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“I was thinking of taking Alissa to meet him. With how much she loves hockey, I bet she’d love to meet a real-life NHL player,” Dan says out of nowhere, eyes still on the TV.
And I panic the next instant.
“What? No!” I shout.
Dan looks up at me sharply.
I cough. “Um, I mean… she can’t miss pre-K. They’re working on a project.”
“But the next game is on a weekend,” Dan says, straightforward.
I huff and then roll my eyes. “I’ll think about it, Dan.”
“That means ‘no’ in mom language,” he says, raising a finger.
“Where’s Alissa anyway?” I ask, taking my purse and standing, ready to leave.
“Upstairs with dad. Carla and mom are in the kitchen.” His eyes glue again to the tv screen.
“I’ll go check on her.” I head upstairs to see my baby.
I set my purse in my room. Alissa’s laughter floats down the hall, making me smile.
When I get to Alissa’s room, she’s playing dolls with dad, who's pretending the doll is choking him.
“Oh my God. Help him, sweet pea!” I say, running to be by their side.
Still laughing, Alissa goes to help him and pulls the doll away.
“Ali, you saved me!” Dad pretends to be breathless, or maybe he really is. Sometimes I forget he’s well into his sixties already.
He holds her and then brings her to lie on top of his chest over the floor.
“Now do it again!” Alissa shouts.
“No dear, grandpa needs a break,” he says, gently setting her down. “Go say hello to mommy.”
“Hi, mommy!” She jumps in my arms, the best part of my day.
“How was your day, dear?” Dad asks me, coming to kiss me on the cheek.
“Pretty calm. Helena is an astounding salesgirl. We sold gear for an entire softball team today, personalized uniforms and all,” I say, feeling proud.
“You have a great knack for hiring good people.” Dad taps me on the shoulder and struggles to stand up. “I’m hungry. How about you?”
Before he leaves for the kitchen, I clear my throat. “Dad?”
He turns around. “What’s wrong, dear?”
“You saw Andrew today, right?” I begin, circling around the subject.
“Yes,” he nods. “He has turned into a great player.”
Now it’s my turn to nod. Alissa entertains herself with her dolls, leaving dad and I to talk on our own.
“Did he say anything about me?” I ask, ashamed of myself.
Dad lets out a deep sigh, and looks at me with pity, knowing that I’m hurt.
