“I like that idea. Thanks. What time?”
“Noon.”
He rose to his feet. “Thanks, English. I appreciate this.”
“You’d better. I’m totally going out on a limb. If, at any time, I don’t think this is good for her, I’ll call it quits.”
“Understood.”
Dad was still in the hall, scowling, when we both emerged from the office.
As Stuart walked away, he said, “Thanks again. I’ll see you at noon on Saturday.”
When he was gone, Dad said, “You’re going to regret this. Mark these words, and I wish I didn’t have to say them.”
“Dad, please.”
“That boy can’t be trusted. His eyes are shifty, munchkin. He wouldn’t even look at me.”
Maybe I was naive, but I’d never seen it. Or maybe I wanted to believe the father of my daughter wasn’t an evil man. Whatever the case, he’d have the opportunity to meet her and if it didn’t work out, then so be it. “Why don’t you join us on Saturday then? Mom is coming.”
“Have you asked her?”
I shifted on my feet, because I hadn’t. “Not yet, but I was going to call her.”
“I see.” His mouth turned down at the corners and his eyes were a bit pinched. When he looked at me like that, guilt usually rained over me.
“Don’t look at me like that. Easton has a right to know him. She will be supervised and I won’t leave the two of them alone. Come and see for yourself.”
“I think I will.”
On Saturday, Easton could barely contain herself. She bounced on her toes as we entered her favorite place. “Where are they?” She was referring to her grandparents.
“I don’t see them,” I answered.
“Can we go play a game till they get here? Please, oh, please, Mommy?”
I’d put her hair in a high ponytail and it swung around as though it were swatting flies. She’d insisted on wearing her pink princess dress. It was a bit small and short on her, so her leopard boots peeked out from underneath. I’d begged her not to wear them, but I’d given up the fight. She even wore the rhinestone tiara and carried the wand. Good Lord, she looked a mess.
“Look, there’s Mimi and Boppy.” She ran straight into my dad’s arms and he swung her high in the air, which he always did because she squealed with delight.
“Love the outfit, princess.”
“Me too. Do you like my wand?”
“I do. Can you work magic with it?”
“Nah, but it’s cool anyway, isn’t it?”
Mom said, “I love your hair. Did you do it?”
“I helped Mommy. Can we go play a game now?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but Dad said, “Sure,” and carried her off, leaving me standing there.
Mom shook her head. “He’s not happy with your decision.”
“Tell me about it. I heard about it all week. But I’m standing firm on this.”
“If it’s what you believe, then you should.”
Stuart was late. I checked my watch to see it was three minutes after twelve. Then I glanced at the door to see him walking in.
“Hey, is she here?” he asked.
“Yeah. You remember my mom?” It annoyed me he didn’t even say hello to her.
“Of course. How are you, Mrs. Bridges?”
“Well, and you?”
“I’m fantastic.” He craned his neck to get a look around the place. “Where is she?” Impatience coated his tone.
“Playing a game with Dad.”
“Oh. I didn’t think he was coming.”
“Gosh, he wouldn’t have missed this for the world,” Mom said.
Stuart’s brows rose.
“Let’s get a table and settle in. Then we can join them in their games,” I said.
Stuart’s phone rang and he excused himself. A few minutes later he came back and said, “I may have to cut my visit short. Something’s come up.”
Seriously? Before I thought about it, I said, “I guess Easton isn’t as important as whatever that is.”
He definitely got the gist of my snarky comment. “Uh, that’s not it. She is. But—”
“But what? You wanted this meeting, Stuart, not me.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“Suppose?”
“Hold on.” He walked away with his phone to his ear. When he returned, he said, “I’m all yours for the next hour and a half.”
Great. Now I had to put up with this and Dad for that long. I should’ve kept my big mouth shut.
The lunch turned out to be shorter than expected. Easton complained of a tummy ache, which was weird as she rarely got sick. After they played the games for a bit, we sat down to eat, but she said she wasn’t hungry. She loved pizza, so that was the second strange thing. She barely spoke to Stuart and she was usually a chatterbox. He was actually nice to her. We were all munching on our pizza when Easton threw up everywhere.
Stuart flew out of his seat, yelling, “Gross.”
Dad ran to get extra napkins and paper towels. Mom moved all the food away and I pulled Easton on my lap because after Stuart yelled at her she started crying. I glared at him over her head.
“Um, sorry,” Stuart said. “Sort of a knee-jerk reaction.”
“Kids get sick, Stuart, and don’t know what to do. She’s only six.”
Dad came back and cleaned up the mess, including Easton. Stuart stood there like a dumb rock. I nearly cracked up when Dad shoved the soiled napkins in Stuart’s arms, saying, “Make yourself useful.”
Stuart jumped back so as not to touch the heinous items. This man was not cut out for parenthood.
I stood, still holding Easton. “I’m taking her home. Stuart, we’ll talk later. Mom and Dad, thanks.”
“We’ll follow you,” Mom said.
I walked out, not bothering to say anything else. My baby was sick and needed me. That was the only thing I cared about.
Easton threw up two more times on the way home. My heart broke for her because she didn’t understand what was happening.
“Mommy, I don’t like this.”
“I know, sweetheart.”
“I wanna be under the rainbow again.”
“You will. Soon. We’ll get you home and in the bathtub.”
Her sobs stabbed me straight in the heart. “My princess dress is ruined.”
“Guess what? It was too small for you anyway, so we’ll get you a brand-new one.”
“I don’t want a new one. I like this one.”
“What if we get the exact same one?” Our house was down the street and I exhaled a sigh as we pulled into the garage.
“Okay.”
As I reached to unbuckle her from the booster seat, another round of vomiting hit her. It covered us both this time.
Mom and Dad pulled into the driveway. One look at me and Mom came running.
“Can you go inside and grab some towels, please?” I asked.
Mom headed inside and Dad went to the cabinet where I kept the paper towels. He wiped what he could and Mom was there handing me the towels. I wiped Easton and got her out of the car. Then I stripped the dress off.