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“Yeah, but twenty-five? My God. Have I lost my little girl?”
Melissa shakes her head slowly. “She’s not going to act like this all the time. Just three to five days out of the month.”
“And then she’ll be normal?” This has turned into a horrible day.
“Not normal like she’s been up to this point. She’s still growing up.”
Holy crap. I reach out to take Melissa’s hand while walking to the door, but she doesn’t take it. “No hand holding in front of Sammy unless you want to see her head spin around,” she warns me.
“Do you think she’s serious that she doesn’t want us to date?” I ask her.
“It doesn’t matter because you’re serious about us not dating,” she tells me in no uncertain terms. “Youareserious about that, right?”
“Yes.” It’s Melissa’s turn to storm out of the diner. She flings the door open and strides through it, leaving me as bewildered as I’ve ever been.
By the time I clear the cobwebs out of my head and walk outside, they’re halfway down the block. It looks like they’ve decided to walk to the bowling alley. I get in the car and drive around for a few minutes of peace. By the time I get to Elk Lake Lanes, Sammy and Melissa are standing outside the entrance.
They’re deep in conversation when I near them, so I slow up a bit. Sammy surprises me by turning around and running at me in a dead sprint. She throws her arms around me in a big hug. I have no idea what’s going on.
“I love you, Dad,” she says. “I’m sorry about being mad at you earlier.”
“You’re not mad at me anymore?” I ask, feeling like my head is going to implode.
“No. Melissa explained everything.”
I shake my head in confusion. “What did she explain, exactly?”
“She told me that men are pretty simple creatures and that we women confuse them with our intricate thought processes.”
“That’s what she told you?” Although the more I think about it, the more I see the rightness of her words. Men go from A to B in a straight line. Boom. Fast. Women like to take a thousand detours going upside down and inside out before finally connecting the dots.
“I get it, Dad.” Sammy slips her hand into mine. “It’s going to take you some time to understand the new me. We’ll work on it together.”
As she turns around to run into the bowling alley, I sidle up next to Melissa. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Following Sammy, she says, “If I win, I want that trip to Paris. I’ve earned it.” Then she walks toward the shoe rental counter. I’m tempted to turn around and go home where I don’t have to deal with any more women.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-SEVEN
MELISSA
Paige arrives at the bowling alley just as we’re getting our shoes. “You are NEVER going to believe the week I’ve had,” she tells me.
“Lots of drama getting ready for school?” That kind of surprises me as Paige is the most low-drama person I know.
“Let me get my shoes and I’ll tell you about it.” She turns to the man behind the counter. “Size seven-and-a-half, but if you don’t have those, I’ll take an eight.” Once her shoes are in hand, we head toward the lane where Jamie and Sammy are setting up their balls.
“Paige!” Sammy calls out. “I’m glad you came.” As we get closer, Sammy gives her a hug and excitedly tells her, “I got my period today.”
“What? That’s so cool,” Paige says. “You’re a woman now. We’ll have to take you out for a night on the town soon.”
Jamie glares in our direction, so I say, “But we’re done talking about periods for the day. Instead, we want to hear all about your week.”
“I had a very interesting interview this week,” she says.
“You’re not changing jobs, are you?” Sammy doesn’t sound pleased.
“Nope. I’m Elk Lake’s seventh grade math teacher until the day I retire.”
