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“How was your night out?” she asked softly.
“It was a lot of fun,” Kelly told her. “Thank you again for staying with Willa.”
“No thanks needed. You probably didn’t have anywhere near as much fun as we did. I had dinner with a fairy princess tonight.”
“Oh, did you?” Kelly asked with a quiet laugh.
“Yes. And then we built a castle in the living room and watched movies about all her princess friends while we ate yogurt parfaits,” Pam said.
“Yep. You win,” I said. “Can’t get better than that.”
I could see why Kelly loved Pam so much. The older woman screamed maternal and obviously adored both Kelly and Willa. The thought of her not ever getting to have grandchildren of her own must have made her really sad. I knew then I completely agreed with Kelly. There was no way we could just leave Pam behind. No matter how much time Willa spent with my family, Pam was still an important part of her life and they deserved to stay with each other. There was no such thing as too many people loving her.
Kelly thanked Pam again and walked her out of the bedroom to the door. I quietly called good night after her but stayed in the bedroom with Willa. Sitting down in the rocking chair, I watched my daughter sleep. She looked sweet and peaceful; her hair spread out around her head on the pillow. Just like me, she slept on her stomach with her arms bent under her pillow. As I watched her, she snuffled in her sleep and wrinkled her nose. It was unbelievably cute, and I couldn’t help but grin. I took out my phone and took a picture of her, hoping the sound and flash wouldn’t wake her. She wriggled slightly but didn’t wake all the way up.
It was late, but I knew my parents would still be awake. They went to bed early during the week, but Friday was their night to sit up most of the night and watch late-night TV together. They sat with a giant bowl of popcorn and ate their way through it in the dark, curled up like teenagers. It had been their tradition for as long as I could remember and one of the reasons they hated when there were Friday night races. I sent the picture to them and just as I expected to, got an instant response. It was just a long string of exclamation points, which made me laugh.
Bring her to dinner on Sunday, Mom texted me. With all the nesting going on over at Quentin’s, we’re going to do it at our place.
I’ll try, I told her.
I didn’t want to obligate Kelly to anything without talking to her. She did really well at Quentin’s house the Sunday before, but I could tell she felt tense and a little uncomfortable. Especially with the dinner being held at my parents’ house, I didn’t know how she was going to feel about going. Mom was still acting a bit cold toward her, and it might take some time for the two women to really get to know each other in this new way and be comfortable with each other again. But I wanted both of them to be happy, and I definitely wanted my mother to get to see Willa more often.
Taking one more look at Willa, I went looking for Kelly. I found her in the kitchen, leaning against the sink and sipping a cup of hot tea. She smiled at me.
“I had a really good night,” she said. “I like Colby and Caroline.”
“I hope things work out between them,” I told her. “He’s been wanting her for a long time, and they seem really good together.”
“She’s sweet. I think they’ll be happy,” she said.
“I know I am.”
I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss.
38
Kelly
I didn’t think I would ever get enough of those kisses. No matter how many Darren gave me, I would always want more. I leaned toward him to catch another before he stepped up beside me to stand against the counter. He took the teacup from my hand and stole a sip. He nodded as he looked down into the cup.
“That’s good,” he said.
“Peppermint,” I told him. “It’s my favorite.”
“You know, I’ve always thought peppermint was very specifically seasonal to Christmas, but I might rethink that,” he said.
I looked at him strangely. “Peppermint is only for Christmas?”
“Yes.”
“What about toothpaste?”
“Spearmint.”
“Ah. Well, there you go. Now, do you have a lot of these seasonal food rules that I need to get familiar with? I’d hate to offend you by serving you a Thanksgiving food in March or a Fourth of July dessert in December,” I teased.
“Well, I would hope you aren’t the type of woman who would ever do something like that,” Darren said.
He was teasing back now, and I took another sip of the tea before offering him the cup for the final sip.
