AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Mom, I’m fine,” she says, rolling her eyes. “He just looks like any old guy. It’s weird.”
I laugh, vaguely insulted. “He’s not old. He’s my age!”
Bailey arches a brow at me, lips pursed. “Mom. You’re old.”
“Hey! I’ll remember that. When you turn forty, I’ll remind you of this exact moment and callyouold.”
“Yeah, and I’ll be old, so I’ll agree with you.”
The laugh that bubbles out of me is half-outraged, half-amused. I click my tongue at her. Bailey grins, glancing up as Colin returns with our drinks. He places them down and smiles a bit woodenly at the two of us, then reaches for a bag on the chair next to him.
“I brought you something,” he says, and pulls out a Barbie doll. She’s dressed like a basketball player and has a little orange ball strapped next to her in the box. “Your mom said you liked basketball. This is a limited-edition doll. I had to special order it from a business contact.” He hands the doll over, nodding encouragingly.
Bailey frowns, looking perplexed. “Yeah,playingbasketball. Or watching it.” She glances at me and whispers, “What am I supposed to do withthis?”
I give her a speaking glance, and Bailey sighs dramatically. Then she looks at Colin and says, “Thank you, Colin. It’s a nice gift.”
It’s a nice gift that probably cost him a small fortune, but it missed the mark. That shouldn’t make me happy, but it does. Hey—I never claimed to be a good person. I can be as petty as I like.
Colin adjusts the collar of his shirt, then finally leans his forearms on the table and says, “You can call me Dad if you want.”
My heart seizes so hard I jerk in my seat. I’m not ready for this. Not ready, not ready,not ready.I want to throw Bailey over my shoulder and run away.
But Bailey just says, “No, thank you. Colin is fine,” and sips her hot chocolate. While Colin clears his throat and leans back in his chair, she tears the streusel-covered top of the muffin off and hands it to me, then starts unwrapping the bottom part of the muffin.
I tear off a piece and pop it in my mouth. At Colin’s questioning glance, I say, “She thinks the streusel is too sweet.”
“Mom says I’m weird, because the top is the best part.”
Colin laughs. “Well, you must get your lack of sweet tooth from me. I get sick if I eat too much sugar.”
Bailey stops munching her muffin and tilts her head. “Oh.” She takes another bite, clearly mulling over his words. Then she asks, “What else did I get from you?”
NOTHING.I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from yelling the word. This is good for Bailey. She deserves this. If she wants to know her father, I have every responsibility to make it happen. I take a deep breath to steady myself.
“You got my eyes,” Colin says, studying her. And he’s right, damn him.
Bailey’s feet curl around the legs of her chair as she takes another bite of muffin. “Do you like Halloween? I like Halloween.”
Colin shrugs. “Sure.”
“What did you dress up as this year?”
“Um.” He frowns. “Nothing this year. I was at work.”
“They don’t let you dress up at work? Mom dresses up. She’s Edward Scissorhands every year.”
It’s true. It always gets a chuckle from my clients. Although this year, I seriously considered wearing the spare electrical outlet costume, until I realized I wouldn’t be able to do my job wearing a cardboard box strapped to my body.
“No, no one dresses up at my office.” Colin shrugs and sips his coffee. “It’s a more professional workplace than your mother’s barbershop.”
Well, fuck you too, Colin.
“That sucks,” Bailey replies, taking another bite. “When’s the last time you had a costume?”
Colin is obviously uncomfortable with this line of questioning. He looks utterly baffled. It’s kind of funny. “Um…college, probably? I was Bob the Builder one year.” He bought a hard hat and called himself Bob the Builder. It was lame. “You know, mostly, adults don’t dress up for Halloween anymore.”
“Oh.” Bailey glances at me. “But you do, Mom. And Des said he dressed up like grapes. And my teachers all dress up. They’re all adults.”
