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I grab Belle’s hand and lead her to the Range Rover “C’o”

I get her buckled in properly then I slide into the back with her Now that I finally have her, I can’t bea

r to be apart, even if it’s only in the front seat

Kingston doesn’t question nition button Belle is chatting ani irlfriend, who she says she likes a lot She see her entire life uprooted much better than I have It amazes me how resilient kids are

I don’t even pay attention to where we’re going I’ht next to ston pulls into a parking lot that I take a look around

Oh my God

Belle squeals when she sees the faet ice cream? And a pretzel? And ride in the shark heads?”

Kingston’s eyes meet mine before he faces her “Whatever you want, kiddo This is your day”

I’m speechless as I help Belle out of the car

He takes my hand “This okay?”

I squeeze his hand, nodding “It’s more than okay”

His face lights up in a so then We only have a couple hours”

The three of us walk out of the public parking lot hand-in-hand and clih the crowd,our way past souvenir and various food stands As we pass through the entrance to Pacific Park, I glance up at the metal octopus above my head and recall the last tio—my seventeenth birthday, to be exact Belle and I were standing with our er, she was afraid to pass through the entrance because she thought the octopus was real and that it would swoop down and grab us with its tentacles if ent under it Once we finally ed to convince her it was a sculpture, she’d stick her tongue out and say—

Belle tugs on ue out “I’m not afraid of you, fake octopus”

I’e of tears froston looks at me questionably and I mouth the same words to him that he said to me: I’ll tell you later