Kandi

*The Next day*

Matt sighed and noticed that none of the guys were awake but him so he quickly woke Kandi up and got her ready for school. Kandi rubbed at her eyes and watched as Matt quickly made her a bagel then grabbed her backpack before picking her up and carrying her to the car.

“Ready for school?” Matt asked smiling through the rearview mirror at the sleeping little girl.

She shook her head no and began eating her bagel. The radio softly played TNT by ACDC. Matt smiled and lightly tapped his fingers against the steering wheel.

“I can take this off?” Kandi asked pointing to the little cast on her wrist.

Matt glanced at it through the mirror then shook his head no, “In a few days, but not now.”

She huffed and sat quietly as Matt pulled into the parking lot.

“Look there’s Bandit.” Matt pointed where the little girl stood next to Gerard and Lyn-Z.

Once Matt parked and let the little girl out she raced over to Bandit. The two girls quickly began talking and giggling then walked inside of the school together after waving goodbye. Matt got back into the car and went to back out when he saw the pink backpack sitting in the back of the car.

“Shit.” He said to himself then quickly parked again before grabbing the backpack and racing inside of the building.

He walked right into the classroom where Kandi was sitting with Bandit playing with dolls.

“Kandi, you left this in the car.” He walked over ignoring the stares from other children.

Kandi took the backpack and smiled, hugging Matt tightly, “Thanks Mattie!”

He grinned and hugged her back, “Your welcome kiddo, now go learn some stuff.”

“Excuse me, who are you?” A voice asked.

Matt turned around to come face to face with a beautiful woman.

“Matt, Matt Sanders.” He grinned.

“Well Matt Sanders, what are you doing in my classroom?” She questioned.

He pointed at Kandi, “Left her backpack in the car, and who are you?”

“I’m Jennifer Cooper . Teacher of the children.” She smiled.

Matt grinned, “Nice to meet you Mrs. Cooper.”

She stopped him, “Actually I’m not married.”

“Oh really?”

She nodded, “Yes. So you must me Kandi’s father?”

He shook his head no, “No I’m a friend of her dad.”

“So when do I get to meet this dad of hers? After all bring your dad to school day is coming up in a few days.”

Matt scratched the back of his neck, “I guess one of us will come either me or Brian. I don’t think Jimmy will be out in time.”

“He’s in jail?” She asked feeling sad for the little girl.

“No he’s in a rehab center.” Matt whispered.

She nodded sincerely, “I understand, well thank you for being there for her.”

He nodded, “Yeah well we all love her to death.”

“Well Matt, as much as I’d love to stay and chat, I have a class full of kids to teach.” She motioned to the children that were all playing.

Matt nodded, “yeah, okay I’ll just go then.”

He turned around and smiled at Kandi, “Zacky’s gonna pick you up, okay?”

She nodded, “Otay Mattie. Bye.”

Matt grinned at Kandi and waved goodbye to the little girl before saying goodbye to Miss Cooper then walked out of the school and got into his car. The whole way back to the house, all he could think of was Jennifer. She was a beautiful woman. He hadn’t look at a woman like that since Val. He sighed and turned down another street, taking him to the cemetery.

“Hey, Val. It’s been awhile.” He stated, kneeling in front of tombstone that read, Valary DiBenedetto.

Matt sighed, “Should have brought you some roses. They were always your favorite flowers. I miss you Val, I miss waking up to hearing music and walking into the living room to find you dancing along just like when you used to be a dance instructor.”

“Tours aren’t the same without you either, you kept us all in line and no one can cook quite like you. I wanted to ask you to marry me, but I got cold feet. Your all I ever wanted and more, we were supposed to live our lives together. I know Amanda and Michelle miss you too.” He felt tears forming.

“Remember Sheena? She had a kid, Jimmy’s kid. Names Kandi, she’s the sweetest little girl I’ve ever met. So cute. Jimmy’s back in rehab, it’s Amy’s fault. Brian’s trying to act like he’s Kandi’s dad, and I think he’s cheating on Michelle again. I don’t even really know what to do anymore, Val. Jimmy and Brian are fighting. Everything’s going wrong and Kandi’s stuck in the middle of it, it’s a bad situation. I just wish I knew what to do, I wish you were here. You’d know what to do, you always did.”

Matt talked to the grave for awhile before finally deciding it was time to go home. He texted Zacky about picking up Kandi after school then drove off to go get something to eat at a small diner on the other side of town to clear his mind. Val never left his mind as much as he tried to focus on something else he couldn’t. He even could have sworn he saw her smiling face in his cup of coffee.

“What am I going to do?” He asked himself quietly.

Right as he shut his eyes for a second he could have sworn he heard Val’s gentle voice whisper, “Do what makes you happy.”