Here at last is the fourth chapter, and what a labor of love this has been to complete! Ironically, the next two chapters have been sitting completed in my drafts for literally months now, but I've really battled writer's block with this chapter. I'm not even sure why- because Lloyd and his daughter are such a joy to write for, and I'm very excited to offer you a glimpse into their life!

I'd like to say a huge thank you to each one of the people who have stayed with me all this time. I've been going through a very difficult season in my life, especially regarding my health, and my writing has really suffered because of this. I'm so grateful for all of the love and support I have received, and for the patience that you all have shown in regards to my lack of updates.

I've been so blessed and so encouraged by the little community that is beginning to develop and grow here, and I greatly appreciate each vote, addition to your library, and comment that you leave. I don't have the time to thank each one of you as you deserve, but just know that this book would literally not be possible without you! 

I love you all so much! <33

{ 🍃 • 🐉 • 🍃 }

( lloyd )

I held Jayla in my arms for as long as possible, perhaps selfishly so, as I twirled her around and continued to pepper her freckled cheeks with affectionate kisses.

She giggled and clung to me, her arms wrapped tightly around my neck, until I set her down several moments later. I still held onto one of her hands, as she remained a little dizzy and her steps a bit wobbly from being spun around so many times.

"Daddy! Daddy! Come see what I was working on this afternoon!" she exclaimed, tugging at my hand as she pulled me over to the table where she had been seated earlier.

"Look how many silverware I folded! I put all the 'tensils in the right order and everything, and I didn't even put the sticky tape on crooked for any of them!"

She released my hand to grab a fistful of the silverware that had been rolled neatly into napkins, her little face practically shining with pride as she showed me her handiwork.

"Aunt Skylor said it was the best silverware she saw all day!"

"That's great, sweetheart. I'm so proud of you!" I praised, an involuntary grin stretching across my face as I examined the many rolls of silverware that she had spent so long preparing.

"I'm getting so much better at it now!" she declared, gathering the loose napkins and silverware into little piles before she began to pick up her art supplies and shove them into her backpack.

"Let me help you with that, Starburst."

I crouched down beside the table, helping to arrange her schoolbooks and coloring books together and place them in a neat stack in her bag; putting them in alongside all of the wayward crayons and loose papers.

"Don't forget Twix," I reminded Jayla, smiling as I passed her the well-loved brown cat. 

"Did you get all of your schoolwork done, kiddo?"

She wrinkled her nose in annoyance, hugging her stuffed animal tightly and giving it a gentle kiss on the head. 

"I got most of it done... but not all of it," she admitted softly. "I need Marmee's help with some of the math ones."

"That's alright, we can help you with those after dinner," I replied, aiding in the difficult process that was getting her sweater on right-side-out.

"What's for dinner?" she asked, grabbing her backpack and pulling it over her shoulders before she grabbed one of my hands, Twix still clutched under her other arm.

"We have some leftover soup and bread from a couple of days ago that I'm going to warm up once we get home, and you can help me make a quick salad if you want."

"Yummy! Do you think Marmee will like my drawings I made?" Jayla asked, tugging me along as we began to make our way through the restaurant and toward the door.

"I'm sure she'll love them," I assured her, a little bit distracted as I instinctively kept a watchful eye on the other people seated at their tables; wary of the whispers and the glares that they aimed at my daughter and I.

As we walked through the front of the restaurant I caught Skylor's eye and gave her a small wave, mouthing a thank you once she noticed that we were heading out.

"See you tomorrow!" she called in response, offering us a bright smile even though her words and actions toward Jayla and I clearly irritated the customer that she was in the midst of helping.

My daughter didn't notice the annoyed looks from the person ordering their food, she simply gave Skylor a cheerful goodbye before we exited Chen's Noodle House, then continued talking as we walked out into the city.

"Daddy! Did you see the picture I drew of Skittles? Isn't it pretty?"

"Yes, I did see your picture- I loved it!" I replied, only half listening now because I had suddenly caught sight of an unexpectedly familiar face.

To my surprise, the young woman that I had given directions to earlier was walking toward us; making this the second time that she had caught me off guard today (a fact I was sure to be teased mercilessly about if the others ever heard of our encounter earlier this afternoon- which they never would).

In retrospect, I probably creeped her out by my well-intrenched habit of studying people intently to try and learn about them slash gauge if they might be a potential threat (not to be confused with staring).

Sometimes I forget to tone it down when I'm not in my ninja gi, and this situation in particular was probably even more awkward; because though I recognized her from earlier this evening, she would have absolutely no recollection of ever meeting me.

Nice going Garmadon. Now you look like a weirdo.

Noting the slight changes in the way she carried herself that indicated she was uncomfortable, I debated blurting out some lie about how I thought she was someone else or how I was actually looking at the person behind her (a truly bad lie, because there was no person behind her).

It was, however, too late to give her anything more than an apologetic look; because she gave Jayla and I a very nice smile and then quickened her page to hurry past us into the restaurant.

That was only sort of awkward. 

"Daddy, did you see her pretty hair and her sandals?" Jayla asked with a small tug on my hand and the awe-filled whisper of a little girl who found beauty in every woman she saw; and who wanted to imitate a good number of them.

Her words brought a smile to my lips, and I shook my head in response as I gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"You might be more observant than I am, Starburst. I didn't notice those things about her specifically, but I'm sure she's very nice."

"I think so too," Jayla replied, content with my answer. "She's not as pretty as Mama, but that's because she's mine, and that makes her the prettiest. And Marmee is pretty too."

"You're right on both accounts. And you're related to both of them, which explains why you're also beautiful."

My daughter giggled, swinging my hand as she ducked her head shyly. "I do look like them, but I also look like you, Daddy. At least that's what Marmee says. We have the same eyes, but I don't know about the other stuff that she says we both have."

She looked up at me with a quizzical expression, her head tilted slightly. "Do I look more like you? Or like Mama?"

I hesitated, my expression becoming distant as I recalled Lizzy's face and her smile, preserved forever in our daughter. And yet, she also reminded me so much of myself. Her appearance was a bittersweet combination of both Lizzy's and my own; offering a glimpse into happier times long gone.

"I think that you look like both of us. You remind me of your mother, but you also remind me of myself, especially when I was younger. So you look a little bit like of both of us, if that makes sense."

This soon turned into a lively discussion about genetics and DNA, one which made me wish that I had paid more attention to those sections of the science books when I was in school. 

I made a mental note to search for some age-appropriate resources from the library on our trip next week, gently steered the discussion away from its natural progression to exactly how both parent's genes are passed on to their children, and did my best to keep up with Jayla's chatter as we finally arrived at our apartment building.

Somehow, my daughter gained a new burst of energy as we entered the building. She eagerly raced ahead to the elevator to push the button to our floor, then waited for me to catch up with her; Twix still clutched protectively under one of her arms.

"Hurry up, Daddy!"

"I'm coming, Starburst," I replied, smiling as I stepped into the elevator beside her and playfully tugged at one of her braids.

She giggled and ducked away from me, suddenly fascinated by the illuminated buttons that were on the elevator's control panel in front of us.

"Daddy? What would happen if we pushed all the buttons at once?"

"I think the elevator stops at every single floor if you push all of the buttons. It wouldn't be too bad in an apartment like this, where there aren't quite as many floors as there are in one of the huge skyscrapers in the city."

"Ohhh, that would be a lot."

We got off of the elevator and made our way down the hall, just in time to see some of our neighbors leaving their apartment for the evening. 

"It's Eloise! Daddy, can I go and say hi to her?" Jayla begged, clasping her hands together in excitement.

"Of course," I replied with a smile, my heart feeling lighter as I watched her race down the hallway to embrace her friend. 

Thank goodness for Eloise.

I'm so, so grateful for the people who truly love my daughter and value her friendship, regardless of who her father and grandfather are. 

These few, precious people like Eloise and her mother have made such a difference in my daughter's life; just as my own friends have made a huge difference in mine.

With a smile still on my face, I bent down to pick up Twix (who had been dropped in the scuffle), and walked down the hallway to join Jayla and to catch up with our neighbors.

My daughter and Eloise were already deep in discussion about school and what they'd eaten for lunch today, so I turned my attention to Sarah, who (as always) was unbothered by the stuffed cat in my arms and the exhaustion evident on my face that I made no attempt to mask.

"Hey, Lloyd!" she greeted me with a wide smile, the corners of her eyes crinkling as she tugged on a jacket over her nurse's scrubs.

"We were just heading out to the store for a quick grocery run, is there anything that you guys need?"

"Actually- if you're sure it's not too much trouble- we are running a little low on milk," I admitted, sheepishly rubbing the back of my neck. "If you could maybe grab like a half gallon while you're there, I'd really appreciate it."

"It's no trouble at all," Sarah replied, fishing an index card and pen out of her pocket and jotting something onto the small piece of paper in her neat handwriting.

"Thank you so much." I returned her smile with one of my own, then glanced over to where Jayla and Eloise still stood together; chattering about their adventures with animated gestures and joy-filled expressions.

"Are you guys still up for tomorrow night?" I asked, turning back to face Sarah after I had observed the two girls for a moment.

She laughed softly, nodding. "Eloise has been looking forward to this all week- we'll definitely be there. Still at 6:00, right? And are you sure you don't want me to bring anything besides veggies and dessert?"

"Yep- 6:00 is still the plan. And you're fine to just bring veggies and dessert, I really appreciate you bringing those things. If anything changes, or if something comes up and we need to cancel, I'll be sure and let you know."

"Sounds great."

Sarah was quiet for a moment, watching Eloise and Jayla with a fond smile; before she adjusted the strap of her bag and turned to me once again.

"Well, we'd better get going. Glad I could catch you before we left, and we'll see you at 6:00 pm on the dot tomorrow. Oh- and I'll bring your milk then if that's alright."

"That's perfect. Thanks again, Sarah- I really appreciate it. We'll see you tomorrow," I replied, giving her a playful salute.

"Anytime, Lloyd. Take care."

After Jayla and Eloise had said their goodbyes and given each other one last hug, my daughter and I walked the last few feet down the hallway and to the door of our apartment.

"Make sure you take your shoes off, kiddo," I reminded Jayla, smiling as she attempted to run and greet the cat without first stopping to drop her things off.

"But I have to say hello to Skittles!" she protested, frowning as she paused obediently to kick off her sneakers, then made a dash for the window to disrupt said cat in the middle of her afternoon sunbathe.

I attempted to hide my smile, turning away to place my daughter's things on the bench by the door before I slipped off my own shoes and jacket.

"After you say hi to Skittles, put your stuff away in your room. If you still want to help me with dinner, make sure you wash your hands, and then meet me in the kitchen."

"Yes, Daddy!" she replied, smiling widely as she smooshed her face into Skittles' side, making cooing noises as she stroked the cat's face with one of her hands.

The long-suffering feline just purred and closed her eyes in contentment, looking as if she enjoyed the petting after a long day home alone. Perhaps it was Stockholm syndrome- or maybe she genuinely did enjoy my daughter's company (at least most of the time). I had yet to figure this out.

Content to leave the two of them alone for now, I headed off to the kitchen to start dinner preparations.

Once the soup was warming up on the stove and I'd wrapped the bread in foil and placed it in the oven, I turned on some Disney music and started pulling things out of the fridge for a salad.

For a few brief moments as I rinsed the lettuce and started to chop it, I had some time to myself to reflect on the day's events. These reflections were soon disturbed, however, as Jayla came skipping into the kitchen.

"Daddy, can I watch you make the salad?"

"Of course, Starburst. Come have a seat, and you can tell me more about your day," I offered, giving her a smile as I dumped the lettuce into a bowl, then began halving some cherry tomatoes.

My daughter climbed up onto one of the barstools, resting her face in her hands as she leaned on her elbows to watch me work, her green eyes observing everything as ever.

She began to tell me stories from her day- about the people that she'd seen at the restaurant and the lives that she'd invented for them, of the math problems she'd been working on, the drawings she'd completed, and so many other things.

When her favorite songs came on we stopped chatting for a few moments to sing along, and any embarrassment I may have felt years ago at the idea that my friends could catch me singing Disney music vanished in the light of the joy that was practically shining from my daughter's face.

We swapped stories from our day and laughed together while I worked on dinner, and by the time that my mom returned home from work and Jayla ran to greet her, my heart already felt lighter than it had earlier in the day.

Even in the darkest moments, Jayla is a constant and consistent source of light and joy in my life. She loves me unconditionally, makes my life so much better, and gives me something worth living for and loving for.

In these ways, she's just like her mother.