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Mom scurries away again, but skids to a stop when she spots Caleb. “Oh, hi.” There’s a funny expression that crosses her face. She’s never going to be normal around Caleb again. I’ve ruined that for life.
He smiles. “Hi.”
“Sorry, I’d talk more, but I have to dry my hair.” She clutches the fabric of her robe. “I want to hear all about you two later though!” She races off.
Caleb raises an eyebrow, waiting for me to say something. “She knows?”
I tilt my head to the side. “Well, she kind of knows, but not really.”
“I told her you guys went on a date,” Jordy says.
Caleb laughs, sauntering over to join us. “Things have been pretty crazy around here apparently.”
“You have no idea,” Jordy says, nodding with big eyes. “We had a food fight. A real one, like in the movies.”
“I saw the picture. So did Eomma, and guess what?” He crouches down to get on his brother’s level.
Jordy grimaces. “What?”
Caleb ruffles his brother's hair. “She wants you to come back and take a shower before dinner.”
Jordy cups his face in his hands. “But the cookies?”
“They just need a few minutes to cool, and then I can send them home with you,” I say.
Jordy inspects the cookies. “That one is a weird shape. I bet that was the one I did.”
“That’s okay. Sometimes things don’t turn out perfectly the first time.” I take a tall glass cup out of the cabinet. “Watch this.”
Both boys lean in eagerly.
I take the glass and encase the cookie, swirling the glass against the tray, letting the cookie’s edges bounce off of the cup. When I lift the glass again, the cookie is perfectly round.
“Whoa,” they say in unison.
They take turns copying my technique. They’re completely engrossed in the process, focusing on perfecting each one.
I’ve been using this trick since I was a little kid, so I find their reactions more entertaining than the actual cookies. Each time they lift the glass, they’re in complete shock—as if they expect it to suddenly not work.
Dad comes up behind me and puts his arm around me, giving me a side hug. “Mom and I are heading out. She shouldn’t be much longer.”
His touch catches me off guard. I can’t remember the last time he hugged me. My arms know they should wrap around his waist in return, but they stay put at my sides. “Sounds good.”
“Send these boys home soon,” he says, tilting his chin toward Caleb. Just like that, I know Mom’s already filled him in.
Wow, subtle Dad.
“I get it,” I whisper with a quick nod, trying not to draw attention.
He gives me a final squeeze before breaking away. “Oh, and I want to take you to a movie tomorrow evening. They’re playing our favorite oldie at the discount cinema.”
I’m a deer in the headlights. Dad just asked me to watch a movie with him. This isn’t the same person that blew me off the other day. Maybe he really is done with the flaking and drinking.
I pinch myself to make sure I didn’t dream it.
Ouch.
Definitely not dreaming.
