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Brynlee looks over at Scarlet then back to me. “Will Scarlet come with us?”
“She will. We’ve got her today.” I look over Brynn’s head and wink at Scarlet, who’s looking a little less petrified than she was a few minutes ago.
Brynlee taps her finger to her lips like she must have seen in some cartoon somewhere, thinking. Then her eyes light up. “I know! Let’s go to the zoo!”
That’s how we find ourselves sitting on the cement steps outside the polar bear enclosure at the Philadelphia Zoo a few hours later. Brynlee’s face is smooshed up against the glass, watching the giant white bear play with a red ball and splashing in the water. The polar bear is her favorite thing to see here.
“You handled that well this morning, Cade. She’s a tough little cookie. When she started rattling off all her questions, I froze when I didn’t have any answers. But not you. You knew exactly what to say.”
My eyes stay locked on Brynn in front of us, but my hand clasps Scarlet’s. You’ll get used to it. It comes with practice and experience. Never let them smell fear.” I smile and drop a quick kiss on her head. “It feels better now that everyone knows, anyway.”
“Not everyone.”
“What?” I glance quickly at Scarlet before looking back over to Brynn. “Who doesn’t know?”
Scarlet hesitates, pulling her hand back.
I hate that she’s still pulling away from me.
“I haven’t told my mom yet. I don’t exactly have the best relationship with Adeline.”
From what I remember, none of them had a great relationship with their mom. But still. “You’ve got to tell her. You can’t just throw a grandchild on her out of the blue.”
“You don’t get it, Cade. Your mom was like June fucking Cleaver. And mine was like... I don’t even know what fucked up TV family to compare her to. She ruins everything.”
I take back the hand she yanked away and hold it tighter. “She’s still your mom, Scarlet.”
“I promise I’ll tell her before the baby comes. I just want to avoid any extra stress if I can. And Adaline is the queen of stress and unwanted drama.”
“Scarlet—”
She’s saved by the bell when Brynlee runs over and takes Scarlet’s hand. “Can you get us pretzels now, Daddy? Don’t you want a pretzel, Scarlet?”
Scarlet stands up and swings their clasped hands between the two of them. “A pretzel sounds perfect.”
And just like that, our conversation is forgotten, and we’re on the hunt for the perfect pretzel.
