Page 14 of Smooth Talk

“Bridezilla?” I ask while helping her with her bag and closing the door.

“Father-of-the-Bride-Zilla,” she rolls her eyes, “I’ll tell you all about it over a tall glass in a few.”

“I can opens it now?” Harp asks.

“You need to get ready for bed first. Shower, potty, brush and put on your PJs.” I’m preparing myself for the epic meltdown that usually ensues at 7:45 every night, but my sweet little angel runs upstairs and dashes into the bathroom. She must really want to open that gift.

Sara turns to me, “I’m just going to take my bag up and throw on some comfortable clothes. I’ve been in this skirt and heels all day.”

“I’ll pour us a couple glasses, and we’ll have a quick chat before bed. I know you’re tired.” I say, shooing her up the stairs toward the guest bedroom.

I pick up the living room then place our dirty cups and plates into the dishwasher. I uncork her bottle and pour two healthy glasses. That’s when I hear giggles. I walk into Harp’s room to see her practically choking Sara with a hug on her princess bed.

“Fank you! It’s so pretty!” She holds out her hand to look at the tiny gold bracelet on her wrist. “Look Mama. Auntie Sara gots me a friendship bracelet.” It had two small teardrop gems (their birthstones) dangling from it.

“I have a matching bracelet.” Sara says holding hers up so I can see them.

“How sweet. Now it’s time for a story and bed young lady.” I look at Sara, “You can go on down, have a drink and watch some tv while I get her settled.”

“Can Auntie Sara reads to me?” Harper uses those baby blues to her advantage batting her eyelashes at my friend. “Please?”

“Wow, teaching her early, huh, Pop?” She smiles at me, “not like I can say no to that.” She turns to my daughter, “What would you like to read June-Bug?”

“The Pea Princess!”

“Well, that’s a new one,” Sara laughs. I can understand her confusion; it sounds an awful lot like ‘pee princess.’

“She means, The Princess and the Pea. It’s her favorite right now.” I take the book from the shelf and hand it to her. “I’m gonna go downstairs and get some work done. I’ll be back up in a few to help if you can’t get her to sleep.”

I sit on the couch with my laptop and check emails while I sip the tasty pinot noir Sara brought. If the permits go through, the demo crew will start at Rose Cottage Tuesday morning. I’ll need to be there to oversee and coordinate with the foreman, plumbers and electricians. Which means I have a tight deadline. Everything must fall into place perfectly. So, I cross all my T’s and dot all my I’s before attaching the paperwork for Hilary. This will be the last weekend I get off for a while and I’m looking forward to some much-needed girl time.

The sounds of giggles and muffled voices have faded, so I go check on my girls. They’re both sound asleep. I kiss Harp’s forehead, cover them with a blanket, and turn off the light. I know better than to try and wake Sara once she’s out. For one it’s almost impossible and two I’d rather not be accidentally headbutted if I succeed. It only had to happen once, for me to learn my lesson. Sara would be dead to the world asleep in our dorm, you could shake her, scream—nothing. Then, all of a sudden, she’d sit bolt upright—wide awake. I had a black eye for two weeks. The next time I attempted waking her, I stood in the doorway, flipped on the lights and sounded an airhorn. I’d found a successful waking technique that caused zero damage to my face. Sara was not pleased.

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