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That fact that Clyde Logan had a girlfriend was as surprising to him as it was to everyone else in town. He really was still expecting to wake and discover the way that this was going to go horribly for him but he had to admit… It was real nice having her sleep over when her daughter Daisy was having her own sleepovers with Sadie at the Chapman’s. The two girls got along like a barn on fire and it, admittedly, worked out nicely for Clyde since it meant he got some alone time with Ophelia on a fairly regular basis. It also meant that Clyde, already fairly involved in his niece’s life, was even more so. Time with Ophelia usually meant Daisy was around and that meant Sadie was around at least half the time. All of which suited him just fine, he loved both of the kids and it was nice to see Ophlia bustling around with the two girls. Kinda made him feel like they were a little family. Clyde liked that. A lot. He even liked the chaos of taking two little girls out to dinner at a local buffet, one of the big chains that are better known for their butter and saturated fats than for high quality of food. It was a far cry from the fancy restaurants in DC that Ophelia had done her wining and dining at before moving here but she always seemed to take to things like a duck to water.
“I’ll get the table, you help the girls?” Clyde asked with that little smile that melted her heart every damn time. If Ophelia was going to be truly, painfully honest, the transition from metropolis to small town West Virginia wasn’t quite as smooth as she tried to make it seem. It was a different culture with different ways of doing things. She missed having easy access to pretty much anything you can think (it wasn’t there weren’t nice places out there, it was just that… Well, it’s nice to have so many options!) But that smile, the way the corners of his mouth would turn just a little, it honestly went a long way towards making Ophelia feel right at home wherever they were. She stood up on her toes, leaned in and kissed his cheek.
“Sure thing, once I get them back to the table, you can grab something.”
“Naw, you get ‘em to the table an' I’ll watch ‘em while you grab something first.”
And then he had the audacity to smile a little wider, his brown eyes warm and loving. Clyde Logan didn’t have a damn clue how dangerous that smile was or how it made her knees melt because he always did that. Just figured out little ways to be helpful and did them, without fanfare or grandstanding. He even thought to grab her purse so that she didn’t have to carry anything, just wrangle kids!
“You’re the best,” Ophelia smiled, reaching up onto her tiptoes to kiss his cheek again. He grinned a bit, squeezing her waist tight and drank in the feeling of how she felt against him. She was soft, with full curves that squished against his chest whenever she leaned into him like this and smelled like fancy perfume. Sometimes it would get on his clothes and he’d be able to smell her even after they parted ways for the evening. Clyde wouldn’t have ever thought he’d like smelling like fancy crap whose name he couldn’t pronounce but damn if he didn’t love it when he could lay in bed and imagine her beside him.
They’d really have to do something about that, he pondered as he picked a table and eased himself into a chair. Probably hadn’t been dating long enough to move in together, not with there being a kid to account for. Wouldn’t be fair. Kid had just moved, she missed her Dad - even if the asshole was a jerk - and they’d only just got settled in the apartment Ophelia was renting. He could move in with them, maybe. That meant moving outta the trailer though and Ophelia was living by the river, in the heart of what passed for the city around here. Clyde chewed on his bottom lip a little as he considered it.
Across the restaurant, Ophelia had her hands full with the two girls. Sadie wanted to show Daisy how the soft-serve machine worked and Daisy was boggled by the idea of unlimited cake. Ophelia had to stop her daughter at two servings and steer both of the girls back to the entrees.
”Dinner first, get some chicken or - look, here’s some steak! You like steak, Daisy,” Ophelia sighed but smiled through her exasperation. Her daughter wanted nothing but sweets and Sadie was trying to build a cornbread tower.
“Clyde lets me get as much cake as I want,” Daisy protested as her mother blocked her another attempt to raid the dessert station.
“Believe me, Clyde and I having conversations about that,” Ophelia chuckled and resorted to physically putting her hands on the girl's shoulders and rotating her towards main courses. “Get some of those green beans.”
“Fiiiine,” the younger redhead agreed but with a tone of voice that made sure Mom knew that this probably violated the Geneva convention.
By the time Ophelia got the two little girls over to the table with her boyfriend, Sadie had two bowls of soup, an entire plate of cornbread squares in a circle that she'd filled with mashed potatoes and Daisy had a sampler of at least one of every desert and a plate of steak with potatoes that Mom had fixed.
“Love you, be right back - don't let Daisy eat dessert first,” Ophelia kissed Clyde’s cheek yet again before hurrying to the buffet for own tray. That she was so damn openly affectionate got him every time!
“It's not goin' anywhere,” Clyde called after her, but smiled. She was probably in a hurry to get back so that he could get his own food. She was sweet like that.
“Are you and my Mom fighting?” Daisy asked once her mother was out of earshot.
“Not ‘specially.” The question startled him, especially since he'd been wondering if they ought to start merging households. He looked over the two girls with a raised eyebrow. Sadie leaned in, speaking with authoritative wisdom
“Mom and Dad started fighting about me first.”
“And Mom said she's gonna talk to you about letting me eat cake.” Daisy eyed Clyde with suspicious worry. Clyde nodded faintly while his mental wheels spun. This was a father daughter conversation right? Well, not father, he wasn't married to Ophelia yet, they hadn't even talked about that, and he didn't know if Daisy would ever want to call him Dad but… not the point.
“We're not fightin’, it's just… we don't always agree. An’ I like seeing you happy but she's probably right. Ain't fightin' though, 'bout you or anythin' else.” Clyde glanced up, making sure his girlfriend couldn't hear before he leaned in and whispered, “but quit rattin’ me out!”
Daisy giggled. She liked how Clyde seemed serious about everything, even when she knew he wasn't. He even played like that, laying on the floor and making up stories with her about toy horses while Mom talked on the phone to business people. He'd read her stories too with his voice rumbling through the characters quietly.
“What’d I miss?” Ophelia slid into the seat next to Clyde. Unlike the two girls, she tended towards fairly sensible meals; seasoned chicken breast, some veggies, piece of cornbread.
“Jus’ explaining some facts of life,” the corners of his lips quirked upwards in a little smile. He almost didn't even want to get up to gather the extremely unhealthy meal that would probably have Ophelia reminding him that he needed to get a general checkup - it was his fault, he mentioned he hadn't had one since discharge. Everything he actually wanted was right there in front of him!