“Can you believe it?” She shakes her head. “He said he’d heard of it, so at least there’s that.”
I pull out a black button-up I don’t remember buying.
“That one,” she says immediately.
“Really? This? Isn’t it a little… depressing?”
“Black is sexy. Karen will love it, trust me.”
I put it on, mostly because arguing with my daughter about fashion isn’t something I have time for today. And admittedly, it does look okay.
While I adjust my clothes, trying not to think about the other use for the mirror Will showed me, I can see her watching me with an odd look on her face.
“Dad,” she says, finally speaking up.
“Mhm?”
“Do you actually like Karen?”
I turn to face her, looking as good as I’m gonna get in the short amount of time I have. “What kind of question is that?”
She picks at a loose thread on my comforter, not meeting my eyes. “It’s not that I don’t like her. She seems nice, and she really likes you.”
“But?”
“But you don’t seem—” She tilts her head back and forth, searching for the word. “Excited, I guess. You don’t seem excited about her.”
I turn away from her, reaching for my watch on the dresser, knowing she’s right, but defending myself anyway. “We haven’t been seeing each other long, Addie. And it’s strange for me, with mom being gone and—”
“I know it must be hard for you, but I guess I’m asking if you feelanythingfor her.”
“I care about her,” I say, putting my watch on. “She’s a good woman.”
Addie pulls her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on them. “But Dad, you have to know that caring about someone and actually wanting to be with them aren’t the same thing.”
“I—” I pause because I’m not sure how I feel makes sense. “I don’t know how to be attracted to someone I don’t really know.”
“That’s okay,” she nods, like that makes any sense. “I don’t think you’re the only person who feels that way.” She gets up from the bed, coming to adjust my shirt some more, unbuttoning the top button. “The black looks good. Try to have fun tonight.”
After she’s gone, I look at myself in the mirror for another moment, and I can’t help but wonder if this is a mistake.
If I’ll ever get there with Karen.
Will arrives with two pizzas, letting himself in, and setting them on the counter like he lives here. From the living room, I can already hear Addie and Emmett arguing over who gets to control the remote, with Ollie joining in after a while.
I grab my keys off the island, trusting that Will has this handled, when a hand tugs on my shirt. “Woah, where do you think you’re going?”
“I have plans.”
He drops my shirt when I turn around, looking me up and down before he meets my eyes. “You’re going to see Karen.”
“Yes.”
“Didn’t you just see her?”
“That’s generally how dating works. You see them more than once.”
“But it’s family movie night.”
