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"Ah, I don't know if you're supposed to be putting makeup on her."
"Funny, I didn't ask you," she said, giving me a saccharine smile as she closed the door.
"Morning, Jacob," I said, nodding to him.
"Morning. How's Mom?"
"She's better. I think she will want to talk to you after she takes her shower. Jelena and I are going to come over for breakfast in a bit. If that's alright with you," I added.
"I, uh, yeah. That's fine."
"Great. I'll see you in a bit," I said, jogging down the steps, going out onto the front porch.
I had just reached my door when I heard Freddie's car pull into the drive.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath.
Damnit.
I wanted to get inside and dressed before Jelly got there. I wanted to ease her into the idea of me and Eva having something going on before she saw me sneaking out from her house first thing in the morning.
This sure felt like one of those "God laughs at your plans" things.
"Dad!" Jelly shrieked, racing up the steps, giving me a hug. It wasn't the same kind of over-the-top, never-let-go hugs of her childhood, but it was still a good one.
"Hey, baby girl. I missed you."
"I missed you too."
"You little liar," Freddie accused, tsking her tongue. "She spent every waking moment doing martial arts training with anyone who would grapple with her. She barely noticed you weren't there."
"That's not true," Jelly insisted, though there was a note of truth in her words.
I knew, from this point on, there would be more and more of her moving on without me, not missing me as much as she once did. It wasn't going to be an easy transition, but little doses over time would help build up a tolerance, I guess. "Is everything okay?"
"If someone sent the order down to send you guys home, then yes. For now. But make sure you keep your emergency bag packed, okay?"
"Always," she agreed. "It's important to be prepared," she added, giving me a firm nod.
"She's been spending a lot of time with Chris," Freddie explained, and her sudden seriousness made a lot more sense.
"I hope you didn't have any plans, baby. I agreed to having breakfast with Eva and Jacob this morning," I told her.
And if I didn't know my girl so well, I might have missed the light that teased at her eyes. "Really?"
"Really," I agreed, unable to hold the smile in.
"Awesome. No, I didn't have any plans. Do I have time to get changed?" she asked, looking down at her jeans and tee.
"Yeah. I have to jump in the shower. But it's a casual thing, baby. Don't fuss too much," I demanded, but my words were promptly ignored as she rushed past me and into the house.
"That girl might miss the freshly-rolled look on your face, but you aren't fooling me," Freddie said, giving me a knowing smile. "Things are going well with neighbor-lady?"
"Yeah," I agreed, seeing no need to lie about it, to brush it off.
"I'm really happy for you, Colson," she told me, coming up on the porch to press a kiss to my cheek. "No one deserves to find someone more than you do. And Jelena has been talking about little else but how she hopes you find someone who makes you happy."
"She makes me happy. But Eva does too," I admitted.
"Good. I am going to go see my man. Go have fun with your woman."
My woman.
I liked that more than I ever could have anticipated.
"Be careful, okay? I don't think things are settled yet," I told her.
"Oh, please, we have all been good and lectured by Lo and Cash and Chris. I will be at the clubhouse anyway, so I will be as safe as can be. Have fun," she said, giving me a smile then heading off to see her man.
On that, I went into my house, listening to Jelly's upbeat, poppy playlist as I got showered and dressed, collecting the bread and the orange juice we had in the fridge to bring over.
"Alright. I'm ready," Jelena declared, making me turn to find her changed into a sweet light blue dress with a white cardigan sweater, looking like she was ready to head to church. I decided not to comment on the fact that she had on some makeup even though we'd had the no makeup talk two weeks before. She'd kept it natural. And I had to loosen the reins a bit as she got older. She'd left her hair alone, natural, instead of spending an hour straightening it, leaving me frustrated and yelling at her up the stairs, ruining the mood of the day.
"You look real pretty, baby girl."
"Thanks," she said, beaming, reaching up to touch her hair. "Eva wears her hair like this too, right?" she asked, giving me a little twisting sensation in my chest. For both bad and good reasons. Bad, because she had been looking for someone to look up to about things like her hair and style. Good, because she was happy to have Eva be that woman for her.
