“You did it,” she said with pride.

“Baby, why are you sitting on the floor?” Jayden asked as he entered the kitchen, freshly showered and staring at me with amusement.

“Boss, you there?”

“Yeah. Oh, God, we are going to have to—”

“Nothing,” Denise corrected. “That’s what you hired me for. Have a good time with the mister tonight, and come in late and sexed up tomorrow. I’ve got this. Night.” I held the phone in my hand and stared at it as Jayden hoisted me off of the floor.

I turned to Jayden with a smile. “Jayden, we did it. We got a chain,” I said with wide eyes.

Jayden pulled me to him in a hug. “That’s incredible,” he murmured. “You deserve this.”

“I can’t believe this is happening!”

“That’s what you said the day you quit the agency,” he reminded as he slipped off my fitted suit jacket. “And the day you told me you were pregnant,” he said, making quick work of my blouse. “And the day Mallory was born.” He chuckled. “And the day we signed on this house.”

I looked into the deep blue that held me captive. “I can’t believe this is our life.”

His eyes glittered as he looked me over with clear intent. “And now you are about to have massive sex hair.”

“Oh, yes, please,” I said as his mouth came down to mine. His tongue delved deeply as I opened up completely for him. In minutes, we were lost in each other as I lay half-naked on the island with my top off. Jayden started with the buttons on my slacks as I noticed Trip join us in the room, destroying one of Mallory’s toys.

“Jay,” I interrupted as he trailed a kiss down my stomach. “Jayden, Trip’s got Mallory’s toy.” Ignoring me, he made work of my belt as I pushed on his chest. “Jayden,” I interrupted harshly as his narrowed gaze met mine.

I pushed him away slightly as I watched Trip fighting the large plastic toy in his mouth and growling. I jumped off the island to wrestle him for it and when I reached down to grip it I realized what it was.

“It’s JT. He’s eating JT!” I heard Jayden start to howl with laughter behind me as I pulled hard on the bruised vibrator and scolded Jayden. “I thought you threw this out!”

“I threw it in a drawer. I know better than to mess with a woman’s toys. I have no idea how he got it,” he laughed as I battled the dog for the plastic mush between his teeth.

“Jayden help me get this away from him!”

“No way,” he said, hysterical. “This is the most excitement I’ve seen all day. My topless wife battling her dog for her vibrator...Do we have popcorn?”

“You won’t be seeing these tits for a year if you don’t help me!” Jayden, still laughing hysterically, thumped Trip on the nose, making him squeak and drop the vibrator on the floor. I snatched it away quickly and put it on the counter as my husband stood bent over with his hands on his knees, looking at me as he tried to maintain his composure.

“I can’t believe this is our life, either.” Another bout of laughter, this time coming from both of us, had us sitting on our couch minutes later with our fussy diva. “I’m setting up my office here tomorrow. I’m not missing another day of this,” I said as Mallory mouthed some gibberish.

“We miss you, but we’ve been okay,” Jayden said, grabbing her hand as she belted out her gibberish toward him.

“Not another day,” I said adamantly as my daughter drooled on my chest and gripped my hair.

“Okay,” he whispered, kissing her cheek.

Mallory began to fuss and Jayden picked up the box he’d proposed to me with from the coffee table and turned it over, pulling a plastic, circular, white tab. The Pina Colada song rang out and I looked up at him stunned. “It was always this way?”

“Yep,” he chuckled. “You never did let me tell you about the box.”

“The cheating song?” I asked as Mallory bounced in my lap as I pulled at the string again.

“No,” Jayden said as he pulled me to his chest and pulled on the string. “It’s the ‘all roads lead back to you’ song.”

We stayed up watching Cinderella and I couldn’t help but think of a time when I wasn’t sure if it was possible to have a happy ending with Jayden. As calm as our life seemed on this day, on any other given day all it lacked was one shoulder monkey and a Ferris wheel to make it a full blown circus.

Jayden still had ADHD, that would never change, and he remained unmedicated by choice, aside for a small short lived anxiety pill to help him when he was feeling anxious. He didn’t want to have outbursts in front of his daughter, and honestly that was what we were both most afraid of. All of our issues would never magically disappear, but seemed to diminish in strength the longer we stayed together. We got counseling from Dr. Sawyer when we needed it, but time had proven to be our greatest ally.

Sometimes I wondered if I would love him as much without his quirks and idiosyncrasies. I loved Jayden, therefore I loved ADHD, and that thought alone let me know I’d already gotten the best of my nemesis.

Jayden still had ADHD, Trip still had a knack for ruining our sexy times, and my daughter had a downright, royal attitude that was apparent the minute she was born. There was no rhyme or reason in our everyday life. We would continue to fight the odds for as long as we had breath in us. We had each other to battle for, and that had always been enough. But now that we were three, it made each day and each victory so much sweeter.

I looked over to Jayden, who was running his fingers through his daughter’s fine, auburn hair, and smiled. As much as our life had changed, and mostly for the better, things still remained the same.

I hoped to teach my daughter how to love unconditionally like my parents taught me. I prayed that she saw the beauty of her father’s quirks as she got older and kept her humor when he drove her up the wall with his protective shield. I prayed that if she was diagnosed with the disorder, that she could feel safe and comfortable in a world that may make her feel anything but. That she wouldn’t struggle as her father did to find his place and his peace, even if that peace meant only stolen moments.

A long time ago, worries like this threatened to ruin what I held so dearly: a life with my husband. Now I focused on the everyday, knowing the future would bring me a little of everything.

So instead of dwelling on the what ifs, I sat on my couch thankful for my white liar, our devious dog, and our demanding diva as we watched the mistreated princess get whisked away by a handsome prince and ate leftover chicken casserole because...that was our thing.

And that was more than I could have asked for.

And I hoped it would never end.

LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST FOR LOVING THE WHITE LIAR ON SPOTIFY

Kate Stewart, a native of Dallas, now resides in Charleston, S.C. She moved to the city three weeks after her first visit, dropping her career of 8 years, declaring the city her creative muse. Since her move in 2010, she has published two novels, the third coming July 2015. She lives with her husband of 8 years, Nick who is featured on the cover of the novel, TITAN. (Set to re-release some time in 2015.)

Her other novels include Room 212 and Never Me which are both available now.

 

Contact Kate - [email protected]

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