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“I definitely think Wanda would get a kick out of it. That is, if you’re sure you’re okay with it. I mean, you’re welcome to come, if you’re free...?”
“Oh, no, that’s okay. I’m sure I’ll still be busy. Let me know the address and when you’ll be there. Maybe text me when you get back home so I know where you guys are. Actually, maybe we should turn on location sharing, that way if anything happens—”
I notice she’s smiling again, and I shut my mouth quickly.
“I sound silly, don’t I.”
“You sound like your run-of-the-mill control freak dad. It’s not a bad thing. I can do whatever makes you feel best.”
There’s no reason for me to think twice about this statement; I know it’s perfectly innocent, but that doesn’t stop the strange sensation from coiling in my chest. “Right. Sorry.”
“Apologizing again,” she chuckles.
“I’m sure Sophie would love to get out of the house for a bit,” I reason. “I’m sure she’s over being cooped up here with me every day that she wasn’t hanging out at the restaurant.”
“Sophie loves hanging out with you,” Cassie asserts. “She talks about you all the time.”
My mouth parts in surprise. “Really?”
“Literally. All the time. Give yourself more credit.”
I nod slowly, considering. “I... Thanks.”
“Just calling it like I see it.”
“Shit.” I frown. “That reminds me—Iris is supposed to be coming by later.”
“Iris?”
“Sophie’s aunt. I mentioned her, right?”
“Oh.” She nods in recognition. “Right. I remember.”
“She asked to see Sophie.”
Cassie laughs. “Why do you look so uncertain about that?”
“Iris is...” I sigh. “I suppose I should just tell you. Things can be tense between us sometimes.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Yeah. She means well, she really does, but she’s always beenso involved in Sophie’s life... I think suddenly not being able to see her whenever she wants really eats at her. She’s tried to talk me into a joint custody situation several times.”
“But you’re her dad,” Cassie answers.
I nod. “Right. And I’m happy to let her see Sophie when I can, but I want Sophie to have a stable environment.”
“That makes perfect sense,” Cassie says, and hearing it feels nice, like I hadn’t even realized how much I needed to hear another person validate it.
“She can have a habit of being... terse. With the nannies. In the past.”
“Is she going to go all WWE on me?”
This makes me laugh. “No, no. Nothing like that. I think it just bothers her that I feel the need to hire someone in the first place. Iris thinks I should just leave Sophie with her. But again... that feels like a slippery slope. I want her to know that this ishome. I think she needs that in her life right now.”
“I might be biased,” Cassie starts, “because, you know, you’re paying me”—we both laugh—“but I really think you’re doing the right thing. Kids need to feel like they have a place that’s theirs, you know? Even if you’re not here all of every day, I imagine it’s a comfort to Sophie to know that you’ll always come home to her. If that makes sense.”
I’m nodding dazedly, wondering how someone who barely knows us could encapsulate everything I’ve been striving to do after such a short time with us. “It does,” I say. “Perfect sense.”
