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“I cannot believe you did this!”
“Only the best for my girls.”
“It’s too much, E. You didn’t have to.”
“Queenie, that truck is going to protect everything I love. I wanted it to be the best.”
I take Quinn’s silence as her way of gathering her thoughts. She’s probably making sure she heard me correctly… and she did. I've never lied to her about my feelings.
“Thank you,” she says a few moments later.
“So, when are we taking that baby out for a spin?” I ask, dying to see her in the driver’s seat of the custom Yukon Denali I ordered for her. Quinn’s been driving around an older model rental since we’ve been down here. She commented on how much she likes driving it, so I figured what better way to surprise my girl.
My girl.
Damn, it feels good to say that again.
“The girls and I were going to meet up with Katie and the kids. Would you want to join us? I think Darren was home tonight too, so I'm sure he’d love to come along.”
“I’d love to. Be home in thirty,”
“Eee, okay, see you soon!”
When I pull up to the house, Quinn already has the car seats moved over and the girls packed up and ready to go.
I get out of my pickup and walk over to the girls, who are trying desperately to wiggle themselves free from their car seats.
“Hello, my little angels,” I say, giving each of them a kiss. Sophie holds on to my face for an extra moment, and by the smile on her face, I know what she’s waiting for.
“Dada!” She giggles when I rub my beard along her face and neck. Addy is protesting from her seat, feeling left out, so I return to her side and do the same. All while Quinn watches adoringly from the driver's seat. I love the way she stares at me when she doesn’t think I'm looking. I’m sure she can say the same thing about me, too. When she's in the room, my eyes never leave her.
Climbing into the passenger seat, I breathe in that new car smell. Then check out the touchscreen control panel.
“I literally spent an hour messing around in here while the girls napped earlier. There are so many features. Like, look at this!” she says, pressing a button, and two camera images of the girls’ rear-facing car seats appear on the screen.
“How frickin cool! And look at this one,” she says, showing me another one of the hundreds of features this car is equipped with.
“I'm glad you love it. Now let’s hit the road, Mildred. At this pace, we’ll never get to the park.” That earns me a smack to my arm, and I smile.
“You’re lucky I like you,” she teases, rolling her eyes, then throws the truck into reverse.
“Baby, you and I both know you more than just like me.” I waggle my eyebrows, and she laughs.
Darren and Katie meet us at an ice cream shop across the street from the park. Then we all head over to an open area together, ice cream in tow. All three of their kids devour their cones in just a matter of minutes, while Quinn strategically alternates feeding Sophie and Addy bites on a picnic blanket.
Addy is doing some crazy hand motions, and Quinn cheers. “Do you want more?” she asks her. Then Addy does the same motion again, nodding.
“Yes, baby girl, that’s it!” Quinn cheers, and then looks at me.
“Was that sign language?” I ask.
The proud smile that spreads across Quinn’s face is contagious. “It is! We’ve been practicing. Sophie nailed it a few weeks ago, so I’ve been working with Addy a bit more on it this week.”
“That’s amazing. I’ve heard of baby sign language in all those damn books I read, but never thought to use it.” I smile as her gaze lifts to mine. She never ceases to amaze me.
“It's such a helpful form of communication, especially when they're not speaking that much yet,” Katie chimes in.
The ladies break off into conversation while the kids play around them. Darren and I walk over to a nearby bench and sit.
