“Come on,” I say, grabbing her off the counter. “Daddy made you a snack.” Glancing back at Charley, I add, “There’s more than enough for you if you’re hungry.”
“Thanks, but I’m okay. My stomach’s kind of upset, so I think I’m gonna pop a Zofran and lay down before I get some studying in.”
“Has the medicine been helping?” I ask.
Charley’s been pretty sick lately. She barely ate anything yesterday, and she told me she’s basically been living off saltine crackers and water. I talked her into calling her doctor yesterday afternoon to ask for something to help with that.
“Yes, thank gosh,” she says. “It’s been a godsend.”
“Good. Well, if you need anything, just holler.”
She smiles. “Thanks. I’ll be fine, though.”
Time. Like my mom said, she probably just needs time to relax around here.
Placingthe casserole dish in the oven, I set the timer for fifty-five minutes before I shuffle over to the sink and get started on the dishes. As I’m waiting for the water to heat, I lift my gaze to the other side of the counter, where Charley’s sitting, hair tossed into a messy bun on top of her head, laptop opened in frontof her, and a pen in her hand as she scrawls something in the spiral notebook beside her. She’s focused, and has been for the last half hour, but every so often, she’ll turn her head and give her attention to Ellie Mae, who’s snacking and babbling in the highchair next to her.
Charley must feel my eyes on her because, a moment later, she glances up and meets my gaze before looking down at the sink full of dishes I haven’t touched, despite the water still running. “Dinner smells good,” she says, with a sweet smile that wrinkles the corners of her eyes. She seems to be feeling better after her nap, which makes me happy.
“It’s just a spinach and tortellini casserole,” I offer, finally starting on the dishes. “It’ll be ready in a little less than an hour. Think you’ll be able to eat?”
“Oh, yeah.” She huffs a small chuckle. “The medicine made me feel so much better, and I feel like I could eat a horse.”
Laughing lightly, I nod. “Well, that’s good. I’m glad Dr. Mitchell was able to call that in. So, was your first prenatal appointment yesterday, then?” I ask, trying to sound nonchalant andnotlike I’m bummed she didn’t ask me to come.
“No, I just begged her to help me.” Charley giggles. “I was desperate and didn’t want to wait until Friday, which is my first appointment.” Then she adds, “I think I’m getting an ultrasound too, and I know you have to work Friday, but I wanted to see if you might like to come? You don’t have to if you’re busy.”
“I’ll be there,” I tell her, my heart kicking up speed when she smiles. “What time is it?”
“One o’clock.”
I nod. “Cool. I’ll just take the day off. Do you wanna maybe hit up the farmers’ market before we go? We usually go on Saturdays, but if we’re going to be out and about? Could be fun.”
Charley scrunches her nose, and I have to bite back a laugh. “I don’t know,” she murmurs. “You don’t think that’s too coupley?”
“What?” That Idolaugh about. “No, I do not think it’s too coupley. People can go to the farmers’ market as friends and not have it be weird. It’s not like I invited you to a strip club.”
She clicks her tongue at me, making me chuckle more. “Obviously not,” she deadpans. “And why isthatthe first thing that comes to mind when you think about coupley things?”
“Don’t worry about it.” I wink, then revel in the flush to her cheeks. “Besides, you having my baby makes us family.”
“I don’t know about all that,” she drawls, biting back a smile as she stands and takes Ellie Mae out of her highchair. “We’re going outside, away from your weirdness. Holler when dinner’s ready. I’m starving.”
“I’m not weird.” I snort.
Throwing me a grin over her shoulder, she walks through the door. “Byeeee!”
I shake my head, huffing another laugh as I watch them go before getting back to the dishes. Having her in my space is different, but a good kind of different. I like it. I’d gotten used to it being just me and Ellie Mae since Megan died, so it’s nice having another person to talk to. Even Biggie Smalls seems to have already taken a liking to her. He just followed her outside, and I’m pretty sure he slept in her room last night.
Then there’s Ellie Mae… My little girl is all drooly grins and giggles when she’s around Charley. Not that I can blame her. Although, it doesn’t really surprise me. It’s not like she’s a new face to her. Charley’s been around Ellie Mae several times since she’s been born, at family gatherings and holidays and such. They know each other and have interacted before, but this… It’s different. Last night, Charley offered to stay with Ellie Mae whileI ran and picked up pizza for us. When I got home, Charley was outside, running around the yard with her.
Watching her play with my kid… I don’t know, it definitely squeezed my heart. When we came inside to eat, Charley grabbed her highchair, without me even asking, while I got the plates, and she set it up beside her, like it was the most natural thing in the world. Even just a moment ago, she had Ellie Mae next to her while she was studying since I mentioned I was starting dinner. She said it so casually too, like it was something we’ve done forever. I know therules, and it doesn’t mean anything more than Charley being nice and wanting to be helpful, but I can’t help but feel some type of way about it anyway.
And this is only day one.
But it’s not like this is just anybody hanging out with my daughter.
It’sCharley. And if the last couple of months have shown me anything, it’s that my feelings for that woman run deep. Deeper than I realized. I loved Megan for many years and never once thought about stepping outside of the marriage. I was always faithful to her, even when she couldn’t offer me the same courtesy. When we got together in high school, after Charley left for college, I made a conscious effort not to think about my past with Charley, with the exception of the time we broke up for a while in college. Those thoughts have no place in a relationship, and they wouldn’t get me anywhere, so I just…shoved them away until, eventually, it wasn’t an effort anymore. But it’s clear they’re back, and impossible to ignore this time.
