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Luckily, she was off with Sophia again ten minutes later, all smiles and laughter. This time, I followed Teddy over to the bounce house while Kyle was pulled away to help Rhett with something.
Brendan bolted past me, discarding his shoes and climbing into the large inflatable with Teddy.
“Hi, Tina,” Kyle’s mother said as she stepped up next to me.
I hadn’t officially met Miranda until today, and my first thought was about how much Kyle resembled her. His hair was blond like hers, though hers was sprinkled with gray, and their eyes were the same shade of blue. It made me wonder if hers turned greenish sometimes like Kyle’s did. Today, she wore a bright blue top that really made her eyes pop.
My cheeks heated as I realized I had been staring at her for the last minute.
“Hi.”
“Are you and your kids having a good time?”
“Yes. Callie has been running around with Sophia, and Teddy hasn’t stopped moving.”
She chuckled. “Yes. I’ve noticed that. He reminds me of my daughter Savannah at that age.”
Teddy and Brendan bounced and giggled as we looked on. They were close in age but different in so many ways. Even simple things like the way they approached the bounce housewere worlds apart. Teddy was trying to scale one of the walls, while Brendan had his arms out to the side as he jumped so he wouldn’t fall over.
“Kyle has mentioned that.” I cocked a brow and smirked at her. “He also said he was the one who never got into trouble.”
She threw her head back and laughed. “Maybe not in the same way as his siblings. But he was still a handful.” She shook her head. “Sometimes he was more difficult to parent.”
I nodded, relating to that statement. Sometimes, parenting Callie, anticipating her needs, correcting her while trying not to nag or drag her down, was more overwhelming than dealing with Teddy and his energy.
“Kyle marched to the beat of his own drum, and we found out quickly that he learned best when given natural and logical consequences.” She picked up Brendan’s shoes, which he’d tossed aimlessly, and lined them up near the entrance to the bounce house. “He was a rule-follower and super smart, so it’s true that he didn’t get into the same kind of trouble his siblings often did. But he pushed himself, expected a lot, and held himself to a high standard. Sometimes that led to overcommitments, arguing with teachers if he didn’t get the grade he thought he deserved, or refusing to do something because he didn’t see the value in it.”
The conversation we had a few weeks ago at the grocery store came to mind. When he was mind-blown that I’d never considered swimming lessons for Teddy. Or the discussion we’d had about how he didn’t want to lead me on, knowing he wasn’t staying.
“Yeah. I see all that now that I’ve gotten to know him.”
She chuckled and raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow. But before she could respond, the sound of quickly approaching footsteps had me turning.
Callie was barreling toward us, calling my name. When shestopped in front of me, she was panting. “Can I dye my hair purple?”
Purple?Why on earth would she want to do that?
“Oh, look. Here comes the child who convinced me to stop at five.” Miranda sighed.
Between my daughter’s question and her statement, I was officially lost.
Savannah appeared, her presence giving me the context for Miranda’s comment. “Hey, Mom,” she said, leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek.
“Did you just get here?”
Savannah huffed. “Your son made me work the bar today.”
I tilted my head. As far as I knew, shewasthe bartender at The Dock, so it made sense to me.
“I’d hope so. It is your job, after all,” Miranda fired back.
“Eh, that’s irrelevant.” Savannah waved her off.
“Can I? Please,” Callie pleaded. “I want purple hair like Savannah.”
“What?” Savannah squeaked. “No way, girlfriend. You can’t ruin this soft, beautiful hair.” She ran her hand over Callie’s braid.
“Ruin?” Callie parroted, head tilted back so she could eye Savannah.
