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She put her hands together in a pleading gesture. "Can you ask Scarlett if I can learn to make more pies with her?"
"What pie would you like to bake?" I focused on combing her hair. It was semi-curly and had a lot of knots, but I’d found a detangler that worked well.
"Any pie. I just want Scarlett to be the one showing me how.”
And there was the gist of it. I figured this couldn't really be about pies.
"I like her, Daddy,” she continued. “For one, she likesHarry Potter. And she's funny, and she's so pretty. Don't you think she's pretty?"
I thought she was fucking gorgeous, but having this conversation with my daughter was bizarre.
"I'll talk to Scarlett," I promised, "and we'll see what we can do."
My daughter's plea only further fueled that dangerous line of thought that started earlier.
After I brushed her hair, she went into the bathroom. Bella was old enough now to do her evening routine alone. She simply disliked brushing her hair.
While she was in the bathroom, I started packing her bag for tomorrow. My grandparents were picking her up in the morning. New Orleans was a long drive from Orlando, but they insisted on making this a road trip. Bella was a good traveler. She never got carsick or anything like that.
I checked the weather quickly and made sure she had two changes of clothes every day, then added a few extras in case things got wild at Disney World.
While I packed her bags, my mind was still processing her request. Could I make this work for her but not give her further expectations?
By the time she came out of the bathroom, I was done packing, and she settled into bed as I started to read her favorite story,Aladdin and the Magic Lamp. She fell asleep before I reached the end, as usual.
I kissed her forehead and turned off the light before leaving her room. She didn't need a night-light; the lampposts outside cast enough of a glow that it wasn't pitch-dark.
I carefully closed her door and went downstairs to the kitchen to call Scarlett. I needed to hear her voice. I couldn't explain this insatiable craving I had for her. And it wasn't just about sex.
It rang over and over. I checked the time. It was only nine o'clock. Then again, she did say she might go to bed early.
I was about to hang up when she answered.
"Hey." Her voice was sleepy.
"Fuck. Did you fall asleep?"
"Erm, yeah. In front of the TV."
"I'll let you go back to sleep and—"
"No, no, I need to get up or I'll wake tomorrow morning with a completely stiff neck."
"I can preemptively put a meeting on both our schedules and give you a morning massage," I offered.
"Oh my God, Chad! Give a girl a warning. I'm half asleep. How am I supposed to react to that?"
"Just say yes."
She started to laugh. "I wasn't expecting this."
"What exactly?" I asked even though I had an inkling that I knew what she meant.
"Um, I'm not sure how to put it in words. So, how is Bella?"
"She's excited that she's going to Disney World tomorrow."
“Yes, they told me. The grans. They’re very excited too.”
