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Lexi’s nervous. Ben can tell that from just looking at her. It’s obvious. She can’t stop moving, squirming around on the floor as she draws in her latest colouring book. Another in a long line of them, all with different themes and levels of difficulty as she gets older. She puts down the pencil she’s just been using and lets it roll across the table, pushing it back and forth underneath her index finger. There’s a pause of her childish movements, and then she looks up at Ben, who’s sitting there on the sofa, aimlessly scrolling through his phone.
“Dad?” She asks, her voice sweet and shy.
Ben instantly puts his phone down, giving her his full attention. He smiles. “Yes darlin’?”
Lexi looks down at the pencil once again, continuing to play with it. She refuses to look back up at Ben for the minute, too scared to share the thoughts that have been plaguing her mind for the last few weeks. She opens her mouth, and Ben can practically see the cogs turning in that little brain of hers.
“What’s wrong princess?” Ben asks, leaning forward on the sofa to get close to her, ready for any comforting he needs to do.
Lexi shakes her head with a precious smile and indelicately pushes the wisps of her blonde hair behind her ears. She stands up, watching as her pencil falls to the floor but she doesn’t care for it right now. Instead of picking it up, she just sits next to her dad, allowing her knees to hit against his leg softly.
Ben reaches out instinctively and curls a piece of her hair around his index finger gently. He does this at night when she’s tired, helping her to sleep. It’s a comfort blanket to her, almost, to have her dad playing with her hair.
A sigh escapes her mouth as she manages to speak. “I was wondering.” Lexi starts. “Do you think Callum would like me calling him dad too?” Her voice comes out shy, the nerves showing on her face as she blushes.
Silence falls between them as Ben attempts to connect his mouth to his racing brain. A smile forms across his lips eventually. “Is that what you want to call him?” Ben asks, happiness and light in his voice.
Lexi nods her head, slowly at first, but then more assuredly as time ticks on.
Ben grins and puts his hand on the side of her head, gently pulling her in for a hug. Lexi rests her head against his chest, instantly calming her down from her nervousness as Ben continues to play with her hair.
“Do you want me to tell Cal that you want to call him dad?” Ben asks. “Or shall we keep it a surprise?”
Lexi pulls out of the hug and looks up at her dad. “A surprise!” She grins, giggling away at the idea.
Ben chuckles softly and presses a gentle kiss to the crown of her head. “I think it’ll be his favourite surprise ever.” Ben admits.
Lexi looks at him with shock and happiness. “Really?” She gasps out.
Swiftly, Ben nods. “Absolutely.”
Lexi stretches out across the sofa, her tiny body not even taking up half of the space. She’s reading a book, one beyond her age category, but she’s always been a confident reader. It’s raining outside, the first day of summer and the weather doesn’t match the season. The rain collects in puddles on the pavement outside and bounces back up as it gets heavier.
Callum’s just been out, picking up some food from the Minute Mart. He ran there and back, but still came back soaking wet through. Ben’s with him, both of them standing in the kitchen as Callum takes the food out of a plastic bag and puts it in the fridge.
“Daaaad!” Lexi lets out, elongating her call. She puts her book down, the covers of it facing up, and she looks at the door, waiting for a face to appear.
Within seconds, Ben appears at the door, poking his head around the frame. He smiles as he looks at his daughter. “Yes princess?” He asks.
They stare at each other for a second or two, a silent conversation happening between their eyes and facial expressions, and then Lexi giggles as she shakes her head. “Nope.” She says, loudly enough so that Callum can hear her from the kitchen. “My other dad.”
Ben retracts his head from the door frame, stretching backwards so that he can spot Callum’s reaction.
Callum’s eyes go wide as he hears Lexi’s words. It doesn’t quite sink in, not fully. Not that quickly, anyway. He turns his face to look down the hallway, and his eyeline matches up with Ben’s. “Me?” He mouths out, pointing to himself.
Ben beamingly grins, a blush swirling across his cheeks. He nods, and bites at his lip with all the nervousness that rushes through his body. He knows that Callum’s happy, he can see it in his face. But it’s a huge deal to all of them. Even though they’re both married now, this is the first time Lexi’s ever called Callum her dad. It’s important. It’s the next step in their relationship - the next step for their family.
Callum closes the fridge door just as it starts to beep out at him, informing him that it’s been open for too long. He shakes his head in disbelief, and then starts to walk towards Ben and Lexi with shaky legs. He wraps an arm around Ben’s waist, entwining his fingers with his shirt in a vain attempt to calm him down.
“What do you want darling?” Callum asks Lexi.
It’s so normal, like this is exactly how it’s supposed to be.
Lexi smiles. “What’s for dinner?”
Callum turns his head towards Ben for a moment, and his brain rushes with memories of how he never thought that he would get this lucky, never in a million years.
“Pizza?” He asks, raising an eyebrow.
Lexi grins, nodding her head and she picks up her book once more, reading from where she left off.
Callum remains there for a second, just watching her. A hand snakes around his body, and before long, Ben’s pulling him in for a hug. Callum puts his head in the crook of Ben’s neck and breathes in. “Was that the surprise you told me about the other day?” He asks, warm breath against Ben’s neck.
Ben lets out a soft chuckle, running his hand up and down Callum’s back. “Yeah.” He admits. “She asked me last week, if you would like her to call you dad.”
It’s been in the works for a while. Ever since Lexi saw the first signs up in shop windows saying that Father’s Day is coming up soon, she’s been wanting to make cards. It’s one of her favourite things to do. Every birthday or holiday she creates her own little cards instead of finding some in shops.
She makes Ben’s first, folding it over so that the edges meet, and then she opens up her special pens and draws carefully, creating the image she has in her mind on the front of the card. It takes her a while to perfect it, but when she does, she stares at it fondly, proud of her creation. The final step is to write a message inside, and with her best handwriting, she does this. The steps are repeated exactly the same for Callum’s card.
The day finally arrives, a warm, bright Sunday. The cards are in envelopes now, with Dad and Dad 2 written on Ben and Callum’s respectively. She’s nervous, and both of them can tell. She’s called Callum her dad a few times now, but for some reason, writing it down seems much more important and real.
Callum doesn’t think he’ll get a card. It’s not something he expects, anyway. He’s taken Lexi out to buy Ben a present a few days prior, and she never said anything, so he just presumes that he won’t get anything - and he’s fine with that.
Lexi stands in the middle of the room, hands behind her back. In front of her are Ben and Callum, sitting right next to each other, their arms and legs touching. She moves her left arm, stretching it out towards Ben with a beaming smile on her face, handing him a card.
“Thank you darlin’.” Ben smiles softly, taking the card from his daughter and starting to open up the envelope.
“Wait!” Lexi calls out, holding up her free hand, pointing her palm at him to mimic a stop motion.
Ben raises an eyebrow questioningly. “What?” He asks, though a small grin appears on his face as he notices another card poking out from behind Lexi’s back.
A beaming smile proudly appears on Lexi’s face as she moves her other arm, holding a card in front of Callum. “For my other dad too.” She says.
Callum’s eyes widen in shock. “Really?” He gasps out, taking the card from Lexi’s hand.
Lexi nods, smiling to herself.
Ben opens his card first, both of them watching him. On the front is a drawing of them both, Lexi with yellow ringlets for her hair, and Ben with an over expressive face. Over the top of the drawing, written in Lexi’s neatest handwriting is ‘Thank you for being my dad’, and inside is a short and yet sweet message, clearly written in pencil first and then traced over in pen.
“Thank you darlin’.” Ben smiles. “I love it.”
They both turn to look at Callum, and with shaky hands he tears open the envelope and pulls out the card, staring at the front of it. Ben places his chin on Callum’s shoulder, watching the opening of the card intensely. Like Ben’s, on the front of the card is a drawing of Lexi and Callum. Her ringlets are the same as on Ben’s card, but Callum’s quiff is exaggerated, standing at almost the same size of his face. Above the drawing is Lexi’s neatest handwriting once again, and it seems as though both Callum and Ben read it at the exact same time, if the hitch in both their breaths are anything to go by. ‘Thank you for choosing to be my dad’, it reads.
Callum looks at Lexi instantly, with hot tears bubbling away in his eyes. “Come here.” He lets out, opening up his arms. Lexi walks into his arms, falling into a cuddle, and Ben rests his head on Callum’s shoulder until Callum opens up his arm again, allowing Ben into the hug too.