Those first two weeks of Cheyenne’s hospital stay continued to be eventful with swarms of people coming in and out to visit. Friends of the family and close co-workers all stopped by to see how Cheyenne was holding up. It went without saying that they were all a bit shock to see the face that belonged to her mystery father, but mum was the word out of respect for the ordeal they were entangled in and in general, for Kiki and Cheyenne. Nevertheless, the outpouring of support and well wishes was very touching and even when those she didn't know visited, Cheyenne was always so excited to see them.
Of course family was the most frequent visitors, but they start increasing in numbers, particularly within the initial phase of Cheyenne’s treatment. First there was Alex and Reed in from New York.
Alex had been frantic when he found out Cheyenne was in the hospital and immediately dropped out of the show he was in, letting his understudy take over for the week he planned on staying in LA. Reed was quick to tag along being just as worried about both Cheyenne and Kiki. When they arrived at Cedars, Alex finally exhaled in relief to see his little pixie was doing okay and would make it through thanks to a donor match from….her father. The last time he saw Justin he didn’t even bother to say goodbye when the tour was over and when he found out about the baby, he regretted he hadn’t punched him farewell. That was water under the bridge now especially seeing that Justin had apparently changed his ways and was now ready to be a father to his child. The two made their peace and even though it was spent in a hospital room, both Alex and Reed had a great time, leaving LA with solid faith that Cheyenne would be a survivor.
While the couple was in town so was everyone else from the East coast in Justin and Kiki’s family. All the grand and great grandparents from Tennessee and Florida flocked into the city. For the first time Cheyenne had both her parents, and all sets of grandparents and great grandparents surrounding her, giving her love and support in her time of need.
In all honest, in some ways that mindset of love and togetherness was just for show for Cheyenne’s benefit. Underneath there was still tension among the group or confrontations that had to happen, waiting in the wings - Justin and his past behavior being the common denominators in both. He was expecting the reaming from his grandmother, Sadie, and took it like a man. He apologized for the poor choice he made and promised that he would redeem himself and be the grandson she could be proud of again. Then there was him and his father. The two hadn’t talked to each other since before Cheyenne was born, using Lisa and Lynn as go betweens. For the time being they were cordial to each other during the visit and wore smiling faces, but everyone could tell that there was a wall between them now. One that would require a serious one on one discussion and now was not the time.
With a couple resolutions and one pending under his belt, Justin had to face his final test and it was the one he was least looking forward to, a face to face meeting with the Lewis men. He had already been read the riot act by Nina, Maya, Tami, and even Marissa. Those encounters were fear-provoking enough, but in the end all fences were mended. With any luck the same would occur with the rest.
Judgment day started when Kiki’s grandparents arrived at the hospital and Justin was introduced to Lorraine and Wilson Lewis…..
He, Kiki, and Cheyenne were huddled up on the daybed, Cheyenne laughing hysterically at one of her favorite Saturday morning cartoons. Her parents were laughing just as hard at her complete amusement while they waited for her breakfast to be delivered.
There was a knock on the door and to their surprise, Frederick’s head peeked through the cracked door.
“Up for some company?” He beamed.
“Grampy!” Cheyenne happily greeted him and he winked at her, waiting to get the green light.
“Come on in Daddy.” Kiki ordered.
“Alright you asked for it.” He walked into the room with a food bag from IHOP and was followed in by the entire Lewis clan all carrying some part of the rest of breakfast. It was pretty much an everyday scene in one magnitude or another, but seeing the last two people who walked into the room was an unexpected, yet exciting addition.
“Granddad and Gram.”
“Grandee and Grammy!”
Kiki and Cheyenne exclaimed jointly at the sigh of their grandparents and great grandparents.
“Hey my baby girls!” Wilson’s bass voice boomed joyfully. Lorraine stood by just as happy to see their smiling faces especially considering the crisis they were in the middle of. It was a refreshing sight as Kiki scooped Cheyenne up and bounded over to them, being quickly engulfed in hugs and kisses.
Justin got up from his seat to welcome the rest of the family all the while keeping an eye on Kiki and Cheyenne’s greeting with their other relatives. It was great to see that such a strong hold of family now from his side and hers had rallied together at this precarious time. Plus he was very interested in meeting Kiki’s grandparents who she had told him all about in the past. He only hoped he wouldn’t get a sour reception from them.
“Look at my pretty blue belle.” Lorraine cooed her nickname for Cheyenne once she was able to get her turn cuddling her great granddaughter.
Eyes shifting to the familiar stranger standing in the background talking to Maya, Wilson surmised. “That must be the white boy who gave them to her.”
“Granddad!”
“Wil.”
Lorraine and Kiki admonished at the same time while everyone else either balked or snickered at his comment.
“What he’s white ain’t he?” He shrugged and approached Justin with his hand extended. “Nice to meet you son. I’m Wilson and this is my wife Lorraine.” He shook his hand and smiled warmly. Lorraine said hi and apologized for her husband before turning her attention back to Cheyenne who was talking her ear off.
Not at all offended, but amused by his comment and too relieved that he wasn’t being cussed out on sight, Justin waved it off with a chuckle. “It’s okay Ma’am. I’m Justin and it’s nice to meet you both.”
Wilson was the next to laugh, but his had an edge of sarcasm to it as he said. “You say that now, but we haven’t step out of the room to talk yet.” Justin’s smile flicked on his face with apprehension, knowing exactly what he wanted to discuss. Wilson saw his faltering happy appearance and didn’t bother to put him at ease, not for now at least. Let him sweat a little. “How about we go take care of that now? Come and tell me all about ya.”
Ordering him more than asking, Wilson patted the obviously nervous young man on the shoulder and directed him towards the door.
Justin looked back at Kiki with a look of panic on his face. She shrugged. She had warned him the men of her family would want to talk to him at some point. So it was no surprise when her father and Derek followed them out of the room.
The Lewis women left behind shared half concerned and half amused glances. This meeting was a long time coming and the thought of Justin possibly quaking in his boots was something to giggle at, but at the same time they hoped the guys weren’t too hard on him. Kiki wasn’t too worried about it; she had faith that Justin could take anything thrown at him if it was for Cheyenne.
Down the hall in the empty visitor’s lounge, the four men sat themselves in a corner of the room for a little bit of privacy should anyone come in.
“So how are you doing with all this? I can only imagine how hard this is, to watch your baby facing something like leukemia.” Wilson inquired, sympathizing with the young man.
“I’m okay. There are good days and bad days, but Cheyenne’s a strong little girl. I know she’ll pull through.”
“Yes she will. She is a very special child….One that didn’t deserve to be abandoned.” Justin tensed as Wilson got straight to the point. “Now me and my granddaughter are very close and we’ve talked about what happened between you two, particularly, you’re approach to fatherhood.” Staring Justin down, he asked for his side of the story. “How about you explain that to me.”
Nervously clearing his throat first, Justin told his tale from top to bottom and the three men listened without interrupting, but as soon as he was done, Frederick and Derek were on the attack.
“That was some punk ass bullshit you pulled. You’re weak man.” Condescendingly, Derek sneered at him with disgust.
Justin glared at him, but said nothing. He had no defense and apparently they couldn't or wouldn't at least understand where he was coming from.
“Being scared was a cop out. You had a responsibility to your child and you failed. You’re a failure. It’s simple as that.” Frederick tacked on, making Justin feel even lower and resurrecting that self loathe and anger he had recently put to rest.
Wilson was the only one left to comment after intently listening to Justin’s story and gaining a real understanding of his reasoning. It was far from right or excusable, but he understood and had himself experienced the fear of fatherhood. Where he had made the right choice to face that fear, Justin made the wrong one and walked away, but now he was back and that counted for something. Everyone made mistakes, it was whether or not you corrected them that made the difference. This young man was clearly making that difference and stepping up.
He was just about to respond as such when his son and grandson start in on Justin, berating him for a bad choice he was rectifying. They had every right to be upset by the offense to their family, but their rudeness was uncalled for and it was time to put this matter at rest not fuel the conflict. Besides neither of them should be throwing stones seeing as he knew they both were far from immune to the same fears and he wasn’t going to allow them to continue bullying him.
“Enough!” He bellowed and they all froze. “Frederick you really have some nerve sitting there and act like you weren’t damn near shitting your pants when you came home asking me what you should do when you got Nina pregnant for the first time.” His son’s eyes widened with embarrassment and he could see his jaw tighten in a show of submission to the truth.
Frederick knew his father was right, he couldn’t deny that he had been terrified about being a first time father. Maybe he was wrong to point fingers at something he was also guilty of.
Upon hearing his grandfather’s jab at his father’s expense, Derek snickered, but it was quickly shot down when Wilson turned on him. “And don’t you pretend like your punk ass wouldn’t be scared if Rhea popped up pregnant boy.” His withering glare had its effect and both Derek and Frederick seemed to have shrunken into their seats at the truthful admonishment. Now was the time for them all to get on an equal playing field so they could squash all this drama. “Hell I was afraid of the thought of being a father too. Most of us men are. Some of us tackle those fears and other make the mistake of running from them. Justin chose the mistake, but that was back then. This it now and he’s doing what some can’t, correcting his slip up and taking responsibility. Don’t you dare slight him for that.” It was Wilson turn to do the sneering down on his two descendants, embarrassed by them. He had taught them both to be the bigger man and always be respectful, but they had been the exact opposite.
Aware of their inappropriate behavior, but men apologized to their elder for putting him to shame. They couldn’t be faulted for voicing their opinions, but they didn’t have to be so crass, especially since Justin was back in Cheyenne’s life and being a great father to her already. They just got caught up in the moment as their latent anger boiled over.
“I’m sorry Justin. It just…Well you’re a father now.” Frederick grinned, formally acknowledged Justin’s place in Cheyenne’s life. “You can understand that seeing your child being mistreated is the worse and you just want to lash out at the cause. The same goes for your grandchildren.” Justin nodded, agreeing with the sentiment and the position he felt like he was in as Kiki and Cheyenne’s defender. “But the way we attacked you was unfair. I sincerely apologize.”
“Yeah I’m sorry too dude. I don’t know why I went off like that especially since we’ve been real cool lately.” Whenever Derek stopped by to visit, they had gotten along fine, sharing small talk about sports and other things they found they had in common. But at the time that was pretty superficial considering the tension that still lay under the surface between them…until now. “I think I was just venting. You know how that can get heated.”
“Its cool man, really. I understand where you both were coming from and I can promise you all that I am dedicated to Cheyenne. I will never leave her again or disrespect Kiki the way I have in the past.” He genuinely pledged.
Frederick, Derek and Wilson all perked at the additive concerning his treatment of Kiki. That was an issue truly reserved for her and Justin alone, but it was nice to know he felt remorse for whatever caused their relationship to fail and his abandonment of the mother of his child.
After sharing a look with his son and grandson, as head of the family, Wilson stuck his hand out and asked. “From one southern gentleman to two…and a half - others?” He chuckled, nodding he head to the half “ Derek.
They briefly laughed together and Justin shook Wilson’s hand firmly. “You have my word sir.”
Word is bond summed up that moment and it was sealed when Frederick granted Justin with the honor of a “welcome to the family son.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Fifteen minutes had gone by before one by one, Wilson, Freddy, Derek and Justin came back into the room, smiling and laughing together. Kiki was relieved to see Justin was still in one piece and that he was apparently, truly getting along great with the men of her family. What the hell happened? She thought and when he sat down on the sofa between her and Maya, she pounced. “How’d it go?”
“It was fine. Everything’s good now.”
She surveyed her brother, father and grandfather who were scattered around the room, eating their breakfast that was luckily still warm, noting their improved ease in Justin’s presence. Coming back to Justin, she quirked a suspicious eye at him and leaned forward to share the same look with her sister who had been listening, waiting for the same results.
“Something happened.” Maya said and Kiki agreed. The way their father and brother felt about Justin, that meeting couldn’t have been that easy.
Without warning the two sisters squished Justin in between them and started examining him. He had just started in on his own meal when he froze, sitting stoically and completely weird-ed out as they looked over his face, neck and arms.
“What the hell are you two doing?” He mumbled around his bite of hash browns.
“Just looking for any signs of an ass whoopin’. Geez Daddy what happened? You lose your nerve?” Kiki teased and Frederick countered with an apologetic shrug while laughter floated around the room.
“All I’m seeing is wet spots.” Maya concluded. “You were scared as hell huh? Sweating you ass off.” She grinned triumphantly.
“Whatever.” He groused at the diss and she giggled while Kiki mockingly petted him. “I gotta say though “ it wasn’t as bad as when you yanked me out into the hallway.” It was only a few days after Cheyenne started treatment that Maya warned him should he hurt her niece or sister again, she would make sure Cheyenne was the only child he ever created. “You Lewis ladies are scary.”
“Yeah and you make sure you never forget that.” Kiki smirked and wiggled her eyebrows mischievously, getting a hearty laugh out of him.
The rest of the visit carried on with easy conversation and amusing banter. Kiki was proud to see everyone was getting along and could happily look back on this moment as the time Justin official became a part of the whole inner circle, the family.
When it all came down to it, all the drama within this unconventional family that every one of them was a part of, was put aside and the main purpose was achieved. Cheyenne was distracted from her illness, at least for a little while, and was able to bask in blessing of having all her loved ones surrounding her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When family and friends of the family weren’t invading the room, Cheyenne had her own personal admirers making appearances; like Karen and the other daycare providers from Key West. They came baring a very special gift for her “ a big get well card made by her daycare buddies and it was filled with well wishes from all the kids, Kiki’s students, staffers, and a bunch of the members. It was a very sweet and thoughtful deed from the place that was like a home away from home for Cheyenne and Kiki.
But out of all the visits and surprises Cheyenne received, the most special was when Alana and Ryan brought Robbie by to see his best buddy.
After making a brief introduction between Justin and the Taylor family “ an occurrence that Alana and Ryan weren’t too surprised to witness since they’d been trusted with the secret of the identity of Cheyenne’s father awhile ago “ the kids were cautiously brought face to face.
“Hi Cheyenne.” Robbie said shyly from his father’s arms. He was obviously nervous about seeing his friend in a strange place with weird machines and things around her. No matter how cool the Elmo pictures on the walls were.
“Hi Robbie.” She answered cheerfully, but just as apprehensive, maybe because she sensed his tense vibe.
“You okay?” He asked, a worried look marring his face, one that melted the hearts of the adults watching their interaction. It was so touching to see so much affection between two so young.
“I sick.”
“Oh….I sorry.”
“Is okay.” Cheyenne nodded congenially. “You wanna color?” She pointed to the coloring book and crayons scattered on her bed.
“Yeah.” Robbie anxiously leaned out of his father’s embrace indicating that he wanted to be let down. Once Kiki signaled that it was okay for him to get close, Ryan released his son and he quickly crawled over to Cheyenne who handed him a blue crayon.
“You color this. I color this.” She pointed to the different parts of the Dora and Diego picture and just like that they went to work, as if it was any other play date for the two toddlers.
Ryan moved to join the other adults in the sitting area to discretely watch them. They were all happy to see that the visit was going better than they expected, which was fear and maybe even tears. Fortunately both Cheyenne and Robbie seemed almost oblivious of the situation now.
“Thank God that was easy.” Alana sighed with relief.
“I don’t know. I’m not that surprised. We got ourselves a couple of tough kids.” Kiki boosted.
“Do you think they’ll be friends forever?” Ryan mused.
“Absolutely.” Both Kiki and Alana replied. With such a strong friendship at a very young age there was no way those two wouldn’t be old and gray still talking their secret language and giggling at their inside jokes like they were right now. They’d make sure of it if necessary.
“God they really are like me and Trace.” Justin thought aloud as he watched them play. It was bringing back some of his own memories of the days when he and Trace ran around Millington getting into all kinds of trouble.
Aware of the analogy that Cheyenne’s grandmother had made, Alana proposed. “Except they may get married. We might be in-laws one day.”
Justin groaned, not wanting to think about his baby girl getting married let alone dating. Ryan laughed at his response while Kiki’s and Alana’s eyes were twinkling with fantasies of planning a future elaborate wedding together.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~
Although most visitors were generally for Cheyenne and her parents, there was one who was came by primarily for Kiki.
Shai Moore…..
Kiki and Shai met their freshman year at UCLA and immediately hit it off, being mutually very attracted to each other. As a result they dated, but their relationship last less than a year. Come to find out they were two different people on very different paths. Kiki was concentrating on her MBA and the rest of her preparations for running Key West while Shai was all about partying and his fraternity activities. Together they decided that they were better off just as friends, but that didn’t dampen the strong attraction that existed between them. That was probably why when they ran into each other a little over a year ago, they took a second shot at it. Of course at the time Kiki’s life had changed drastically. She had a new responsibility in her life, one that was only six months old.
Initially Shai was able to deal with Kiki being a mother especially considering she wasn't trying to make him play daddy. As a matter of fact, she was adamant about keeping him separate from Cheyenne while they were dating casually. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, she just wasn’t about to let her daughter become attached to him and risk having another man leave her if the relationship didn’t work. And it turned out that she was right to do so because once again she and Shai just couldn’t make it work, for the same reasons. Shai was in the process of starting up a few businesses, some clubs around LA with his brother and he was still very much into his carefree, unattached lifestyle. Kiki was the exact opposite. Her life was very grounded and she was happy with it being that way. She didn’t want to change and that included adding a relationship, especially when she was still dealing with the emotional fallout of her last one. If Kiki was honest her heart wasn’t really into it when she was dating Shai the second time and she was glad they didn’t get serious. That didn’t change the fact that he was and always would be a very good friend. So when he showed up at the hospital, she was ecstatic to see him…..
Paul had come to the hospital to watch the Lakers game that he and Justin were supposed to go to together. Understandably the date had to be postponed, so he suggested that they just watch it in the hospital room instead. Lynn decided to tag along and keep Kiki and Cheyenne company.
Kiki had just come out of the bathroom when there was a tap at the door.
“Knock, knock.” Shai rapped on the open doorway and when Kiki saw him, her face lit up.
“Hey!” She crossed the room to give him a big hug.
While Lynn and Paul were unfazed by his presence being acquainted with him and smiled openly, Justin’s reaction was very different.
Who the hell is this?, ran through his head as he watched Kiki and this strange guy embrace closely, almost too close. This can’t be her boyfriend or something. She would have told me if she had a boyfriend. For some reason that thought made him feel very uncomfortable and tense. His attention totally shifted from the game and all of it was placed on the interloper, determined to find out who he was.
“This is a surprise.” Kiki was the first to pull out of the hold and together they moved further into the room.
“Yeah I heard about Cheyenne. I wanted to come and see how you both were doing?” He smiled charmingly. “These are for you and these are for her.”
“Thank you.” She happily accepted the two boutiques of flowers, roses for her and daisies for Cheyenne. Lynn volunteered to put them on the window seal with the other arrangements and cards that family and friends had sent or dropped off. “Unfortunately she’s sleeping right now so…”
“Oh, That’s okay. I’m sure she needs the rest. ” The little girl had to be under some serious physical stress right now, he’d meet her another day. “She’s doing better though right?”
“Yeah, but she’s hasn’t had the transplant yet and she’s only in the middle of her first round of chemo. Hopefully she’ll only have to go through one more and then she can receive the bone marrow donation.”
“Wow that’s great that you got a donor.”
“Yeah. Uh as a matter of fact.” She turned to the others in the room. “Everyone this is a good friend of mine Shai Moore. Shai this is Lynn and Paul, Cheyenne’s grandparents and Justin…Her donor, her father.”
“Hello.” Lynn and Paul spoke as did Justin, but only because he didn’t want to come off as an asshole. A show of manners or not, he was still suspicious of this stranger.
His hidden tension went unnoticed by everyone except for his parents. Lynn and Paul shared a quick glance as they both took heed of the unease that had come over their son since Shai walked in the room.
What was that all about? They silently asked each other.
“Hey, how you doin’?” Shai waved at the group then leaned into Kiki. “Now I know why you wouldn’t say who her father was.” When she winced, he rubbed her back soothingly, pardoning her. “It’s okay. I understand and your secret is safe with me.”
“Thank you.” She moved to sit on the end of Cheyenne’s bed and he followed to stand in front of her.
“So how are you doing?”
“I’m okay. I’ll be even better when I can take my baby home.”
“Yeah, but she’s getting what she needs here right?” He cajoled, trying to boost her morale.
“Right.” She exhaled her moment of gloom away and smiled. “So what have you been up to? We haven’t talked in awhile. How’s the-“
“Oh come on!” Justin exclaimed from behind. They peered over at him, realizing he was yelling at the turnover the Lakers just allowed and with that Shai was captivated.
“Oh man is this the game?”
Yeah they’re down by 10, but they still got a quarter left.” Paul informed him.
“Good. They got plenty of time to catch up. At least they better.” He growled and Paul chuckled at his intensity that almost rivaled his son’s. He glanced over at Justin and was met with a scowl, but something told him it had nothing to do with the game.
Basketball was the last thing on Justin’s mind right now. He was too busy wonder what the story was with this “friend” of Kiki’s as he grinned all up in her face and joked around with his stepfather. Dude wasn’t even funny. When was he leaving?
“You’re welcome to stay and watch.” Kiki offered and Justin inaudibly growled, hoping he would decline.
“Uh no, no that’s okay.” He looked down at his watch, noting the time. “I have to go actually. I just wanted to stop by and make sure you two ladies were doing okay. Give my get well wishes.” He grinned cheekily and sparking a genuine flash of anger in Justin, Kiki gave him one of her blinding smile. Oh yeah it was time for him to get to the hell gone.
Kiki hopped off the bed and they excused themselves for blocking the TV as they passed to the door.
“Thank you for visiting and I will pass the message on to Cheyenne.”
“You’re welcome.” He reached up to affectionately brush the side of her face. “You take care of yourself and that little one.”
“I will. Oh and I heard about the club. I better get an invitation to opening night.”
“First one on the VIP list.” He smiled.
“Good.” She nodded haughty and they both laugh. “I’ll see you later then.”
“Definitely. Uh it was nice meeting you all.” He reached a hand out in the air to say his partings and received them in return. “Bye Kik.” He leaned down and she stretched up so he could peck her on the cheek.
“Bye.” She said as he slid out of the room and ambled down the hall.
Closed the door behind her, Kiki turned back to face the room and making eye contact with Lynn, she blushed. “Do not say anything.”
“What? I just think it’s interesting that he came by to visit Cheyenne.” She teased and Kiki playfully rolled her eye at her as she sat next to her on the day bed.
“Whatever Lynn.” They both knew that the visit was really about Cheyenne as an extension of her. “Regardless on his reason, it was sweet of him and those flowers are beautiful.”
“They certainly are.” Lynn gazed over at the man’s excellent taste in flower arrangements. “If only huh?”
Kiki scrunched her face at the thought. “Not really. Shai’s just not the one for me, but I’m okay with that because where it counts, we’re too different. ”
“I think you made the right decision honey. Some differences are too great to overcome, especially if they involve your responsible as a parent versus his need to have a very active social life.” Lynn rubbed a comforting hand against Kiki’s arm as she dispensed her motherly advice. Advice that her own son should hear, not that he hadn’t been listening to every word said by or to Kiki since Shai showed up. “Speaking of which, are you ready to say bye bye to those days?”
“Nope. Club Dora the Explorer here I come.” He joked, but sobered up and corrected. “After tonight of course - are you sure you’re okay with me going?” He had to make an appearance as Cameron’s date to her latest movie premiere that night and he really, really did not want to go. But the last thing they need was more rumors spreading and people snooping if he didn’t show up by her side like the dedicated boyfriend he was supposed to be.
“Yeah it’s fine. One of us needs a fun night out and besides it’ll keep our secret a little longer right?” Kiki smiled supportively and Justin was relieved that she understood. If Cheyenne safety didn’t hinge on him keeping up his image right now, he wouldn’t be going anywhere.
But alas, once the game was over, he left to go home and get ready, leaving his parents and the girls behind.
“He’s definitely not looking forward to their outing. He better put a convincing smile on his face or Cameron might get pissed.”
“I would hope she was understanding enough to know that Cheyenne's health is Justin’s main concern right now.” Paul commented.
“Well has she ever struck either of you as the selfish, jealous type?” Now that Paul mentioned it and Cameron had decided to stick it out with Justin, Kiki needed to know to type of person that was going to be around her daughter.
“We’ve only been around her once actually.”
Kiki was surprised she thought Justin shared everything in his life with his mother in particular.
Seeing the look on her face, Lynn explained. “We had dinner with them once and it was so awkward. Justin was so proud to show her off as his girlfriend, but I was less than impressed since he should have been proudly showing his child off at the time. After that dinner I basically told him I didn’t care to know who he was dating or screwing or whatever until he fixed the most important relationship in his life. With his daughter.”
Kiki’s eyebrows arched at that. Lynn hadn’t been pulling any punches with Justin while he was playing absentee daddy. Good!
“I wouldn’t worry about her darlin’. Justin’s so devoted to that little girl.” Paul glanced over at Cheyenne who was still sleeping. “She’s #1 for him now.”
“Yeah I know that.” At least I think I know. The truth was she wasn’t completely sure that Justin’s love for his daughter trumped his love for Cameron or any other woman he might become involved with.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was well after midnight and Kiki had just dozed off while watching TV when she saw light from the hallway creeping into room as someone snuck in. The nurses had already done there last check up for the night, so she quickly woke herself to see that the intruder was only Justin.
“What are you doing here?”
“Sorry I woke you.” Scurrying over to the daybed, he kicked his sneakers off and climbed in on the opposite end of her.
Kiki scooted over so they could arrange themselves head to feet and once they both were comfortable, she asked again. “What are you doing here? I thought you were staying with Cameron.”
“Yeah for the premiere and I hung out at the after party for awhile.” He answered distractedly, too busy digging under the covers for the hard unidentified object poking him. “Ah ha. I got the remote.” He taunted and went about flipping through the channels, obviously more concerned with what was on rather than the end of his night out with his girlfriend.
Kiki on the other hand could care less what was on that idiot box. Cameron couldn’t have been happy about him ditching her after over a week of his absence. She probably wanted some time alone with him to reaffirm their relationship. There was no telling what was going on in her head in regards to Justin’s new priority that had him running out on her. She had to have given some indication of her feelings, so Kiki asked.
“And she was fine with you leaving?”
Distracted by the movie he found playing, Justin shrugged nonchalantly. “Yeah I guess. She didn’t say anything.” She rolled her eyes at his clueless-ness. Cameron may not have voiced it, but Kiki was sure she showed some sort of unhappiness and he totally missed it. Men.
“Are you sure?” He mumbled out “yes”, eyes still locked on the screen. Annoyed that he wasn’t paying attention when she was trying to have a serious conversation with him, Kiki yanked the remote out of his hand and flipped the channel to an infomercial. Justin barked his outrage, but she ignored him and pressed ahead with her questioning. “Listen to me okay? In the very least can you tell me if Cameron is really okay with all this?” She whirled her hand around in reference to the new people and relationships he had in his life.
Realizing how serious she was, Justin put the movie he had been enjoying on the backburner. “You want to know if Cam’s going to be okay with being around Cheyenne?” Kiki nodded and understanding her need to know that the new people coming into Cheyenne’s life would welcome her, he thought about it briefly before concluding. “I think so. She seems like she’s okay with, but if I find out she’s really not then.” He shrugged decisively. “Cheyenne comes first.” It would be disappointing if he had to end the relationship, but it would end none the less if she was putting on an act about accepting his daughter and her standing in his life.
“Same here.” Kiki ensured him. After Shai’s visit and knowing how nosey he could be, she was sure he had a lot of questions about the nature of their relationship. Well there was no relationship beyond friendship, so it really was none of his business and she had no plans of giving him any answers if he did inquire. But with all fairness he did deserve to know that their daughter’s best interest was always her top priority regardless of what or who she might have to sacrifice, just as it was for him.
They shared a smile as another agreement was made between them. So far this joint parenting deal was working out pretty damn well.
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It was a few days prior to Christmas when Cheyenne’s first round of treatment came to an end. Despite how unrealistic their wishes had been, after a complete blood work up and a bone marrow test “ an experience that had Justin and Kiki in that week’s support group meeting for certain “ it was determined that the holidays would be spent in the Elmo Room while Cheyenne underwent her second round of chemotherapy. This time they were much more prepared to handle the aftermath and as far as celebrating Christmas, well the whole family had a plan for that.
Decorations, including a little fake Christmas tree, were set up all around the room while Cheyenne was in the nursery with the other children for story time. When Justin brought her back, the whole family was there to surprise her with her new festive room. And from the smile on her face that lit it up brighter than the lights strung around the windows, their efforts to give her the best Christmas possible, in spite of her hospitalization, were definitely a success.
Cheyenne even had a nice little pile of presents from her family under her tree, waiting to be opened. Space was limited so there was a two presents per person restriction, the rest would be welcome home gifts for her when she was discharged. And that stipulation came in handy where her father was concerned.
A week before Christmas, Justin took a discrete trip to Toys R Us and with his mother’s help, he played Santa Claus for the first time. He was tempted to clear out the whole store, but he stuck to the rule as best he could and only brought her a handful of toys. He had the rest of his life to shower his baby girl with presents and for now he couldn’t wait till she opened these. He already knew this was going to be the best Christmas of his life.
Come Christmas morning, Cheyenne was all a glow with happiness and excitement as she opened all her gifts from Santa. When she was done revealing the ones from her parents, Justin and Kiki were smothered in thank you hugs and kisses. A nice surprise for the day came when Justin and Kiki exchanged gifts. It meant a lot that they both thought of each other while spreading the yuletide cheer. Not to mention the gifts that they received clearly said that the pair still cared enough to remember even the little things about one another.
All and all for the trio it was a very Merry Christmas and only a week later with Cheyenne barely keeping her eyes open, they watched the ball drop with their friends and family, bringing in 2006. Instead of New Years’ resolutions, the whole group sent out New Years’ wishes and prayers that even with its rocky start, the rest of the year would bring a blessed recovery, strong brand new, and improved bonds of friendship, family and love.
