Ryan felt completely drained when she opened the front door. She’d had the day from hell at Wayne. It was as if everyone in Ryan’s orbit woke up and chose violence and it was all aimed at her. One after another, board members and investors were calling to express their unhappiness about something or another, no matter how trivial.
Ryan had realized something about herself today. She really didn’t get enough credit for the things she managed not to say or do. The patience and restraint it had taken to not tell each one of those entitled assholes to fuck all the way off was astounding. Nope, she really didn’t get enough credit for that.
Instead of popping off like she wanted to, Ryan patiently waited until they finished their monthly bitching then explained how stocks and profits were up; higher than the numbers had been in eight years when their golden boy Bruce had been at the helm. Public opinion of the company was at an all-time high, much due to Ryan herself. Yep, she’d remained professional and gave them a classy version of ‘don’t play with me. I’m not the one, two, or three.’
Yep, that had been her entire day. Now it was nearly eight o’clock. She’d forgotten Charlie’s school had an early release day, missed her dance practice and had thrown all of it on Sophie at the last minute. She just wanted to cry. How did she think she was going to be able to do this? How did she think she was going to be able to run Wayne, be Batwoman, and foster a kid?
Ryan stepped out of her heels, dropped everything at her feet, and slumped back against the door. She stared at the ceiling as tears gathered in her eyes. “Fuck me.”
“Umm…I can totally do that, but…Charlie’s still up.” She said jerking her thumb over her shoulder. “I’m thinking we might want to wait a little while before we scar her for life. I’m just saying.”
Ryan’s eyes found Sophie’s smiling face and that did it. The dam broke and tears raced down her cheeks.
Sophie’s smile instantly fell, and she had Ryan in her arms in less than a second. “Ryan? Baby, what is it?”
Ryan went to speak but felt another wave of emotion hit her at the feeling of being in Sophie’s arms. She felt so safe there. For the first time in her life, she felt safe enough to lay herself bare. That’s what Sophie’s arms felt like.
Sophie’s mind raced with worry. She pulled back and cradled her face. “Baby, what’s wrong? Is… Is it Jada…Marquis… the bat team?”
Ryan shook her head before pushing her way back into Sophie’s chest. She just wanted to hide there.
“Did something happen? Sweetie, tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it.” Sophie said, rubbing her back.
Tears finally slowing. Ryan took a deep breath and slowly released it. She nearly smiled feeling Sophie’s body react and fall in sync with her own. That was one of the dopest things about them. They were always in tune, even when they were angry with one another. Ryan lifted her head and stared up into Sophie’s concerned eyes.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know where all that came from. It’s been quite a day.” Ryan said, suddenly feeling embarrassed for her little meltdown.
Sophie pulled her chin back until she met Ryan’s eyes. “Hey, you never have to apologize for needing something from me… ever.”
Ryan simply nodded. Knowing she would need a break from the emotional moment, Sophie made a joke. “Besides, it’s nice to feel like you need me. It makes me feel worthy enough to have the privilege of being engaged to the ‘Princess of Gotham’.
Again, Ryan hid her face in Sophie’s chest and let out a pitiful groan. Sophie’s body shook with laughter. One thing about Gotham is it loves a good scandal or a juicy story. Ryan’s life fit the bill perfectly. She’d already started gaining notoriety as the mysterious rising star CEO of Wayne. When it became public knowledge that she was the secret daughter of the ‘Queen of Gotham’ herself, Ryan was catapulted into a different stratosphere. Ryan’s name was on the tips of everyone’s lips. Whenever her star rose, she gained a new title. She had been called a lot of things over the past two years and for the most part, Ryan didn’t mind them, but ‘Princess of Gotham’ was just too much. Ryan hated it and Sophie loved to tease her about it.
Ryan looked up at her with annoyed yet happier eyes. “Why do you torture me the way you do?”
Sophie flashed her a full dimpled smile, the one Ryan fell for every time she saw it. “Because you like it.”
They stood there for a moment in silence before Sophie finally spoke. “So, you want to tell me what brought you home in tears now? I need to know if I’m kicking someone’s ass or hiding a body. You know I’m down for both.”
Ryan snorted. “It’s funny you should say that.” Ryan gave Sophie a condensed recap of her day.
“I swear it was on the tip of my tongue, Soph! I almost told his old, ignorant ass to fuck around and find out! I mean, how he gone come for me like that… like he was really on some threaten my job type of bullshit! As if he even has any pull. Half of the board members drag him behind his back because he don’t really have no money. It belongs to his wife. And don’t even get me started on that lizard lipped muthafuc….mphmm.”
“Okay. Okay.” Sophie said, before covering Ryan’s mouth with her own to muffle the swearing-fest that was about to take place. She gave her two gentle pecks before pulling back.
“Let’s just take a breath and breathe.” She waited for Ryan to take a few calming breaths. “You’re getting yourself riled up and when you get riled up, amazing and quite colorful language comes out of this pretty little mouth of yours. And while I find it a complete turn-on,” She lowered her voice to a husky whisper. “Especially when you are sitting on my face, we have a very clever five-year-old in the kitchen who soaks up everything like a sponge.”
Ryan sighed heavily and looked so defeated. “God, I totally suck at this.”
The quick change threw Sophie. “What? Suck at what, Ryan?”
“Everything!” Ryan pulled out of Sophie’s arms and stepped away. “Those board members were on my as… behind all day, not to mention Luke was being a real diva today. I need him and Mary to figure out their stuff because homeboy was on one. He has no idea how close to death he came today. I was dealing with all that and before I knew it, the school was calling. I forgot about her, Soph! I forgot about early release, but I was stuck in a freaking meeting. That’s when I had to call you. I thought I’d be finished early enough to at least get to her practice but then Charles from PR came in talking about the whole ‘Princess of Gotham’ crap is actually good for Wayne right now and he had interviews set up. So, I missed her practice and had to lay everything on you with no notice. I know this isn’t what you signed up for. Hell, I don’t even know if I knew what I was signing up for. I don’t know why I thought I could do this.” She suddenly stopped and grabbed her head. “Shit. I just realized the bag with her dance gear was in my car. Did she even get to practice today? How disappointed was she?”
Sophie stood there silently allowing Ryan to just get everything all out. Ryan didn’t always want or need advice. Sometimes she just wanted to feel heard.
“Feel free to jump in at any time, Soph.” Ryan snarked.
Sophie let out a soft laugh. She unfolded her arms and moved into Ryan’s space. She took her hands and brought them to her lips, placing a soft kiss on her knuckles. She rested their hands against her chest and looked at Ryan. “Come with me. I want to show you something.”
Completely ignoring Ryan’s questions, Sophie wordlessly released one of her hands, using the other to gently pull her further into the house. As they made it into the large kitchen, Sophie stepped aside and Ryan could see Charlie sitting on one of the highchairs at the island with her headphones on, her little head bobbing to some Kid’s Bop channel playing on the iPad. She had several coloring books open with her crayons scattered around her. She was wearing her dance tights and shoes.
Sophie wrapped her arms around Ryan from behind. She leaned down and spoke softly into her ear. “First of all, you didn’t forget her. If you did, you never would have called me. Secondly, I have a key to your car remember. I knew exactly where to find her bag. She had an awesome practice, by the way. The instructor said she has beautiful lines or something like that.”
Sophie paused then tightened her hold around Ryan. “And to be perfectly clear…this is what I signed up for? There are going to be days when you can’t be somewhere and that’s when you call me… just like today. When I told you I would do this with you, I meant it, Ryan.”
Ryan turned in her arms and stared up at Sophie. “Really?”
“Really. Look, I’ll admit that in the beginning, I was doing this for you. This was something you felt you had to do, and I wanted to support that because I love you. But then… I met her.” She paused and smiled. “Ryan… she’s amazing. The more time I spend with her, the less I can imagine my life without her.” Sophie gushed.
Ryan felt herself tearing up again, this time for a happier reason. “Yeah, she is pretty awesome. That’s why I don’t want to mess this up. She deserves some good in her life, not more chaos.”
“You’re that something good, Ryan and you’re not going to mess it up.”
“How do you know that? You know me, Soph. My life can be a mess. It’s like I’m a crazy magnet.”
Sophie chuckled. “Yeah, you kinda are.”
Ryan smacked her arm. “See! Again, with the torture.”
Sophie sobered and looked at her fiancé. “Look, my point is… we’re a team. I want this with you. I want a crazy, chaotic, unpredictable life with you, Ryan Wilder and I want Charlie to be a part of it.”
Ryan pulled back and stared at Sophie for a long moment. “Are… Are you saying…”
“I’m saying that I want to make this a permanent situation, and don’t you dare pretend that you haven’t been thinking the same thing.” Sophie challenged.
Ryan felt herself trying not to hope. “But Soph our jobs are demanding enough, not to mention our ‘after-hours’ activities.” She said under her breath just in case Charlie somehow overheard them.
“Look at me and tell me you could let her go back into the system. Tell me you could allow some other family to take her, and I’ll shut up and never bring it up again.” Sophie said.
Ryan didn’t say anything. “You know I can’t.”
“She actually asked me if we could work on the puzzle again tonight. I didn’t even bring it up. She just asked out of the blue.”
Ryan looked surprised. It had taken Charlie a while to warm up to Sophie. They were both careful around one another. They were alike in that regard. A few weeks ago, Sophie brought home a personalized puzzle that was supposed to be a picture of the three of them when it was finished. Every evening, the same course of events would happen. Sophie would ask Charlie if she’d help her with the puzzle. Sophie was always the initiator, always the one to make the first move. At first, Charlie would act as if she wasn’t really interested. She’d sit there respectfully as Sophie chatted on about any random thing. Slowly Charlie would start moving pieces every now and then, easily putting them in place. Eventually, she’d start answering Sophie’s random questions, usually one-word answers until she’d start making remarks on her own. By the end of the hour, Charlie and Sophie would have a section of the puzzle completed and managed to have a full conversation, with a few laughs here and there, at the same time.
“She did?”
“Yeah. When I got to the school to pick her up, I still had on my gear.” Sophie let out a chuckle. “I think I may have won over some of her friends.”
“Why would… Oh, that’s right. You guys were running simulations today. I’m sorry I had to interrupt that, babe.”
Sophie waved it off. “Hank had everything covered. It wasn’t a big deal.”
Ryan knew she was probably downplaying it, but let it go.
“So, you went to the school looking like Crowphie and I missed it!” Ryan pouted. She loved seeing Sophie in that all black tactical gear, especially when her arms were out. She shook her head to keep from getting sidetracked by the image.
“Focus.” Sophie rolled her eyes catching Ryan’s look. “Anyway, I think her little friends were impressed and some… maybe a little scared. When one of the boys asked who I was, Charlie gives him this smug look at tells him ‘That’s my Sophie, what’s it to ya?’”
Ryan laughed. “Aww… that is too cute!”
“I know! Jordan said she’s overheard her saying it while at the center a few times too. I think she’s finally warming up to me. It appears that I’ve been claimed.” Sophie said beaming.
“Just remember who claimed you first.” Ryan smiled watching the transformation. Sophie’s eyes were bright and her dimples on full display. This was Sophie at her happiest. Ryan ran her fingers along Sophie’s face. “You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”
Sophie glanced across the room and watched Charlie dance around in her seat as her head bobbed. Her little voice was singing ‘My Girl’ off key. “I am. I’m in this if you are.”
Ryan let out a long sigh. “You already know I’m in.”
Sophie nodded once. “Okay then. So, we will talk about what that means and what we need to do about it tomorrow. For tonight, let’s agree that we’re a team and we’ll handle things that come up together, okay? It’s time to put me in the game, coach.”
Ryan smiled. “Okay.”
“Good. Now that the crisis is averted, are you hungry? I saved dinner for you.”
“Sophie Moore, you are a saint.” Ryan practically cried.
“I’m going to remind you that you said that the next time you’re pissed at me… which is probably going to be soon,” Sophie took her hand and pulled her over to the island.
“What?” Ryan asked unsure if she’d heard that last part correctly.
Sophie turned and brought her fingers to her lips signaling Ryan to stay quiet. Ryan remained behind Sophie as the older woman tapped the little girl on the shoulder. Charlie took off her headphones and turned to face Sophie.
“Guess who’s home, Chuck?”
She stepped aside to reveal Ryan. Charlie’s face lit up and she practically threw herself into Ryan’s arms. “Ryan!”
“Whoa! Did someone miss me today?”
Charlie nodded; her arms wrapped tightly around Ryan’s neck. “Yeah.”
Ryan felt the remaining tension of the day slip away at the feeling of this precious one in her arms. They fit together perfectly like one of the pieces of their puzzle. She was made for her arms.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t pick you up from school and take you to dance practice, bug.” She gave Charlie another tight squeeze and kiss on her cheek before letting go.
“That’s okay.” She said as she shuffled back into the highchair. “My Sophie picked me up and we went to practice then we went to her work. Everybody was so nice, and they kept giving me stuff. It was so cool. It was like Halloween Christmas! Everywhere we went, we got presents.”
As Charlie continued raddling off the events of her day, Ryan looked at Sophie with a raised brow. Sophie shrugged her shoulders and continued taking Ryan’s plate out of the warmer. Ryan squinted her eyes at her, and Sophie sighed and nodded. That was another thing Ryan loved about them was she and Sophie could have a complete conversation without saying a single word. There would be an explanation given for this.
“Before you even ask, she was with me or Jada the entire time. I took her down to the tech department to look at some of Jeturian’s new gadgets as a reward for being so well-behaved while I finished up at work.”
“I saw a robot! It was amazing.”
“Wow!” Ryan said genuinely surprised and temporarily distracted from the matter at hand. “My mom has robots now?”
Sophie held up her hands. Ryan knew the rule. Sophie wouldn’t talk about Jeturian (aka Jada Jet the CEO) at home. Only Jada, Ryan’s mother, was an acceptable topic.
“Oh! And I got all this cool stuff from Miss Jada too. Ryan, your mama’s office is sooo big! I could fit my whole classroom in there… like twice.” Charlie said holding her hands out wide in awe.
“Wow. It certainly sounds like you had quite the day.” Ryan placed a kiss on her head. “Is one of those for me?” She asked pointing at the drawing Charlie was working on.
Charlie nodded. “But I’m not finished yet.”
Ryan watched Charlie color for a moment then rounded the island and washed her hands in the sink. “And what is this cool stuff my mother gave her or do I even want to know?” Ryan directed the question to Sophie.
“Sit and eat first.” Sophie said. She placed Ryan’s plate down on the island then handed her a glass of wine, which Ryan gladly took.
Ryan sat down and dug in, not realizing how hungry she was until that moment. She hadn’t eaten a single thing since breakfast. The spices from the Quinoa fried rice exploded in her mouth causing her to moan.
“Good?” Sophie asked with a proud smirk.
Ryan covered her mouth and nodded. “So, good. Babe, when did you learn to cook this?”
“Today. It turns out if you follow the directions on a recipe, it actually might turn out edible.” Sophie joked.
Sophie really was a good cook. Cooking was one of the few things she’d kept from her childhood that was positive. Diane had been an excellent cook and she’d shared that knowledge with her daughter. But cooking vegan food was a completely different thing and Sophie was still learning.
“Well, keep doing that because this is…” Ryan took another bite and her eyes rolled back in her head. “this is on point.” She pointed her fork at Sophie who was now leaning back against the sink watching her with amusement. “But don’t try to change the subject, how much damage did my mother do?”
Sophie sighed. She hated getting caught between the two hot-headed women. “She might have given her a new Smart watch, tablet, and a new state of the art A.I. system.”
Ryan’s eyes bulged. Sophie quickly held up a hand to stave off the impending eruption. “All, except the watch, were left in my office until you and I could discuss what is appropriate for her to have. I allowed her to keep the watch.” Sophie leaned in and whispered to Ryan. “I had a tech low jack it with Jeturian software. As long as she has it on, we’ll know exactly where she is and it will alert us, the bat team, and GCPD if the software detects a threat near her. It reacts to her body’s sensory and nervous system.”
“Oh my God, I’m so glad you’re a nerd. She’s never allowed to take it off.” Ryan said in a rush. Sophie rolled her eyes but understood Ryan’s relief. Charlie could be a busy body to say the least and probably smart enough to make her way across the city on the subway if she wanted. Knowing they had a way to better keep her safe, put them both more at ease.
“I also reminded your mother about boundaries and going overboard. I think she understands that today might have been a perfect example of going overboard, but the boundaries…” Sophie sucked her teeth. “Babe, this is your mother we are talking about. I’m still trying to get the woman to learn to knock. I’m going to leave that conversation up to you. Yo mama, yo drama.”
Ryan shook her head and chuckled. “I love her. I really do, but she’s…”
“A lot?”
“Yeah.”
“You do realize I work for her, right?”
Ryan laughed as she continued to eat. “Look at you. You took on me and my mama. One might say you’re a glutton for punishment or just plain crazy, Sophie Moore.”
Sophie laughed and shook her head. “I’m not crazy. I’m just built different.” She said, flexing a very toned bicep.
“All the boys in my class said Sophie looked like she could beat up Batwoman.” Charlie said out of the blue.
Ryan nearly spit out her wine. Sophie bit her lip and quickly turned around and pretended to wash the dishes in the sink. Ryan could see her shoulders shaking. She looked at Charlie.
She continued to casually color like she hadn’t just thrown that out there. The kid was smooth and deadly like a ninja sliding in her little Charlie tidbits. Whoever said that kids will humble you quicker than anyone else spoke straight facts. It seemed like this kid was always taking her down a peg or two without even trying.
“Why would they think Sophie could beat up Batwoman? Batwoman is… well she’s Batwoman.”
Charlie turned her attention from her drawing back to Ryan. She gave Ryan a look that screamed ‘are you kidding me’. “Sophie is sooo much taller than Batwoman.”
That was it. That was the explanation. Ryan was about to argue but had to remind herself that she was talking to a five-year-old and that’s how their brains worked. Taller meant bigger and stronger to them. She used to think the same thing when she was a little girl. As a grown woman, she was glad to know better now.
“And Sophie has muscles.” Charlie added holding up a finger as an afterthought.
“I have mu…” Ryan caught herself before she confessed too much. “I have… seen Sophie’s muscles.”
“Smooth.” Sophie mumbled as she hid her laughter behind a cough. “Well, muscles or not, you can tell your friends that I’m not going to ever beat up Batwoman. I think Batwoman is an awesome hero.”
“Yeah. She is pretty cool. I love her hair.” Charlie dreamily.
Ryan found herself smiling at that. “You do?”
“Yeah. It looks like mine.”
Ryan ran her fingers over Charlie’s dark curls. It was pulled into two adorable ponytails. “You have beautiful hair.”
“I know. Sophie said it’s just like yours.”
Ryan felt her heart melt. She cleared her throat. “Did you have any other adventures today?”
“My Sophie took me to the bookstore, and we got two new books. Can you read one with me tonight, Ryan?”
“I absolutely can.”
“Awesome!” Charlie held her hands up in the air in victory. “Bestest day ever!”
Ryan couldn’t help but laugh. Charlie was on cloud nine tonight. The depressing mood she had been in was quickly becoming a distant memory. Her exuberance was contagious. There was no way she could feel anything but happy watching Charlie beam with joy. Ryan felt like she was on an emotional rollercoaster. One minute, she was laughing then crying the next.
“Wow, you really didn’t miss a beat.” Ryan said to Sophie.
Sophie came around the island and stepped into Ryan’s space. Ryan turned and opened her legs, pulling Sophie closer by the waist. Sophie looked down and cradled her face gently in her hands. “I told you. I got you. We can do this.”
Ryan rested her head against Sophie’s stomach then looked up with a soft smile. “We can do this.”
“Sophie?”
“Yes Chuck?”
“Can we work on the puzzle tomorrow?”
Sophie and Ryan both looked confused and held their breaths. “Uh sure. Did you change your mind?” Sophie asked, hoping she hadn’t done something to make the little girl retreat again.
Charlie nodded shyly. “I want you both to read the book with me tonight, if that’s okay?”
Sophie cleared her throat and nodded. Usually, bedtime rituals were automatically Ryan’s duty. Charlie never seemed to want to include Sophie. So, this simple invitation was yet another step forward.
Sophie smiled gently and ruffled her hair. “Sure, Chuck. We can do that.”
Charlie giggled. “Why do you always call me Chuck? My name is Charlie, silly.”
“I know, but you remind me of this cartoon I used to watch as a kid called Charlie Brown. Charlie was always the smartest and the most responsible one out of the entire group, always trying to do the right thing. One of his friends used to call him Chuck.” Sophie paused and bit her lip as she remembered something. “Come to think about it, Charlie didn’t really like that name. I guess I should’ve asked you if you liked it or not. I’m sorry.”
Charlie liked that about Sophie. Most grown-ups didn’t say sorry when they did something wrong, but Sophie wasn’t like that. She always said sorry and asked her how she felt, and so did Ryan.
“It’s okay. I like it!” Charlie said with a bright grin. “I never had a nickname before.”
“Well, there it is. You can be my Chuck.” Sophie pointed to herself.
“And you’ll be my Sophie.” Charlie finished pointing at her own chest.
“Deal.” Sophie held out her fist and they shared a fist bump to seal the deal.
“And what about me. Don’t I get a name?” Ryan said feeling a little left out. Seriously, she really was.
“No, you can’t have another name.” Charlie said flippantly. It reminded Ryan of the time Sophie said she’d be fine when they were scaling a fence.
“Uhh… why not?”
“Because you’re mama, silly.” Charlie said as if this should have been obvious.
Ryan froze and just stared at her. Her damn tear ducts were working overtime tonight. When Ryan didn’t immediately respond, Charlie’s face started to fall thinking she had said something wrong.
“Is that what you’d like to call me, bug?” Ryan finally managed.
Charlie shrugged her shoulders but wouldn’t make eye contact. Ryan recognized the move. She was preparing for rejection.
Ryan lifted her chin and smiled. “I would love for you to call me that… if that’s what you want.”
Charlie smiled widely, dimples on full display. “Okay, Mama.” She giggled at herself.
“Okay, bug.” Ryan said thickly.
Sophie discreetly wiped a tear away and cleared her throat. “Okay, Chuck. It’s time for a bath then bed. I want you to go get out of your dance gear and pick out your pajamas for tonight. We’ll be up in a minute to get your bath ready. You think you can do that?”
“I got you, Sophie.”
Sophie snorted and shook her head as they watched her gather her books and crayons and head up the stairs. “Are you sure you don’t have a secret child out in the world that you forgot to tell me about because that kid is Ryan Wilder 2.0.”
Ryan turned and faced Sophie with tears in her eyes. “Did you hear that?”
“Yeah. That was pretty awesome…Mama.” Sophie said, stepping closer. She slipped her arms around Ryan’s waist pulling her into her body. “So, I gotta ask…how was your day?”
Ryan looked up at Sophie with a smile so bright it could’ve illuminated all of Gotham. “I had the best day ever.”
“That’s what I thought.” Sophie said, pulling Ryan into a deep kiss.
-Fin-
Thanks for reading. Charlie and the gang will see you next time. 😊