Accidentally All of Me

Harry

I checked my watch for the dozenth time that morning. If we didn’t get moving soon, we were going to be late. Yet again.

“Winnie, come on!” I called to the girl who I was acting as a father to. “We have to get out of here, or else we’re going to be late!”

“I need a minute!” she called back, and I practically hopped from foot to foot on the spot with my impatience. I didn’t have time to wait a minute. I needed her out here now. Then maybe I would have time to grab something for breakfast before I—

Breakfast. Shit! That reminded me.

I hurried to the kitchen to grab the bagged lunch the housekeeper had left for Winnie on the kitchen counter, and I thanked God that I had thought to hire her way back when all of this had started.

“Okay, I’m going to leave without you!” I shouted up the stairs, and sure enough, a couple of seconds later, I heard little footsteps thundering down the stairs toward me as Winnie finally decided that she was ready for school.

I handed her the paper bag, she took it from me, and the two of us hurried out to the car as I patted down my sides for keys to make sure I had everything I needed.

“You never forget anything,” she reminded me, smiling in my direction as she saw me panicking. “Remember?”

“Well, I obviously forget that I never forget, or else I wouldn’t need you to remind me,” I told her, and I opened the car door for her and helped her hop in.

“Did you remember your lunch?” she asked as we pulled away.

“No meetings on a Monday,” I said. “I’m going to go out for something to eat instead.”

“Can I come with you?”

“I’m not sure I would be able to get all the way across town and back in time,” I replied apologetically. “But when you get into high school and start having free periods, we can do that.”

“I want to,” she said happily, leaning up on the window and smiling as she looked outside. There were times when she looked so much like my sister, her mother, that I found myself caught off guard. It was like there was a reflection of her right in front of me, even though I knew she had been gone for a long time now.