” She looks between us with tears in her eyes.

Kiera smiles at her as she efficiently removes the pickles from the burger and pops them in her mouth. “There! Problem solved,” she says, laughing. “Did I tell you I once beat your Papa in a pickle eating contest? I love them, so I’ll be your official pickle eater, but you have to eat all of my black licorice, okay?”

Mindy giggles and wrinkles her nose as she exclaims, “You’re so weird, Miss Kiera. You just traded me begetables for candy!”

“Oh flubber-buckets! I guess I did,” Kiera declares, as she throws her hands in the air in defeat, “You’re one tough negotiator Mindy Mouse.”

“Thank you, Thank you, very much…” Mindy replies in an uncannily accurate Elvis impression.

Kiera and I meet gazes over her head and Kiera shrugs so I inquire, “That was pretty spot on Sweetheart, how’d you learn to do that?”

Mindy looks puzzled for a second, but answers, “Oh, you mean Elbis? I’ve been watchin’ Comedy Central for ages.”

Kiera shakes her head slightly as if she’s trying to clear the image from an Etch-A-Sketch. Under her breath, she mutters, “Oh good Lord…” Louder, she says, “Mindy, when you’re at our house, you’re going to be watching stuff made for kids. There are a bunch of cool movies and things for you to watch that will be a lot more interesting.”

Mindy replies, “That’s good, cause some of that stuff isn’t even funny. They hardly ever tell knock-knock jokes.”

Kiera and Mindy start to talk about the upcoming school year as I feed Becca a bottle. Mindy is fascinated by the fact that Kiera and I are both “old” and yet we are still in school. Kiera further blows her mind by telling her that her Papa had taken some criminal justice classes online just recently because he was thinking about becoming a private investigator to help find lost kids after he retires.

As everyone starts eating dessert, I tell Kiera that I need to go change Becca. She does actually need a diaper change, but that’s not my purpose in leaving the table. Kiera’s attention is on cleaning Mindy’s hands, so I sign to Tara “table 10 minutes”. I see her text Denny. Now, all of my bases are covered.

I quickly change Becca and pick up the extra treat I ordered at the counter. Since I had placed a heart shaped candle on the chocolate sundae and had my mom bring a dozen red and white roses tied with a silver and lavender ribbon, most everyone in the restaurant knew something was about to happen. Well, everyone except Kiera. Mindy is doing a masterful job of keeping her distracted. She is telling her a long involved story about her last school. Apparently, she had been removed from the accelerated reading program because she missed too many days of school and she had tried to continue to read chapter books by reading her Nana’s romance novels. Based on some of the conversations I’ve had with Mindy, I’m not sure there isn’t at least a kernel of truth in her storytelling.

Mindy sees me out of the corner of her eye and tries to smother a grin. She isn’t quite fast enough and Kiera starts to notice the goofy grins on the faces around her. By this time, I’ve handed Becca off to my sister and I’ve pulled the ring out of my pocket. Much to my surprise, my hands are trembling slightly. I kneel in front of Kiera and say as clearly as my emotion will allow, “A few weeks ago, you rescued one little boy on the day we met and you were amazing. However, what you never knew was you rescued another little boy that got lost inside me after my dad died and never had a chance to grow and thrive until you gave me permission to set him free. I’m so glad you dove from the pedal boat to rescue us both. You are my everything. I will love you until the stars fall from the sky.”

I hand
her the card that Mindy made. Kiera opens it with tears streaming down her face.

“Oh, honey, it’s perfect!
” she exclaims.

Love is 4-ever

Please Marry Us!

Love,

Mr. Jeff, Mindy and Becca

Kiera throws her arms around my neck, kisses me, and then kisses me again more thoroughly this time.

Mindy pipes up, “Did she say ‘yes’?” She is standing on her tiptoes in an effort to see everything.

Kiera turns to hug Mindy as she announces in a clear voice, “Yes! My answer is yes. A thousand times yes!”

Mindy is tugging on my shirttail. “Mr. Jeff!” she cries, “you forgotted the most important part. Where’s the diamond ring?”

The whole restaurant chuckles. “No Pr
incess, I didn’t forget,” I explain. “Pip is so excited that I think she didn’t notice it. So, let me make sure I have her attention.”

I slip the ring from the box and slide it on her ring finger as I ask, “I love you. Kiera Celeste Ashley, will you please do me the h
onor of being my wife?”

Kiera gasps when she sees the ring. “Holy Soufflé! I’ve always loved these rings. How on earth could you know that?” she whispers in a hoarse voice. Clearing the tears from her voice,
she proclaims in a louder voice, “Nothing in this world would make me happier, I love you, Jeffery Charles Whitaker.”

I gather her into a tight embrace and kiss her deeply. The restaurant patrons and staff break out into applause. Mindy bows theatrically at the waist and the crowd laughs.

Heather steps up and introduces herself, “You must be Mindy. Kiera said you’d fit right into the Girlfriend Posse and now I understand why. I’m Heather. I’m one of Kiera’s BFFs and I’m sure we’ll be BFFs too, because I like a girl with confidence. Besides, I need someone to chat with about my curly hair. It’s a huge pain, right?

Mindy regards Heather with a mixture of awe and respect as she hesitantly asks, “
Do you need new friends? Who’s that lady holding Becca? She looks like Jeff. But, now I know they don’t leak chocolate milk.”

Heather laughs as she answers,
“Of course I need new friends. You can never have too many really good friends. The person holding Becca is Donda, she’s Jeff’s sister and she’s helping Mr. Jeff get ready for the wedding.”

Mindy’s face brightens as she recollects, “Oh, she’s the one that helped Mr. Jeff learn to braid.”