Not Quite a Ruin Day

Chapter 2

Not Quite a Ruin Day: Part 2

Kevin watched as his daughter went down a slide. He smiled at that thought, a warm feeling building in his chest.

He sighed as he watched Little Lissie reach the end of the slide and hurry to the top so she could go again.

Kevin watched his wife-turn-daughter for a few more seconds, then drifted back to the last two hours. After the incident at the diner, Kevin took Little Lissie shopping.

Kevin laughed as he remembered showing his new daughter a dress, and Little Lissie’s face twisted in disgust. The former adult made gagging noises until Kevin put the dress away.

“Who knew that my wife was such a tomboy when she was young,” the man muttered nostalgically.

After shopping, the White-Doves returned to their home so they could change. True to her emerging tomboy personality, Little Lissie had chosen a pair of blue jeans, white high-tops, and a gray sweater with a picture of The “Monstervese” Godzilla on it.

Kevin also changed his outfit; he wore navy blue jeans, a red sweater, and black high-tops. He had a feeling this day would end with some dirt on him.

“Daddy, Daddy!” Little Lissie screamed joyfully, knocking her new daddy out of his thoughts.

Kevin watched as his daughter ran up to him, another seven-year-old and a six-year-old hot on her heels. The man’s smile grew a little as he was glad his former wife was already making friends her new age.

Kevin looked at the two kids and studied them. Both were dressed similarly: denim skirts, black leggings, sneakers, and thick sweaters, blue for the seven-year-old and red for the six-year-old. The two girls, no doubt sisters, wore their blonde and red hair in side ponytails.

Kevin frowned as he looked at the seven-year-old. He felt that this child was more than meets the eye.

“Mindy! Heather!” a voice suddenly cried, causing the two to freeze. “I hope you’re not bothering this nice man.”

Kevin looked in the direction he heard the voice and saw a middle-aged couple walking up to him. He smiled and said, “Oh, it's no trouble, Miss. My daughter just wanted to, umm.”

When the couple was close enough, Kevin's feeling when he looked at their oldest returned, exploding like a sun. He wasn’t the only one; the couple looked at Kevin like he had grown a second head.

Kevin blinked. The man blinked. His wife blinked. Slowly, Kevin looked at the couple’s oldest, and the couple looked at Little Lissie. Kevin then looked at his daughter, and the couple looked at theirs. Finally, the adults returned their eyes to each other while their daughters watched all this in confusion.

“So, how old was your oldest before…this?” Kevin asked awkwardly, “My daughter was my 34-year-old wife a little over two hours ago.”

The couple looked around quickly. Once they were sure the area was clear of nosy people, they looked back at Kevin.

“Our oldest daughter was 25 a few months ago,” the man said, then extended his hand. “I’m Ivo Jones, and this is my wife, Joan, by the way.”

Kevin smiled at the two and shook the man’s hand. “Nice to meet you both,” he said politely. “I’m Kevin White-Dove.”

He saw Joan give him a look and could feel her next question. “White-Dove? Isn’t that Indian?”

Kevin watched Ivo give his wife a glare. Joan flushed slightly as she realized her slip-up, but Kevin just smiled.

“My dad is Indian, but my mom’s Italian,” Kevin explained politely, “I get my skin tone for her.”

Joan nodded awkwardly and avoided eye contact. Ivo looked at his wife like he expected her to say something more. Thankfully, the kids decided to pipe in before anything could get more awkward.

“Daddy,” Little Lissie said, getting the three adults’ attention. “We go play now?”

Kevin smiled as his wife-turn-daughter and leaned down slightly. “Certainly. But make sure you stay in sight,” he replied. “Can you do that, Princess?”

Little Lissie’s face twisted in a cute pout as she said in slight embarrassment, “D-a-a-ady!”

The three adults laughed at the cute sight, and this only caused Little Lissie’s pout to turn into a cute scowl, her face getting redder. Thankfully, Mindy saved her fellow former adult by taking her by the hand and leading her to the swings, Heather following close behind.

Ivo and Joan sat on the bench and watched Kevin and their children begin playing on the swings. The adults watched their daughters for five minutes, basking in the joyous atmosphere their laughter was creating.

“So,” Kevin asked, trying to sound casual, “does this awkward feeling ever go away?”

Ivo looked at the man, then at the girls, and sighed.

“I honestly, I can’t say,” the middle-aged man replied, “Mindy’s…ungrowing happened nearly five months ago, and we’re still adjusting.”

Joan nodded her agreement and looked at the Indian/Italian man with sympathy. “But I can’t imagine what’s like for you…having your wife become your daughter.”

Kevin stared at Joan for a second, then sighed. He looked at his former wife and couldn’t help but smile as he watched her play like the sweet tomboy she had become.

“It’s not all bad,” he mused, smiling softly, “At least I finally have a child.”

Kevin looked at the other adults, and his smile turned into a frown. Ivo and Joan were giving him questioning looks. He blushed faintly when he realized he had spoken louder than he would have liked.

“...Did something happen?” Joan asked without thinking.

Ivo gave his wife a look, and Joan smiled sheepishly. Kevin, however, just sighed and looked at his wife-turned-daughter. For a minute, he stared at Little Lissie, looking happy as she swung beside her new friends.

“...In my youth, I was reckless, and that led to something happening down there,” Kevin explained. “So, having kids wasn’t on the table. We were thinking about adopting, but with this, I don’t think that would be needed.”

The Jones stared at their new friend, feeling uncomfortable. Thankfully, before things could get more awkward, a ding sounded. Kevin looked at Joan as she took out her phone and looked at it.

“Is it that time already?” Ivo asked, and Joan nodded.

A sheepish expression crossed the older man’s face, and he stood up.

“Mindy! Heather!” he called to his daughters. “Time to go! And no dragging your heels.”

Kevin focused on Little Lissie’s new friends and couldn’t help but smile. He could see the two younger Jones deflate. Still, the two got off the swings and said their goodbyes to Lissie.

“Well, sorry to eat and run,” Ivo said jokingly, “But we've got to meet up with some friends. How about swapping numbers? Our daughters really hit it off.”

Kevin smiled and stood up, taking out his phone. “That sounds like a good idea.”

The fathers gave each other their numbers as the two girls walked up to their parents. Mindy and Heather waved to Little Lissie as their parents picked them up and left the park.

Kevin watched the family leave as Little Lissie joined him. He sighed in contentment and smiled at his daughter.

“Well, I think we should get going too,” Kevin told his daughter warmly, “That movie you wanted to see will be starting in a short while.”

“I will come along, too,” a new voice said commandingly. “I need to let the brat get to know her new mommy.”