Instead, I crouched beside her.
“You already have a daddy.”
“I know.”
“And Daniel will always be your daddy.”
“I know.”
I looked at Adrian.
He knelt beside us.
“But families can have different kinds of people in them,” I said. “Adrian can be someone who loves you very much without replacing anybody.”
Mia considered this.
Then she looked at Adrian.
“What do you want to be?”
He took his time answering.
“Whatever you feel comfortable with.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“That’s not an answer.”
He laughed.
“I would like to be someone who shows up.”
Her expression softened.
“For school concerts?”
“Yes.”
“Even boring ones?”
“I’ve attended shareholder meetings. I can survive anything.”
“For birthdays?”
“Yes.”
“When Mommy is grumpy?”
“That appears to be part of the agreement.”
I gasped.
Mia giggled.
Then she held out her hand.
“Okay.”
Adrian shook it solemnly.
“Okay.”
We married the following spring.
