Chapter 14


    Chapter 14: Family Event


    Moana


    “I’ll pay.”


    E and I were both shocked when we turned around to see Edrick standing there, credit card in hand,


    his face covered by sunsses and a surgical mask.


    “Daddy!” E eximed.


    Edrick handed the ice cream salesman his credit card and ruffled E’s hair. “Eat your ice cream before


    it melts,” he said, guiding us away from the stand and the people behind us who were getting quickly


    annoyed at us for holding up the line to get ice cream.


    “I thought you had to work,” E said.


    “I decided toe home early so I could spend your birthday with you after all,” Edrick replied. “But


    you weren’t home. Selina told me that you went on an outing…” I couldn’t see his eyes through his


    sunsses, but the way his head slowly turned toward me told me everything I needed to know.


    I felt my shoulders droop and looked embarrassingly down at my rapidly-melting ice cream. We


    approached a bench and Edrick instructed E to sit while she finished her ice cream, then he stood


    next to me and lowered his voice while she happily swung her legs and got ice cream all over her face.


    “Why did you take her out if you had no money?” he asked, his voice sounding cold and annoyed.


    “It was an honest mistake,” I replied. “I haven’t had to take out money in a while. And besides, the


    driver is close; it would’ve only taken a minute for him to pass me the money.”


    Edrick shook his head and said nothing else. E, who had been listening the entire time, suddenly


    jumped up from her bench. “This is the best birthday ever!” she said very quickly. “Please, I want to


    stay.”


    It seemed that E was afraid that her father would make her go home, and Edrick’s next words made


    my heart sink.


    “I don’t know, sweetheart,” he said. “It’s really not safe for us to be out in public.”


    E stuck her lower lip out in a pout. “But it’s my birthday,” she whined. “You never want to go


    anywhere, and I’m having fun here with Moana!”


    “She’s a little girl, Edrick,” I said quietly. “Let her enjoy her birthday. And please… Join us.”


    Edrick was silent for a few moments before letting out a deep sigh and crouching to wipe the ice cream


    off of E’s face with a napkin. “Alright,” he said. “We’ll stay.”


    E squealed in delight and, taking both of our hands, began to drag us around the theme park with


    just as much — if not more — fervor as she had when it was just the two of us. As we spent the


    afternoon walking around the theme park, I couldn’t help but take out my phone to secretly snap some


    sweet pictures of E and Edrick together. It was so sweet watching them y games together, and


    seeing E sitting on Edrick’s shoulders while we walked that I couldn’t help myself. Edrick didn’t seem


    to mind the photos, either, although I wondered why he was so adamant on keeping his mask on;


    would he really want to look back at photos with his daughter and see that his face was covered for all


    of them?


    As the sun started to get down, Edrick and I began to feel tired. E, however, still had just as much


    energy, and insisted on one more ride before we went home. I suggested the ferris wheel because it


    was slow and rxing, and both of them agreed.


    We climbed into the basket on the ferris wheel. Edrick sat across from me with E on hisp. As we


    started to go up, now that we were safe from prying eyes, Edrick took off his sunsses to reveal


    steely gray eyes that appeared surprisingly happy for the first time since I had met him.


    Maybe the Alpha billionaire needed a fun outing just as much as his daughter did.


    As we rose up above the theme park under the setting sun, an involuntary gasp came out of my mouth.


    The way that thest rays of sunlight refracted across the treetops as they swayed in the hot summer


    breeze, and the way that the string lights lit up the park below us, made the city feel even more


    dazzling than before. Not only that, but the breeze ruffled through my hair and cooled the sweat on my


    hot skin.


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    I looked across from me to see E giggling and peering out over the crowd. And behind her, her father


    wasn’t looking at the crowd…


    He was looking at me.


    His eyes darted away quickly, as though he had only nced at me on ident. Soon, the ferris wheel


    began to roll us back downward, lowering us back into the crowd.


    The ferris wheel went around a few times more. When it finally came to a stop at the bottom, the


    attendant let us out. Edrick put his mask back on then got out with E in one of his arms. Then, he


    turned around and held out his other hand for me to help me out. My blush deepened as I felt his cool


    palm, but we both quickly pulled away when E looked at us.


    “Alright, Princess,” Edrick said as we walked away from the ferris wheel. He set her down and


    crouched down to her level. “I think we’ve had enough fun for one day. Are you ready to go home?”


    E nodded, although she looked a little disappointed. I remembered being that age still; I would’ve


    wanted to spend my entire life running around theme parks when I was a little girl.


    We started to head back to where the driver was waiting.


    As we did, one of the theme park staff — a teenage girl wearing a screen printed t-shirt that had the


    theme park logo on it, khaki shorts, and a long brown ponytail — came up to us with a smile and a flyer


    in her hands.


    “Hi folks,” she said, holding the flyer out. “We’re hosting a special family event tonight with prizes.


    Would you like to participate?”


    E quickly sna tched the flyer away, her face lighting up at the concept of prizes. Edrick and I,


    shooting each other a tired nce, leaned down to look at the flyer over E’s shoulder. The prizes


    were limited-edition dolls — I remembered seeing a collection of some of those very same dolls in


    E’s room at the penthouse — but the catch was that two parents had to participate in the event,


    which meant that we were technically not supposed to y.


    Edrick, seemingly noticing the same detail I did, stood and looked at the girl. “Is there any way to just


    purchase one of the dolls?” he asked.


    The teenage girl shook her head, making her ponytail swing back and forth. “I’m sorry,” she said.


    “We’re not allowed to sell any prizes. If you want one of the dolls, you have to participate with two


    parents.”


    E turned around and pouted, tugging on both of our heartstrings as she looked back and forth


    between the two of us. Edrick opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, a mischievous


    look came over the little girl’s face. She whipped back around to face the staff member and took both of


    our hands again, holding them up triumphantly.


    “My parents and I will y!”