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I have to respect the kid’s constant hustle.
“Let’s enjoy Halloween for now, one holiday at a time, kiddo.”
“All right, Daddy, I love you.” She blows him a kiss, causing my uterus to beg me to please make ten babies STAT.
One kid at a time, I tell my ovaries.
Nora and I draw the sign at the kitchen island, while John leans against my fridge in amicable silence. Still, seeing my ex-boyfriend turned future baby daddy casually draped over my fixtures is causing me all kinds of discomfort. The three of us making Halloween signs in the kitchen feels too much like playing house, especially when he looks that good in a firefighter uniform.
He catches me staring and winks, prompting my face to grow hot and my heart to beat a little faster.
A few minutes and crayon scribbles later, Nora is positioning the cauldron and sign on the front steps while I get my coat.
“Penny for your thoughts,” John whispers in my ear as we wait for Nora to be satisfied with her work.
“You don’t want to know.”
“Really, why not?”
“Because I was considering what curse to use to turn you into a toad.”
“I wouldn’t mind.”
I frown. “You’d like to be green, scaly, and slimy?”
“Not particularly.” He shrugs. “But you know what they say about toads…”
I wait for the punch line.
“Kiss one and he’ll turn into Prince Charming.”
Darn me, my gaze immediately drops to his mouth now curling up at the corners in the most infuriating, smug, tempting smirk.
When our eyes meet again, John’s are smoldering and he might be dressed like a fireman, but he may as well be a wizard pulling me into his thrall.
“All done,” Nora announces, breaking the spell.
I finish buttoning up my coat and squeeze out the door past John, glad to avoid more troubling eye contact.
We’re both quiet while we walk down the road. The silence, if not exactly comfortable, is less awkward than it would’ve been only a couple of weeks ago.
Nora chatters nonstop but thankfully doesn’t need us to provide much input to the conversation.
We have to queue outside a few of the most decorated houses, but mostly we knock, get a ransom in candies, and move on to the next house, slowly making our way back to Bay Ridge.
Nora tires after a while and asks to be carried on her father’s shoulders.
That’s my cue to break free of the impromptu reunion. “I should probably walk back home as well. It’s getting late.”
“No, you can’t,” Nora protests from her high position. “I want to show you my room. Grandma bought me a book of spells and you just have to see it,” she adds. “Witch to witch.”
Nora makes the big eyes again, and I suddenly realize I’m going to be the worst parent. My baby will grow up spoiled and overindulged as I, apparently, can’t say no to big, pleading, childish eyes.
“Okay,” I concede. “But I can only stay five minutes.”
“Just the time to read me a story.” Nora smirks.
Holding her in place by the ankles, John bumps shoulders with me. “It gets easier to learn how to say no,” he whispers in my ear. “You only need a little practice.”
