Maren closed her eyes and groaned while a mom next to her laughed and elbowed her. “Way to feel old.”
“Guess again.” Juni jumped up and down.
“Could it be a…fairy?”
“Yes!” Juni whipped the paper back around and showed Maren her glitter-covered drawing of two fairies who looked suspiciously like Maren and Mira. Which of course made Maren’s heart skip a beat.
“That’s beautiful, sweetie.” Maren kissed the top of Juni’s head. “Now, how about we hit the grocery store real quick, and then I need to return a package.”
“Is it that blouse?” Juni asked as Maren opened the back passenger door for her.
“It is.”
“Yeah, it looked bad on you.”
Maren snort-laughed as she closed the door. At least she knew she’d never go out in public in a terrible blouse as long as Juni was on the job.
She’s just like her mother that way.
And for the millionth time, the same ghost of a thought followed:
I wonder what her father is like. Mira, why did you insist on not telling me who he was?
I had my reasons. The imaginary Mira in Maren’s head answered the same way she always did.
“Can we stop and get burgers?” Juni asked from the back seat.
“No, sweetie. I’ve got bread rising at home, and I’m planning on spaghetti with meatballs. I just need some parm.” A small wedge of Parmesan cheese was this week’s splurge, and she could afford it since she was returning the blouse. Thank goodness she’d inherited her parents’ house and could work from home so she didn’t need daycare; otherwise, she’d never be able to stay in San Diego. As it was, things were getting tighter by the day, but she was putting off looking elsewhere to live.
All because one day she hoped she’d pass a man on the street who resembled Juniper.
Silly idea.
There was probably a good reason why Mira never told anyone. He could have been married, though Mira wasn’t that kind of person, so he could have lied to her. Maybe he turned out to be a real bastard and Mira wanted to protect Juni from him.
But, what if he was a decent guy?
It doesn’t matter. She’s a good kid, and you’re enough for her.
Of course she ended up buying ice cream at the grocery store, too, since it was on sale and well, it was ice cream. Her big mistake was not going to the post office first, because of course there was a line and she couldn’t get past it to just drop the package off at the counter. Juni was worried about the ice cream melting and kept tugging on Maren’s shirt, telling her she should forget it and go back tomorrow. Her voice was getting higher, signaling she was heading for a meltdown faster than the ice cream.
I should have brought a snack. Bad Mom. No, aunt. Sorry, Mira.
They finally got to the front of the line, dropped off the package, and Juni dragged her back outside.
“We’ll be home soon, sweetie. The ice cream will be fine.”
Juni huffed in her car seat.
Definitely hangry. Well, dessert before dinner never killed anyone.
Every light was against them, which only made Juni more restless. Finally, they parked beneath the awning beside the house.
“Hurry up!” Juniper kicked at the seat.
“That’s enough, little Miss, or you won’t be having any ice cream.” Maren got out then helped Juni out of her car seat. She grabbed the grocery bag, walked to the front door, and fumbled her keys in the lock while ignoring Juni’s complaints about how unfair the world was.
She finally got the door open. “I mean it, Juniper Marie, you will not have any…”
