Regan tightly gripped the handle of the bag as they walked out of the bookstore. She was beyond with the books Rupert had gotten her. They were part of a series she'd been reading with her parents and now the set was complete. She couldn't wait to get home to read them.
But first, Rupert had promised to get her some chicken strips and take her to the park across the street from the strip mall. When he opened the back door of her dad's SUV, Regan placed her bag next to the bag from the toy store. Regan had convinced Rupert she needed a science kit made for catching bugs.
Once the SUV was locked up, they went to the Sonics next to the mall and got their food. With her hand firmly planted in Rupert's, Regan walked across the street with him to the park. They found a picnic table and sat down. Regan was in the middle of taking a drink of her chocolate milkshake when something crossed her mind.
"Uncle Rupert? Why aren't you my daddy, too?" she asked before she picked up a chicken strip. She dipped it into some honey and furrowed her brow. "Where I lived before, married people had three people. Sometimes there was two mommies and a daddy and sometimes there was two daddies and one mommy. Mommy and daddy like you a lot so why aren't you married to them, too?"
She took a bite of her strip and waited for an answer.