six

Ashton was getting ready for work and Bea was getting ready for school.

"Our aesthetic matches," Ash said with a smile. They matched in their black jeans and black shirts, their matching leather Converse finished the look.

"Aesthetic," Bea tried to say, coming out more as as-tet-ic.

"Close enough," Ashton said. He got behind her, grabbing a hair-tie and her brush from the counter and beginning to braid her dark brown hair back.

"I have a question," she states. She's looking at her father through the mirror, their matching eyes meeting in the reflection.

"I've got an answer."
Beatrix smiles, knowing that her father is the smartest man in the world, knowing that he always has an answer. "Val and I were talking, and she says she doesn't have another Daddy because Mikey doesn't like people."

Ashton shrugged, "I guess that's a simple way to put it." He bit down on his tongue, hoping this conversation wasn't going where he thought it was.

His hopes weren't listened to. "Why don't I have another Dad? You like everyone."

Bea's first word was why. She was a why type of girl. She asked questions, sometimes not waiting for the answer. She asked why Ashton went to work, why they needed money. She asked why Ashton was driving, why she wasn't. She was always asking why, one why after the next.

"You do have a father. He went to school with me and Uncle Luke and Matt." Ashton continued to braid her long, never-ending hair. "When we found out about you, he was nervous. You grew bigger and bigger and he decided that he wasn't ready for you. So, I said okay, and he left. Now it's just you and I, and I wouldn't want it any other way."

"Why did he leave?" She asked. Even though Ashton couldn't make eye contact with her through this story, she continued to stare at him through the mirror.

"I told him to."

"When you tell me to leave you alone, I get closer."

Ashton laughed, knowing it was true. When he had bad days and wanted to lay in bed wasting his night away, Bea would just go and lay with him. She would never take no as a response.

"He didn't have the same kind of soul you have." He tied off her hair, swiping the braid to the left of her head, reaching over the counter to place flower hair pins to hold back her overgrown bangs.

"He doesn't seem very nice."

Ashton looked down at his daughter, pinching her cheeks. "He was a nice guy, things just moved too fast."

"But you had me after college, you said you knew him in high school!" She pointed out, following her father from their bathroom and to their kitchen.

"You're too smart for your own good. I liked it better when you sat on the ground destroying my paint brushes."

She sat at the table, watching Ashton move around the kitchen and heat up leftovers. "No, you didn't," she pointed out.

"That's true," he sighed. "I don't have an answer for you, Bug. He wanted a kid then he didn't. I wanted you before you were even born. I was never not excited for you."

Bea smiles, "I guess we don't need him, then."

"Exactly. Independent bitches."

"That's not a nice word, Dad." Bea smiles, looking up at her father again with a smile.

Ashton turns back around, giving her a look. "Just don't say it in-front of Luke or at school and you're fine."

Bea takes the leftover plate of pancakes, sharing it with Ashton. "I'm glad I have the coolest dad in the world."

"You bet you do," Ashton says with a mouth filled of breakfast.

"Daddy!" She giggled, "That's gross! Close your mouth."

He stuck out his tongue, grossing out his daughter some more. "Did you hear Mikey and Val got two cats?"

"No way!"

"Way!" He copies her radiant happiness, "We might go over later to see them."

She tapped her strong chin, "I thought you're allergic."

"I am, but they're cats. They're cute! I'd gladly die of a reaction if it meant I got to die by cats."

She giggled, reaching up her hand and shushing him with her fingers. "That's silly."

He licked the palm of her hand, liking her giggle.