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Hailee narrows her eyes at me in confusion. “What do you mean?”
I reach out, grab her hand, and squeeze. “I have some news for you, and I’m unsure how to tell you.”
She sits taller, a serious expression finally crossing her tiny face. “Are Nan and Pop okay?”
I nod, sliding some of her dirty blonde hair behind her ear. “Yeah, baby, they’re completely fine. It’s your father.”
She groans, rolling her eyes in some kind of what-has-he-done-now look. “Is he in jail? I bet he’s in jail.”
Blake lets out a small snort-chuckle as I try to keep a straight face. “No, he’s not in jail—”
“Well, it is kind of like a prison sentence,” Blake quips under his breath.
I glare at him, but he raises his hands with a smirk.
“Hailee… your father is getting married to Tamara.”
Hailee curls up her face. “Ew… she treats me like I’m a baby. She asked me if I needed my diaper changed the last time I saw her. She doesn’t have a clue, Mom!” Then, she whispers in a much lower, deflated tone, “I don’t like her.”
I reach out, pulling Hailee to me. “I know, baby, she’s not perfect. But for some reason, your father has chosen to spend the rest of his life with her, and unfortunately, we need to respect that.”
Hailee groans. “We don’t have to go to the wedding…do we?” The last two words are said in a much higher pitch, her skepticism rising to the surface. My little girl is wiser than her years.
Blake looks at me, giving me a nod of support. I move my hands to either side of Hailee’s face and look her in the eyes. “I love you, and I know you won’t want to do this, but… your father wants you to be his flower girl.”
Hailee’s eyes flood with tears, and she bites down on her bottom lip to stop crying. “I don’t want to wear a dress.”
I let out a small laugh. “You never do. I will talk to your father about it. He knows you don’t wear dresses.”
Hailee scratches her head, her eyes more than a little droopy, and the tears are welling, but she refuses to let them flow. “Do I have to do this, Mommy?”
Every inch of me wants to tell her she doesn’t have to do this. That I can flat-out refuse for her to take any part in this farce. But that isn’t teaching her life lessons, is it? As much as neither of us wants to go to this stupid fucking thing, the fact is, we have to. So we’ve got to suck it up, put on our big girl panties for a couple of hours, and once it is done, it’s done.
“The thing is, Starshine, we all have to do things we don’t want to in life. Blake and I have to do them every day at work. It’s a part of growing up. Of living life. You’re not going to be the amazing woman I know you will be if I don’t teach you these lessons now.”
Hailee groans. “Can’t these lessons wait until I’m atleasta teenager?”
I chuckle, pulling her forward and kissing her forehead. “No. I know you don’t want to go. I don’t want to either. But your father was insistent, so I had to accept.”
“So then… why is Blake here?” Hailee asks.
How the hell do you explain fake dating to a seven-year-old?
I turn to Blake, not really knowing how to broach this subject so he starts for me, “When your father asked your mother to go to the wedding, it was clear to me that your mom felt uncomfortable going to the wedding alone. Kyle was making a scene, and it seemed like your father knew your mom would be lost now he’s getting married.”
I’m not sure if all of this is good information for her to hear about her father, but I am just rolling with it for now as Blake has her ear, and she is listening intently.
“The thing is…” he scratches his head, “… I overheard all this when they talked about it at work. I think your dad wants your mom to feel inferior. So, I stepped in and pretended that your mother and I were a couple and told him we would be coming to his wedding together to help her.”
Hailee widens her eyes like she’s just seen Santa Claus coming down the chimney. She smiles so wide she’s bouncing on her seat. “So you guysaredating?”
I go to correct her, but Blake beats me to it. “Fake dating… to stick it to your dad.”
Hailee slumps her shoulders a little. “Okay,sooonot likerealdating, just pretending to make my dad jealous?”
I widen my eyes and shake my head. “No, baby, not jealous. Just so he knows he doesn’t have such a tight hold over me… overus. That I can have other men in my life.”
“Sooothen, I’ll see you ’round a bit more, huh, Blake?” Hailee asks.
