Chapter Two

Chapter Two

“Daddy!”

“Daddy!”

“Daddy, look at what I can do!!!”

“DADDY!!!”

“What?” Jimi looked up from his phone and peered over the top of his sunglasses.  

“Daddy! Look!”

He looked at his daughter standing in the shallow end of the pool and sighed.  She was constantly requesting that he look at this or that and honestly, she hadn’t done anything yet that really impressed him.  She was wearing a floaty still for Christ’s sake and she was almost eight.  Jimi was sure other kids knew how to swim long before eight.  That one girl with the curly, red hair was definitely younger than Ellie and she was swimming on her own and underwater already.  Jimi looked again at his daughter wondering what the hell he should be looking at.  All he could see was her standing on one leg and bouncing.

“Wow.  Really balancing there.”  Jimi made a note to talk to his ex about this swimming bullshit.  She really needed to get swimming lessons for this kid.  He sighed thinking about having to talk to her as he knew he would be met with “Jimi, I work two jobs.” “Jimi, can’t you take her?”.  There was a time when he loved hearing her say his name but now his name in her mouth annoyed him, as well as the whining that always followed it.  “Jimi, I can’t do all this on my own.” ,  “Jimi, you promised you’d take her an extra night.”, “Jimi, blah, blah, blah.”  He couldn’t remember the last time he really listened to anything she had to say.  Probably the night she told him she was pregnant and he felt the world crash in on him.

“Daddy, come swim!” Ellie yelled while jumping up and down.

“In a little bit. I’m working right now.”  Working on my tan he thought as he closed his eyes and leaned back.  Well, and his highlights.  He had put lightener on the tips of his hair before heading out to the pool.  He heard her yell Daddy one more time but he kept his eyes closed and just sighed.  Fatherhood was exhausting.  Ellie was with him every other Saturday afternoon until Sunday morning and it was all he could do to entertain her and not count the hours until Britani picked her up again. 

It was so much easier when she was a baby, Jimi thought.  Ellie was cute when she wasn’t screaming and he had really enjoyed walking her around the park in her stroller. God, all he had to do was lift her out and hold her and the women flocked to him.  He’d scored more and with much less effort in Ellie’s baby days than in all his years of dating combined.  He had noticed that the attraction of a kid seemed to wear off around age six; Ellie seemed to be more a nuisance than a lure to women he met.  

Maybe it was time to have another baby.  Jimi tossed the idea around for a second before dismissing it.  More money to pay out a month and what if this kid took up his free Saturday? No way.  He’d get women on his own, he’d just have to work a little harder than holding up a cute baby.  No worries.  His exotic pet shop had always been a real panty-dropper and he knew that would continue.  Women loved men who owned weird shit and he not only owned it, he sold it.  His shop, “Getting Tail”, continued to do well despite his partner who liked to smoke his share of the profits.  Jimi loved watching women come in and giggle at the name and then walk up and down the aisles of exotic pets.  He would wait until they stopped at the snake cages before venturing over to see if they needed any help.  Snake innuendos were sure to happen and Jimi made a killing in that snake aisle, both in sales and in getting dates.

He peeked up and saw her bouncing still in the water and talking to some people with kids.  Great!  She’d be fine for a while.  He rolled onto his stomach and sighed.  Jimi couldn’t stop thinking about this party one of his Hinge hotties had asked him to go to tonight.  Since Britani, Jimi never dated just one woman at a time.  Too much emotion, too little freedom, and too much pretending to be interested in whatever these women did.  He liked first dates, he liked first kisses, and he lived for the first time he had sex with someone new.  The first time was the best and even though he might stick around for a week or two after, it was the first time that always thrilled him.  Even the boring ones were still thrilling.  New bodies were where it was at!  Jimi’s business partner and roommate had been with the same woman for five years and swore it was still the best sex he’d ever had.  Jimi didn’t believe him at all even though he’d heard them through the wall separating their rooms and had to admit it sounded like it might still be good.

Jimi sat up and looked at his watch, 7pm.  Ellie wouldn’t go to bed until 10 or 11, whining more and more with each passing hour.  God, he really wanted to go to this party though!  He was guaranteed new sex and he couldn’t stop thinking about it.  He’d tried to get Britani to keep Ellie tonight but she wasn’t returning any of his texts or even his phone call.  God, he hated her.

“Daddy!”

“DADDY!”

Jimi was startled out of his Britani hate-spiral by Ellie’s shrieks.

“What?” he answered

“Daddy, I’m hungry.”  Ellie whined.

Jimi looked around and saw that almost everyone else had left the pool and started to get up.  This kid was always hungry.  Hungry, tired, sick, annoying.  The last time he’d had her, Britani brought her to him feverish and small with a cold.  He was pissed and afraid that he’d catch it, so he had loaded her with Benadryl and kept her asleep most of the weekend.  

“All right, grab the floaty, and let’s go.  I’ve got some pizza leftover from last night.”

Ellie grasped for the pineapple float but it slipped out of her hands and shot over towards the deep end.  “DADDY!!!  I can’t reach it!  DADDY!!”  Ellie started sobbing in the shallow end of the pool, looking hopeless.

Oh my God, Jimi thought, she’s just like her mother: can’t do a damn thing and is always crying.  “I’ll grab it, let’s just go.”

Jimi paused to grab the float as Ellie climbed out and met up with him.  Her nose was running and her hair was a stringy mess tangled down her back.  She wiped at her nose with the back of her hand and then reached out to hold his hand.  He jerked his own hand back quickly and patted the top of her head instead. He hadn’t brought a towel and as they walked into his apartment, Ellie complained she was cold.

“You’re cold?”  he asked.  

Ellie nodded and held her arms close to her chest as she sniffed.  He was sure it was just the cold air conditioning and the fact she was dripping wet, but what if she was sick again?  Ohhh, he thought.  Yes, what if she was sick again?  What if he had to give her Benadryl and she slept the next ten hours like a drunk coming off of a bender?  What if she slept so soundly she never noticed he was gone and he could go to that party and be back before she woke up?  What if he gave her just a little bit more than Britani said he should give her and he could take his time with the Hinge hottie?

“You know, Ellie, you look like maybe you’re getting sick again.  Run and get pajamas on and I’ll get you some pizza and medicine.”

Jimi heated up a slice of pizza and poured Ellie a glass of water and a generous amount of Benadryl.  He messaged his Hinge hottie that he’d be there after all and that he had plans for her.  She instantly messaged back “Can’t wait!”  

He smiled and a minute later his phone beeped again with her asking “When will you get here? If it’s too late, I might have to get started without you.”  Jimi groaned.

“Daddy, I’m done,” Ellie said. She stood there in mismatched pajamas, holding up her empty plate, and waiting.  Her eyes already looked heavy and her shoulders seemed to droop with the effort of holding that plate.

He took the plate from Ellie, watched her lay down on the couch, and quickly typed back “I’ll be there in twenty.”