twenty three

Weeks had passed and now it was February. It was the month of love, supposedly. Downtown was filled with paper hearts in store windows, advertisements filled with something about your significant other.

Jack parked in a parking garage a few blocks from the spacing unit they were looking at. He turned off the radio and cut the engine. He turned around, looking at his little girl sitting patiently in her car seat. "Are you ready?" He asks her.

"I don't know," she responded, "I'm not sure what we're doing."

Jack got out of his car, opening the second rows door and helping Beatrix out of her carseat. He got her standing on the ground by his feet as he grabbed her jacket and hat, knowing Ashton would be pissed off if she got frost bite again. (The first time wasn't really Jack's fault, you know? Bea didn't tell him that she had a leftover snowball stuck on her face.)

He helped her get her coat on as he spoke, "Well, we're looking for some space for my studio."

"Why?"

"Because I can't just be in California if you're here! I wanna see you every day." He put her beanie over her head, pretending to pull it all the way over her eyes before bringing it back up to the peak of her hairline.

"Why here?" She reached up, grabbing Jack's hand as he locked the car doors. Bea was looking down at their feet, comparing her small shoes to the size of her paternal father's shoes.

"Because you and your daddy are here, and you guys are family." Jack lifted his daughter up as they stepped out into the cold and busy streets. Bea was so small and so easily able to be lost in the crowd.

She wrapped her arms around Jack's neck, liking being so high up from the ground. "Are you living in this space?"

He shrugged, "Not really, it'll be for work."

"Daddy says you're always working."

Jack laughed, unable to stop his smiling. "I like my job but I like you more."

"Do you like me or Daddy more?"

He pouted out his lower lip, "That's not fair." Jack crossed the street, looking for the right building.

He wiped off his feet at the outside doormat before stepping inside. He placed the 6-year-old (almost 7-year-old) down on the mat, letting her wipe off her barely dirty feet as well. She held his hand tight as Jack introduced himself to the building manager, getting the key his realtor had left for the man.

He ushered his daughter into the elevator, getting them ready for a 36-floor ride.

"You didn't answer me."

"Answer what, Pumpkin?" He looked around them, looking at all the details of the entire building. He was taking mental notes to run by the partners of his company.

Jack wasn't much of a serious guy, but he knew when he had to pull on his professional features.

"Do you like me," she pulled on his arm, "or Daddy more?"

"I like you both too much."

She shook her head, "Impossible."

He reached down, squeezing at her cheeks. "You never like my answers, do you?"

Bea giggled, almost scaring Jack at how similar she was to Ashton. She was Ashton Jr. "Daddy loves you," she said, "he told me himself."

"Yeah?"

She nodded, "You love him, too."

"I do," he confessed, "you can't tell him that, though. We haven't told each other that yet."

The toddler sighed, "Hm."

They got to the right floor, the elevators opening to a small foyer. Jack could already imagine it all—the granite floors would be freshly polished, leading to his secretaries desk. The phones would be ringing, his last name in bright lights behind the desk.

He took a step out, holding Bea's hand. He walked across the foyer, unlocking one of the doors to the main area.

The space was open, ready to be turned into something beautiful. Thousands of square feet to him and his company, he could fall in love right here.

"Imagine this," he told his daughter. He pointed his hand in front of them, leading both of their visions to the wall-length windows looking down on E 63rd street. "These will be closed up, leading to a good handful of big recording rooms." He took a few steps, pretending to open a door that would one day be a recording studio, this made Bea laugh. "This will be filled with all my favorite sound boards, my favorite MIDI boards. I'll have new people working for me, sitting behind this desk. On the other side will be new bands, making their new dreams happen."

"Pretty," she said. She closed her eyes, a calm smile on her lips.

Jack held her closer to him, giving her a half hug. "This is gonna be amazing, you know that? We're gonna go down in history."

"Lukey says you're already famous."

He shrugged, "I just work hard, Boo."

"Why?"

He took a step forward, looking around the building a little more. "Working hard is important. Find something you love and work until you can't work anymore," he said, his mind somewhere else.

"Is that why you don't stop working?"

"Yeah," he sighed. It was a happy, content kind of sigh.

"Is that why you're moving here?"

Jack walked around the perimeter, looking at the city below them as well as the wooden floors. He was thinking of the acoustics, all the adjustments he'd need to make. "Yeah. If I'm gonna work 20 hours a day for 7 days a week, I might as well be in the same city as you two."

"Are you and Daddy getting married?"

Jack stopped. He focused on the conversation he was having with his daughter, "What?"

"Are you," she paused, "and Daddy," she paused once more, most likely for dramatic effect, "getting married?"

He shrugged and kept walking, "I don't know. That's not up to me."

"Why?"

Jack sighed, less content this time. He turned around, bending down to her height. "I appreciate your questions, I think it's good for you to ask questions. But, you're currently interrogating me and it kinda sucks."

She giggled, "Sorry."

He put his arms on her shoulders, "I don't know what your dad and I are going to be in the future, but for now we are good." He stood back up, his knees cracking, "I'm too old for this, Beatrix. It's time for you to take over the company."

"Okay!" She said, jumping next to him and holding his hand tight, "Hand me the keys!"

And at that moment, Jack regretted leaving. Almost 7 years he has missed out on. He has a promise to himself to never make the same mistake again. His daughter is too precious, he's too in love with Ashton.

He lifted her up, placing her on his hip. "So, what do you think of this building? You think it's the one?"

She nodded, "Will you hang my drawings? Daddy's too?"

"Of course," he said with a smile. "It's gonna be beautiful, just like you."