The girl nodded, her dark ponytail bouncing in the air. “To listen and not get all excited. But Daddy is home. He’s been gone all day.”
Alex turned to Gareth and said, “Like I said, this is my family.”
“I hope I’m not intruding,” he replied.
Alex opened his arms wide and Ziva let Charisa’s hand go. She rushed over to Alex, and he scooped her up, tossing her high into the air before catching her.
“Alex, that is not helping,” Ziva snapped.
Charisa laughed. “Again Daddy. Again.”
After a few more times Alex said, “Okay, pumpkin. That’s enough for tonight. My arms are going to get so stretched out I’ll be stepping on my fingers when I walk.”
She hugged her dad and said, “I’ll help you so you don’t.” Then she looked at Gareth and said, “Maybe he can help too.”
Gareth smiled at her. “I think you’re all your daddy needs.”
Alex said, “Come on inside. I’m sure Ziva has something delicious planned for us.” Before they entered, he did the introductions. “You met my little pumpkin. Her name is Charisa. And this lovely lady is Ziva, my wife.”
“A pleasure to meet you,” Gareth said.
“And the high-pitched scream you are hearing is our son, Nikko,” Alex added.
“That’s my cue. Nice to meet you too, but it seems all this noise has woken the baby. Alex can show you around, and I’ll join you all in a few minutes.”
When Ziva was gone, Alex added, “She’s amazing at everything she does, but when I watch her with the kids, I’m blown away. She has the patience of a saint.” He laughed. “Then again, she has to. She married me.”
He was tempted to say he agreed, but tonight he’d play nice. This was about getting to know his cousin in a different way. Not business. Not the past either. Just the family man standing before him.
Dinner was pretty much what he would expect at any normal household. Charisa talked about what she and Ziva had done all day. Which included being shown a slew of finger painted pictures and one that looked like she was trying to write her name.
“I think you have your daddy’s artistic genes,” Gareth said.
Charisa made a face. “I don’t like jeans. I like dresses.”
Gareth laughed. “And you look very pretty in them. I have a niece and her mommy puts her in dresses too.”
“Can she come over and play?” Charisa asked.
“She lives in New York,” Gareth replied.
“Charisa, you know your cousins live in Boston. New York is a few hours away from there.”
Charisa’s eyes teared up. “I want to go to Boston and play with them. Nikko is no fun. He is a baby. He can’t even walk or talk or paint or anything.” Then she turned to Gareth and asked, “Can I play with your niece?”
“Sorry. Penelope is only a few months older than Nikko. She can’t do any of that fun stuff either.”
Charisa crossed her arms and said, “No one wants to paint with me. I bet you don’t want to either.”
Alex interjected. “Charisa, it’s too late to paint tonight. Maybe he can paint with you when he comes back.”
Was Alex saying that to appease his daughter or was he really expecting to see him again? “That would be nice.”
Charisa smiled. “Good. Maybe you know how to paint a unicorn. I want one with all the colors of the rainbow and his horn has to be gold. Real gold too.”
“And where do you think you’re going to get real gold, pumpkin?” Alex asked.
She tapped her chin with her finger in deep thought. Then gleefully she said, “At the end of the rainbow. That’s where all the gold is.”