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“No, baby, you didn’t.” I comfort her. “I just want to ask you a serious question. Joyce can’t be here!”
I now point at Joyce, and Anna giggles at Joyce’s wide-eyed confused look.
“Okay, well I guess I’m going then!” Joyce puts her hands in the air. “I’ll be in the kitchen.”
I stretch out on the couch as Joyce leaves, and Anna climbs onto me without any concern for my comfort or personal space. She's bouncing on my stomach when I finally figure out the words I want to say.
“Do you know what a boyfriend and girlfriend are?” I start.
“U-huh!” she says, chewing on her knuckles. “You and mommy were boyfriend and girlfriend!”
“Um, yes and no,” I bob my head from side to side. “Your mommy and I weremarried,but we were boyfriend and girlfriend first.”
“Do you have a girlfriend, daddy?” she keeps on chewing on her knuckles, and I gently move her hand from her mouth.
“No, baby. Daddy hasn’t had a girlfriend since mommy left us,” I say. The serious look in Anna’s eyes is a sight to see in a five-year-old.
“Are you sad, daddy?” Anna leans forward over my chest to better inspect my face.
All the time, baby.
“Not when I’m with you,” I say, kissing her hand only to hear her giggles. “But what I was going to ask is… Would you mind if daddy had a new girlfriend?”
Her eyes go wide, pupils fluttering all over, lost in deep thought. Suddenly, I think she puts two and two together when she opens into the biggest of smiles.
“Can it be Joyce?” she whispers with both hands in her mouth, standing still, as if her heartbeats were suspended.
I give Anna a crooked smile and touch her hair while she looks at me. “She comes first on my list, baby. Go bring her here?”
“Sure!” She jumps off me and darts into the kitchen.
While I’m alone, I sit up straight, and rehearse in my head what I’m going to say, but I’m finding it hard to complete a thought considering I haven’t done this in at least ten years.
Anna comes back with Joyce, and my heart starts to pound. Joyce is looking at me with a confused, nervous smile, her hands joined together in front of her chest.
God, I don’t deserve this sweet girl.
“What’s going on, Mr. Bardin?” she asks, unsure of what’s coming next.
I then take a deep breath and find the courage to say what I have to say, “Would you like to go on a date with me, Joyce?”
Her eyes grow wide, and she starts blinking rapidly, until finally laying a hand on her chest and saying, “I heard what you said, but… What?”
“Didn’t you say you heard what I said?” I cross my arms and sigh, my impatience getting the best of me. “It’s all in the question. Yes, or no?”
Surprising us both, Anna goes down on her knees, clinging onto Joyce’s skirt. “Please, Joyce!” she begs. “Daddy needs a girlfriend!”
Joyce begins to laugh loudly, and while I know it’s not coming from a bad place, it still annoys me beyond belief.
I’m flushing red while she’s still laughing, and only when she stops do I finally hear her answer to mine and Anna’s request.
“Well, when you are asking like this, who can resist?” She picks up my baby and kisses her temple. When she looks at me, it’s with such a burning intensity that I feel like I might melt under those green eyes. “I’ll go on a date with you, Mr. Bardin.”
“Call me Logan,” I insist.
She hands me Anna then shakes her head. "No, it’s Mr. Bardin until our date is over and I can come to my own conclusions.”
“Fine,” I say, defeated. “Tomorrow at seven?”
