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It sputtered, then turned, and finally let out a stream of water. Evie squealed and jumped into it.
I stepped out of the line of fire, and Harper moved to join me with an amused expression on her face. “What is this about Evie being perfect?”
“She said she annoyed Manny with her questions, and I said she was perfect as she was. That the people who love her don’t think she’s annoying. Maybe I didn’t say it the right way.” I didn’t have this parenting thing down. There were so many ways you could screw up and say the wrong thing.
“That was a nice thing to say. Manny doesn’t see her much, so maybe she assumes that’s why he stays away. I’ll try my best to make sure she knows she’s loved.”
“You’re doing a good job,” I said, trying to reassure her. “This parenting thing is hard.” Harper laughed. “I still can’t believe he misses so much of her life. If she were mine—” My heart contracted in my chest. I’d spend every spare moment with her. I’d need to work less because I wouldn’t want to miss things. That thought caused me to pause. If I was going to be in Harper’s life, I’d need to rethink my plans for the restaurant.
Could I be there for Harper and Evie if I was opening a new restaurant? It would be more time-consuming than managing the current pizzeria with my family. But it was too soon to think about future things and long-term plans.
“I don’t think of her as his either. He’s not present in our lives, and when we see him, he’s worried about other things, like whether I’m dating someone else. He causes trouble.”
“He doesn’t support you.”
Harper shook her head. “Not at all. When he gives me cash, he qualifies it by saying it’s for Evie, not for me. As if paying rent doesn’t put a roof over her head. I guess I’m only supposed to use it on her clothes and food.”
“That’s ridiculous. Especially if he’s not giving you much. He shouldn’t have anything to say about how you choose to spend it.”
“I don’t want to talk about him,” Harper finally said.
“Neither do I. I just want you to know that you deserve better.”
“I know that,” she said, but I wasn’t so sure. She might have lower self-esteem growing up the way she did, with a mother who didn’t make time for her and who constantly showed her that boyfriends were more important than her daughter.
“Come on, Mommy!” Evie said, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the water.
“I hope you brought a change of clothes.”
“It’s too late now,” Harper cried as she laughed and covered her face from the onslaught.
Not wanting to miss out, I joined them, splashing water on Evie and darting out of the way when she tried to return fire. It was easy to appreciate the little things with Evie around.
I liked having the two of them in my space. I hoped they felt the same way. After Evie was done with the sprinkler, we went inside to dry off. Evie had a change of clothes, but Harper didn’t. I offered her a T-shirt and a pair of athletic shorts while I threw their wet clothes into the dryer.
Harper came out of the bathroom with a shirt that was far too big on her, and the shorts were rolled up to fit better.
Evie giggled. “Those are huge on you.”
Harper looked down at herself and laughed. “They are, aren’t they? I probably look ridiculous.”
“You look adorable,” I said as Evie pulled out a game of cards from her book bag.
“Can we play?” she asked, attempting to shuffle the cards. Since the stack was too big for her small hands, I took the pile to help her.
The cards indicated it was Monopoly Deal. “I don’t know this game. You’ll have to teach me.”
Evie explained the rules, which were a lot less complicated than I initially assumed. It was more fun than the real board game. It went quickly, and we were able to play several rounds before Evie complained she was hungry.
I grabbed her a snack, and we sat in the kitchen to eat.
“If our clothes are dry, we can get going so you can get some work done,” Harper offered.
“Can we stay?” Evie whined.
Harper sighed. “Evie, that’s not polite. You can’t just invite yourself to stay at someone’s house.”
I wasn’t sure if it was overstepping or not, but I said, “I don’t mind if you stay longer. If you’re here, I don’t have to do any chores. So, it’s a win-win for me.”
