Single Father with girls from two different moms

[Shy-Diapers]

Lexi felt a little better by the time Robert had to move her. She still stayed close to him, not wanting to be too far. When they finally started walking, she tried to hold his hand, feeling reaffirmed when she did. 

She looked down at her dad’s question. Did she do something wrong? She figured she was in trouble. Her mom never asked to talk unless Lexi was in trouble. “Okay daddy.” She said quietly. 

When they got to the car, she tried to help load things into the car, wanting to be helpful and good. If she messed up, she wanted to try and redeem herself as much as she could. 

[Ishigreensa]

Robert smiled when she tried to help him load things in the car.

"You can be a lot more help if you help get Imelda buckled in for me.  She can do it, but I like to make sure her seatbelt is buckled because sometimes, she can't get it to fasten.  There's nothing wrong with her, it's just her hands aren't strong enough sometimes to get it to click."

He continued to put the bags in the car.

 

[Shy-Diapers]

“Sorry daddy.” Lexi said quietly. She quickly went over to Imelda’s door and stared at her, trying to see if she buckled herself properly. “Are you buckled?” She eventually asked. 

If she was buckled then she nodded and went back to her father, if not she helped buckle her before going to Robert. “She’s buckled daddy.” She said as he was putting the last few bags in. 

“What did you want to talk about?” She asked quietly after trying to prepare to be in trouble. She swallowed hard and waited for his response. 

[Ishigreensa]

Once Imelda was tucked in, and she came back around and finished helping him and then asked him what he wanted to talk about, he smiled and picked her up and carried her to the front seat and buckled her in.

He squatted down by her.

"Don't be so nervous, honey.  You're not in trouble or anything."

He closed her door and then went around to his side and got in.  Then he looked over at her.

"Honey, you seemed a little scared to go to the bathroom, and then when you came back, you didn't want to let go.  I'm just concerned.  Were you scared to go to the bathroom by yourself?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Lexi wasn’t too sure about being in the front seat. It was weird. She didn’t hate it. Just she’d never gotten to sit up front before. She relaxed a little though, putting her bag in her lap and buckling herself. 

She looked down when he said she wasn’t in trouble. That made her feel a little better. “Sorry daddy.” She mumbled. 

Alexandra blushed when she heard what her dad said. “I just don’t wanna be away from you.” She said quietly. “You were gone for so long and I didn’t have anyone who loved me. Mommy stopped loving me after you left. She said it was my fault.” She said sadly. “I didn’t see you for so long and now you’re back! I don’t wanna be away from you because then you might not be there when I come back.”

[Ishigreensa]

Robert teared up and turned to her.

"Honey, you had nothing to do with why I left.  I would have taken you with me, but your mother fought that at first, and the courts put you with her.  There was nothing I could do.  I tried to arrange for visits, but every time I tried to even change the time for convenience or whatever, something always came up on your end, so I wasn't able to go.  I tried to send you letters and birthday money or anything I could, but all my letters were returned to me as well as your birthday cards, though the money was missing.  I wasn't sure what happened to the money, but whatever it was...."

He pulled her sideways towards him and hugged her.

"I'm here now, and I'm not going away," he told her.  "I'm not.  The courts gave me full custody of both of you, and so you are home with me until you turn twenty one and you want to go out on your own at that time."

[Shy-Diapers]

Lexi sighed and looked down. “I dunno.” She said sadly. “She said I made you leave and now you weren’t gonna come back, but I wanted to see you! When I got taken from mommy and they said you were gonna come get me I knew you would! And you’re gonna be the best daddy ever!” She said trying to think positive. “You’re so much nicer than mommy. Mommy would never buy me new stuff. She only let me get stuff at Salvation Army.” She rambled on. “Mommy didn’t like me very much. She told me so.”

She signed and looked out the window. She wasn’t really even tearing up. She was used to how her mom treated her. “Where’s the motel we’re going to Daddy?” She asked trying to change the subject. She felt bad talking bad about her mom, but it was the truth. “How long are we gonna be there for?” Robert could see her old self was starting to show through, the bubbly and excitable kid he used to know. 

[Ishigreensa]

"Well, the motel is probably another ten minutes away," he said.  "Like I said, we have to see the judge tomorrow and work things out and set up a meeting at our home in Wyoming, but I think we'll be able to start back home tomorrow."

He looked back at Imelda.

"Are you okay, honey?"

"Yeah.  But it's mean her mommy didn't even like her."

"Honey, don't worry about that, okay?  She's with us, now, and we like your sister, don't we?"

Imelda nodded.

Robert turned back to Lexi.

"When we get to the motel and get things situated, do you want to go out for dinner, or do you want to have pizza delivered?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Alexandra nodded. She liked that they’d be headed to the new home soon. “What’s Why-ome-eeng like daddy?” She asked, struggling to pronounce it right. It was difficult to pronounce for some reason, probably because it was such a weird name. “I forget where it is on the map. I’m not good with states.”

She looked surprised when Robert mentioned going out. “We can go out?” She asked, looking surprised and excited. “I never get to go anywhere! Please can we go out Daddy? It sounds so fun!”

[Ishigreensa]

"Well, it's about a two day trip to the north of Arizona," he told her.  It's on the West side, but sort of in the middle of the States.  To the north, there is Montana, and Utah is to the West while Nebraska is to the East."

Robert smiled at seeing her excitement.

"Of course we can go out," he said.  "I like taking my children out from time to time."

Imelda spoke up.

"Yeah, we go out about once every two weeks, and sometimes, more if something happens."

She was nearly bouncing in her seat because Lexi was excited.  She was calm by herself, but if someone else got excited, then she started to get excited.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lexi nodded. “Do we drive the whole time?” She asked curiously. She wasn’t sure if they stopped to rest or anything. She was interested though. 

“Where can we go?” She asked. She didn’t know what was around the motel or the neighborhood. “I’ve never been around here. It looks pretty though. Our house doesn’t look so nice anymore.” She said with a shrug. 

She looked around the scenery as they drove. “Oooo! What about Applebee’s daddy? Is that okay?” She asked hopefully. She saw it as they drove and she remembered seeing ads on TV for their food and it looked so good. 

“Or we can go somewhere else.” She said, trying to tone down her excitement. She wanted to be good. She had to make sure she behaved for Robert. 

[Ishigreensa]

"AppleBees sounds like a good place to go.  Honestly, I've never been there myself (nor have I for real)."

He looked back at Imelda.  "Is that okay with you, pumpkin?"

She clapped her hands and squealed.  Her sister found them a new restaurant, a place she had never been to!  "Yeah.  Let's go there, daddy!  Please?"

He nodded.  "That's what I'm doing."

He had to turn the car around because while they discussed it, they had passed it.

He saw MIchaela's tone drop some, and he frowned.

"Honey?  Why are you so scared to be happy?" he asked.

[Shy-Diapers]

“I’m not scared to be happy.” Lexi said with a small shrug. She wasn’t really sure what to say. “I just wanna be good. I don’t want to get too excited and out of hand.” She said trying to explain. She was quoting her mother for a little while. 

When they got out of the car, Lexi still carried her bag with her and stayed close to Robert again. After they got seated, she tugged his arm, grabbing it right before he sat down. “Daddy.” Her cheeks turned a little red and she mumbled quietly. “I have to go to the bathroom.” She was embarrassed to mention it out loud, but she really had to go. She had had to go for a while but was too focused on other things. She just hoped she didn’t have to go alone. 

[Ishigreensa]

He looked around the restaurant and saw the bathroom sign.

"Imelda, go with your sister so she can use teh bathroom," he told her.  "She went with you at the store, so you can go with her, here, right?  I don't want you girls going alone.  You know that."

"Yes, daddy.  I'll go with her."

Imelda stood up and walked over to take Michaela's hand.

"Daddy will be right here at the table waiting for us," she whispered to Lexi.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lexi frowned. She didn’t want to be  away from Robert. She didn’t know Imelda that well and didn’t want to go with her. It wasn’t anything personal, but to Lexi it wasn’t any better than going alone. 

She wasn’t sure what to do. She didn’t want to go without Robert, but didn’t know if she should tell him or just wait to go to the bathroom. 

“Can’t you come?” She squeaked quietly. She looked upset and a little scared. She had thought that after having their talk in the car, he would understand how she felt and be willing to go with her. 

She didn’t expect him to come into the stall with her or anything. But even just waiting outside the women’s bathroom door would make her feel better. 

[Ishigreensa]

Robert smile and stood up.

"Come on, girls.  I don't want either of you to be by yourself.  That's how crazy things happen.  I'll take you, baby."

He reached for each of their hands and walked them to the men's bathroom.  Imelda was used to going into the men's with daddy because until then, he had always taken her potty, but since it had been a couple of years since he saw Lexi, he thought she was more used to going into women's rooms, but he couldn't go in there.

"Come on, honey," he tried to coax Lexi to come into the men's room.  "I'll be right here, so no one will watch you go, okay?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Lexi was a little hesitant about going to the men’s room, but would rather go in there with her dad than go to the women’s room with just Imelda. She nodded and ran into a stall, having to go pretty bad. She was worried she’d have an accident if she had waited longer. 

She quickly peed and wiped before exiting the stall. The first thing she did after leaving the stall was look to make sure Robert was still there, which he was. Sighing with relief, Lexi quickly washed her hands before grabbing her daddy’s hand again. She was relieved to see he hadn’t left her. 

“Thank you daddy.” She said before hugging him for a moment. 

Once back at the table, Lexi looked over the menu, trying to see what they had. The menu seemed to have mostly things like burgers and other all American food, but the fettuccini Alfredo caught Lexi’s eye. 

“Daddy can I have this and a lemonade?” She asked hopefully, being pretty hungry. 

[Ishigreensa]

"Of course," he smiled at Lexi.  "You can have that, and if you want, dessert, too.  Imelda?"

Imelda ordered something that looked good.

"Are you okay?" Imelda asked because it seemed that Lexi was being very clingy.  "It's okay.  We're sisters.  We can take care of each other, right?  It just feels like you're scared that daddy is going to disappear or something."

She smiled and looked down.

Robert put a hand on Imelda's head and smiled at her.

"Honey, do you remember what it was like when you first came to stay with me?"

Imelda shook her head.

"Well, you were unsure about stuff and you were just as worried about me disappearing, honey.  We have to give Lexi some time to adjust, you know?"

Imelda nodded.  "Okay."

[Shy-Diapers]

Lexi smiled at Robert’s response before grabbing the dessert menu to look through. Everything looked so good. 

She frowned and looked at her lap though, feeling embarrassed after Imelda pointed out how clingy she was. She couldn’t help it. She hadn’t seen her father for such a long time, and during that time her mother wasn’t nice to her, so of course she was worried he’d disappear. To a kid like Lexi, it made sense that she’d be scared. In her mind, he disappeared once, so what’s to stop him from disappearing again?

[Ishigreensa]

Robert saw Lexi looking down after what he and Imelda were talking about, and he stood up and walked over to where Lexi was and squatted down by her.

"Honey, it's okay.  Daddy's right here, baby."

He picked up his little girl and then sat down in her chair and then put her in his lap.

Imelda, feeling a little jealous, stood up and walked over and stood next to them.

"You two are my world," he told the girls.  "You have nothing to fear now.  They have decided that I'm going to be the guardian for both of you, so I'll be right here as much as I can for both of you."

He hugged Imelda from the side while he held Lexi in his lap with his other arm.

[Shy-Diapers]

“I’m not trying to be clingy.” Lexi said quietly. She leaned into Robert and tried to relax. She really had to get used to having someone around who loves her and wants to be with her. 

When the food eventually came, Lexi’s big green eyes lit up with joy. The food looked so good and she felt so hungry. 

She started to eat, but paused. “Can I start eating daddy?” She asked, trying to be polite as her mother always made her ask. 

[Ishigreensa]

Robert frowned when he noticed that she stilled herself to be polite about it, and asked to eat first.  He had never ever ever heard of such foolishness in his life, at least not with just the family out.

"Honey, if I put food in front of you that is suppose to be yours, there is no reason to be polite about starting to eat unless we are trying to impress some really important people.  Tomorrow, if the judge or someone lets you eat something, it would be nice if you two were polite before eating at that time, but when we are eating as a family, as long as you behave like children and not animals at the table, there is no reason you can't just start eating, baby."

He did stand up though and put her back in her chair so he could sit where his food was.  Imelda sat down where she was supposed to sit at this time.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lexi looked down at her lap. “Sorry daddy. I’m used to asking.” She said softly. 

She listened to Robert explain and nodded. She would try and remember that. She started to eat after that, feeling extremely hungry. She was able to finish the entire dish of pasta, the dish being pretty deep. 

Once she finished eating, she started to drink her lemonade, having forgotten about it until she was done eating. When she was done, she sat quietly and fidgeted with her napkin, trying to remain well behaved and polite while everyone else finished eating. 

[Ishigreensa]

Imelda was surprised at Lexi saying she was used to asking before eating.  She smiled over at her big sister and then she decided that she should do the same as her sister.  So she put down her fork, and she looked up at Robert.

"Daddy, can I eat now?"

He nodded with a little smirk on his face.  "Now, girls, please.  I know you want to be good girls, but good girls know when they have to be polite, and when it's okay to be natural.  I know that this will take some time for you to figure out if your mommy insisted you ask every time, Lexi, but I want you to be happy, and yes, there are times when being polite is better."

Imelda nodded as though he was talking to her, too.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lexi nodded. She was going to try really hard to be what Robert considered good and well behaved. And whatever he meant by natural too. 

She tried to stay still, looking around the restaraunt for something to do. She fidgeted with her napkin, wanting to be well behaved while she waited for the others to finish eating. She had finished all her food, but was still hungry. She didn’t eat much at the foster home and her mother didn’t feed her as much as Lexi would’ve liked.