31. Tucker

“Daddy, I got in trouble again today.” Riley frowns at me from across the table. Skylar’s still asleep, still not feeling right.

“What do you mean? What happened?”

“Didn’t Skylar tell you? Mrs. Goods went to her office.” She stares at me like I”m crazy.

“Nope. Skylar left work early because she didn’t feel good. Are you sure Mrs. Goods talked to her?”

“Yup! And after Mrs. Goods came back to the class, she wouldn’t even look at me.”

“How about you tell me what happened and then I can talk to Skylar?”

“Well, Mrs. Goods didn’t think I knew the answer to the math problem so she told me to go up to the board and draw out the math problem and put my answer up. I did what she asked, and she was mad when I got it right. She only ever calls on me when she doesn’t think I know the answer.”

That woman is pure evil. I don’t care how she feels about me or Skylar, how can you take out your anger on an innocent six-year-old?

“But when she tried to erase the board, the marker wouldn’t come off.” Riley scrunches up her nose. “I think I used a permanent marker, Daddy. I didn’t mean to, all the markers look the same and I can”t read, how was I supposed to know?”

“It’s ok, Riles. It was an accident.”

“That’s what I said, but Mrs. Goods got really mad. She told me she was going to kick me out of her class, then she stomped out the door. When she came back, she avoided me. I don’t think she likes me, Daddy.”

“It’s not you, sweetheart. She doesn’t like me and she’s taking it out on you.” I take her hand in mine and give it a little squeeze. How do you explain something like this to such a young kid? She shouldn’t have to understand her teacher is trying to get revenge on me through her.

“That’s not very nice.” She frowns at me as she gathers her plate and sticks it next to the sink.

“No, it’s not… If you want to, you can watch TV until bed. I want to check on Skylar and try to get her to eat.”

I grab the plate I made for Skylar and take it back to our room. I place it on the nightstand and run a hand down her back.

“Babe, you need to eat something. You haven’t eaten all day,” I say softly.

“I don’t want to,” she mumbles into her pillow.

“Just a few bites, then I’ll let you go back to sleep.”

She slowly drags herself up in bed, resting against the headboard. Her eyes are heavy. They keep drifting shut, but I do my best to keep her awake.

“C’mon, Sky, five bites.”

She opens her mouth, her eyes staying shut. When I have the fork an inch away from her mouth, she jumps off the bed and flies into the bathroom.

“What the hell?” I race after her, confused over what’s going on.

I get into the bathroom as she starts dry heaving. She empties whatever could possibly be in her stomach into the toilet and leans against the wall.

“Baby… what’s going on with you?” I crouch down in front of her, cupping her cheek. She’s ice cold, no chance of a fever.

“Can you get me mouthwash?”

“Of course.”

I grab a small paper cup, filling it with mouthwash and help her stand. She sways instantly, almost falling against the wall, but I catch her before she goes down. She quickly swishes and spits out the mouthwash, then I”m leading her back to my bed.

“Can you get the food out of here? The smell is awful.”

“Of course. Do you want some crackers and ginger ale?”

“I guess. I feel terrible, Tucker.” Her glassy eyes meet mine and my heart breaks.

I want to take away every ounce of pain and sickness she’s dealing with. I’d take it all on if it meant she didn’t have to experience it.

“I’ll be right back.”

Snatching the plate off the nightstand, I hurry out of the room. The last thing I want is Skylar throwing up again. I gather the crackers and ginger ale left over from when Riley was sick and take them to Sky. I climb into bed beside her, resting against the headboard. When she tries to sit up, I stack pillows behind her to support her.

“Here, baby, just take a small sip.” I hold a straw up to her lips, waiting while she takes a tiny sip. She snuggles into my side, letting out a sigh.

“I’m feeling a little bit better,” she murmurs against my chest.

“Good. Do you want to go back to sleep? I can go back out in the living room.”

“No, stay. Talk to me, tell me about your day.”

“I worked on cars for a few hours, then came home to take care of you. Leslie brought Riley home and asked how you were feeling. Over dinner Riley told me about Mrs. Goods… Wanna tell me what happened?”

“I threatened to fire her.”

“Seriously?” I stare down at her in shock. Skylar nods her head.

“I put her in her place, explained how I want her to stop targeting Riley or she’ll lose her job. She tried to blame it on our relationship and me showing Riley favoritism, so I had to lay down the law for her there too. If she was some awful kid, I wouldn’t be letting her get away from stuff, but I”m also not going to be harder on her and hold her at a higher standard because we’re dating.”

My heart swells at how much Skylar does to protect the kids in her school, but mostly at how she protects my daughter. She’s taken Riley under her wing, treated her like she’s her own flesh and blood. I haven’t dated since Riley was born because I was afraid no one would love her like I do, but Skylar does. She proves it in the way she takes Riley out for ‘Girls Day’, the way she helps her do her hair every morning, and the way she goes to bat for her against Mrs. Goods.

I couldn’t ask for a better girlfriend, a better wife, a better mother for my daughter.

“Thank you, Sky.”

“I didn’t do anything special for her, I”m just running my school like a principal should.”

“I know. I’m thanking you for being such an amazing woman and for choosing to be in my life. I love you, baby.”

“I love you too.”

She snuggles even closer and a few minutes later, her soft snores fill the air.

Riley tiptoes into the room about an hour later, trying but failing to hide a yawn.

“I think it’s time for bed, Riles.”

“I know. I was coming to tell you goodnight.” She stands on her toes, trying to peek over me and see Skylar. “Is Skylar feeling better?”

“I think a little bit. She just has a stomach virus, I”m sure she’ll be fine by tomorrow night, just like when you had one a few weeks ago.”

She nods her head and stares at us for a moment. Then she runs around to the other side of the bed, climbing up and moving until she’s next to Skylar. Riley trails a hand down her cheek, leaning in close and presses a kiss to Skylar’s head.

“I love you; I hope you feel better,” she whispers, giving her another kiss before she hops off my bed and comes back around to my side of the bed.

Riley gives me a hug and tells me goodnight, then she’s running out of my room again. Riley and Skylar love each other more than I could’ve hoped for. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier in my entire life. I just hope we keep moving forward with our relationship. I want to be a real family.