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“Ugh, fine,” said Lexi with a sigh. “Hey, can we have Elara over for dinner? She can help us plan our trip!"
"Yeah! Yeah!” chimed in Rhea. “I need to show her my new dueling club jujitsu belt!."
"We can't invite Elara around tonight."
"Why not?"
"Sorry, kiddo. Elara's really busy, and Grandpa and Grandma are coming for dinner."
"But Elara came to dinner with Uncle Ethan and Auntie Ida. Grama and Grampa wouldn't mind."
"As I said, she's busy."
"How do you know?" Lexi’s blue eyes, so like her mother's, stared at me through the rearview mirror.
"Trust me, I just know," I swallowed hard.
The girls were quiet for the rest of the trip.
Back home, I busied myself cooking dinner for the girls while thoughts of Elara swirled in my mind. As I stirred sauce on the stove, a moment of clarity hit me like a ton of bricks.
The reason I got so mad at Elara was because my self-worth was so low. The rejuvenation of Bluehaven Beach was one of the few things in my life that made me feel proud. To have Elara threaten all that made me feel like she didn't care about me at all.
"Hey, Dad, what are you making?" Rhea interrupted my thoughts, tugging at my sleeve.
"Chili dogs. Kind of."
"Chili dogs?"
"Well, you know chili is my specialty. So, I thought if I mixed chili with hot dogs, I’d stand have a chance of making something as good as the food in New York."
I looked down at the beautiful girl smiling up at me. She threw her arms around my legs, hugging me tight. "Daddy, I love you. You always try your best."
I squeezed her back, chuckling. "You know what a back-handed compliment is, small-fry?"
"Nope!"
"Never change, baby girl."
She scampered off to play with her sister. I heard her calling out, "He's cooking chili! Gonna be ages."
The girls and the town. Those were the things in my life that I truly cared about. I had to let Elara go.
I got back to my cooking, but it wasn’t long before I noticed something weird. The girls were quiet. Eerily quiet.
Then, I heard a familiar creak—the front door opening. I turned to see Elara with my girls at her side, framed in the doorway.
Lexi and Rhea's faces beamed with triumph.
"Good news, Daddy! Elara isn't busy!" Lexi announced excitedly.
I sighed, feeling a mix of frustration and embarrassment. "Girls? What’s going on here? Elara, I’m sorry." I ran a hand through my hair.
"It's okay. I can take a few minutes." She looked tired. No makeup, a baggy t-shirt and sweatpants. And yet, she was the most gorgeous thing I'd ever seen. Those sad eyes made me want to scoop her up and make everything all right.
"Elara said she thought you didn't want to talk to her, Daddy," Rhea piped up, "so we told her you do want to talk to her."
"Girls, that's not what I said," I muttered, cheeks heating.
