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“Sammy …” We both look up to see that Jamie has joined us.
“Shh, Dad,” Sammy says. “Melissa was about to tell me when she’s going to have a baby.”
His eyebrows raise in either interest or alarm—it’s hard to tell with him. So, I dive in and say, “I don’t want to have a baby on my own. I want to get married first.”
“What about that Tim guy?” she wants to know. “He seems really nice.”
“He is very nice and kind,” I confirm while shooting Jamie a withering look. “And if things go well, then he might actually be the guy I marry.”
“I don’t want to be pushy,” Sammy says, “but I could be a junior bridesmaid?” She looks up at her dad and smiles. “Wouldn’t that be great, Dad?”
“Fantastic.” He clearly doesn’t mean it.
“What did you think of the secret passageway?” Sammy asks. “Was it cool? Was it safe?”
Jamie and I exchange an uncomfortable glance before I tell her, “It was fine. Nothing special.”
He adds, “I think with a little bit of maintenance we’ll be able to use it. That is, if you like the house and want to live here.”
Sammy jumps to her feet and races toward her dad. Once her arms are around him, she declares, “I want to move in today!”
“We should probably wait until the other people move out, don’t you think?”
“Maybe,” she concedes. Then she gestures around the closet. “We better get to the mall. I have a huge closet to fill.”
“I’m not sure Melissa can still go to the mall,” Jamie tells his daughter, causing her to spin around toward me.
“You can’t go?” she asks. “What happened?”
“I think your dad is trying to say thathecan’t go. He fell and hurt his knee. So, if he won’t let me drive you, we’ll have to postpone.”
“Dad, are you okay? What happened?” Sammy sounds worried.
“Melissa jumped on me and nearly broke my knee.”The big, fat liar.
“What?!” Sammy and I demand at the same time.
“Don’t lie to your daughter,” I say heatedly before telling Sammy, “Your dumb dad didn’t step away from the ladder after going down.”
“Dumb dad?” Sammy giggles. Then she looks up at Jamie. “Are you canceling our shopping trip?”
“Absolutely not,” he declares heatedly. “If Melissa is going, so am I.”
Super.
“We better get a move on then, Dad. I forgot all about purses and shoes.” She gestures around in awe.
Anna walks into the closet and jokes, “Is this the room where you plan to do all your entertaining?”
“I love this house, Anna! I want to move in tomorrow,” Sammy tells her.
Anna turns her attention toward Jamie. “Are we writing up an offer?”
He nods his head once. “I think we are. Let’s give them what they’re asking, contingent on inspections, of course.”
“You don’t want me to try to knock off thirty or forty thousand?” She sounds surprised. “It’s the end of the season and things are slowing down.”
“I don’t want to offend anyone by lowballing them. Especially since Sammy and I both love the place so much.”
