Page 107 of Blindly Yours

“Apparently, we’re meeting Kara’s boyfriend tonight.” I hold the cafeteria door for Rose, and we step into the space that’s been converted into an auditorium, complete with a stage.

“Kara has aboyfriend?”Rose gapes at me.

“Well, they’ve already agreed to marry, so I guess he’s technically her fiancé.”

“Wow,” Rose says as we find empty folding chairs. “How long has this been going on? And where is my invitation?”

“Two days, I believe.” I thumb through the paper program. It’sJackie and the Beanstalk, a play on the original, and funnily enough, Kara’s friend Jackie is the lead.

“So, she dropped this news on you—”

“This morning,” I complete her sentence with a laugh.

Rose examines her own program. “Are you ready to give your daughter away?”

“Thankfully, they’re waiting until they’regrown-upsto actually have the wedding.”

“Oh, right, of course. Kara’s a smart girl.”

Part of me wants to tell her Kara had been asking questions about us this morning too, but I fear Rose might feel undue pressure from that conversation, so I keep it to myself.

“So, who does she play?” Rose is running down the list of names in her pages.

“A cloud,” I reply, pressing my lips together to hold in a smile.

Rose lifts her eyes to mine as if she’s expecting what I’ve said to be a joke, and I wish I could laugh and say it was, but Kara is indeed playing a cloud.

She blinks and smiles warmly. “Oh! That’s, um, an important part I’m sure.”

I chuckle and point toward the stage, where there’s a cardboard cutout of a cottage with tissue paper smoke swirling from its chimney. “She worked really hard on the set. Painted the windows and door, and those little flowers at the bottom.”

Rose sits up taller to get a better view over the small crowd. “Ah, now that doesn’t surprise me at all. She did a great job.”

“Dad!” Kara suddenly appears to our right, wrapped in white cotton balls and shuffling down the row of chairs. “Can you fix my hair? I can’t find Jackie’s mom.”

It looks like Jackie’s mom put her hair in two braids, and one of them has completely come undone, leaving a mess of waves on that side.

“Ummm…” I set my program down and lift my hands. “I can try. Do you have the hair tie?”

She shakes her head. “No, it fell out. I can’t find it.” Her eyes dart to the stage. “It’s gonna start soon. Hurry please!”

“Ok, hang on.” I look around me like I might see a rogue hair tie suddenly present itself, but to be honest, I don’t even know how to make a braid, so I’m already three steps behind.

“I’ve got one,” Rose interjects next to me, conjuring a small black elastic from her purse. “I’ll fix it!” She smiles and gestures for Kara to come closer.

She slides her fingers through Kara’s hair and braids the loose side so quickly and so expertly, I think I might hire her to come do Kara’s hair every morning. I can do a ponytail or a single clip, but that’s as far as my skills go. And it takes me way longer than I’ll admit.

“There you go.” Rose snaps the elastic into place and turns Kara around so she can make sure the braids match. She rests her hands on Kara’s shoulders and grins. “You make the perfect cloud.”

“Thanks, Rose.” Kara gives her a quick hug and then bounces away. “See you after the show!”

I take Rose’s hand. “Thank you for that.”

She sits back and crosses her legs. “Oh, it’s no problem. Girl can’t go onstage with only one braid.”

I beam at her and press my lips together. I adore her so much it almost hurts. It’s moments like this that have me wishing I could say those three little words to her.

But not just yet.

---