Page 91 of Pin-up Girl

“No. Never again.”

I sighed and returned to the living room. “Cheeseburger and fries for me. Grilled cheese with tomatoes and bacon for her. Lots of cheese fries.”

“Are you…” Brodie trailed off. “Got it.”

I’d lure Dee out with food when lunch got here.

That only took about fifteen minutes, and then I was back at her door, knocking again.

“I said I’m not hungry,” Dee called.

Negotiation time. “Come out and eat one bite, and then you can stop if you don’t want anymore.”

“Fine.” Dee opened her door and brushed past me, to join Aubrey and Brodie in the kitchen. She gave them a quiet hello, and took her seat.

The conversation stalled while she took the tiniest nibble of the corner of her sandwich and then sank in her chair with crossed arms.

“A real bite, Dee.”

“That was a real bite.”

Sigh.

“Ack.” Aubrey let out a mild squeal, drawing Dee’s attention. “It’s cheesier than normal.” Aubrey was using a fork to pull a fry from the container in front of her, and strings of melty cheddar stretched from the food. “Double ack.”

It looked like she was trying to eat without getting cheese all over her chin, but she didn’t succeed. She grabbed for a napkin immediately, and chewed for a moment. “Totally worth it.” The napkin muffled her words.

Dee worked her jaw and shifted her eyes back and forth. Whatever war was raging in her head, the victor was clear when she said, “Can I have one?”

“Help yourself.” Aubrey slid her the container.

I was relieved when Dee decided she was hungry after all, and went from the fries to the sandwich. Hopefully, this would be a long-term side effect of having her here more often. We wouldn’t go through the I’m not eating, I’m too fat argument at least once a week, right after she came back from her mom’s.

A few minutes into the meal, I nudged Dee’s foot under the table. “Hey. Aubrey had Kylee Cyprus in her store the other day.”

Dee’s eyes grew wide. “No way. Is she cool? Is she cringe? Is she rad?”

I may not understand all of her slang, but it was funny to see some of the same phrases we used as kids make their way back into the lingo.

“She’s really nice,” Aubrey said. “Speaking of, I almost forgot.” She pushed back from the table, headed into the living room, and returned a moment later with fabric in a Ziploc bag. “I asked her to sign a bandana for you.”

Dee gasped. “Really? You’re the best. Thank you. Dad, can I put this in my room?”

“Probably a good idea,” I said.

She hurried to put her prize away, and returned quickly to finish eating.

When we were finished with lunch, the four of us moved into the living room.

“I have a surprise too, but I have to admit it pales in comparison to Aubrey’s.” Brodie shifted in his seat enough to reach into his back pocket. He pulled out what looked like a folded handkerchief until unfurled it. The large square was thin and flimsy.

“It’s fabric.” I felt like I should be more impressed.

Aubrey bent closer to rub her fingers over it, and tugged. It stretched. “It’s lightweight spandex or Lycra.”

“It’s Clint’s spider silk,” Brodie said. “I made some tweaks yesterday to one of Evie’s 3D printers, and came up with this. It works with the monitoring electronics from the shirts.”

Oh. Holy shit. I helped make that? Incredible.

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