Page 75 of Until the Ink Dries

“My bad, Willow. I don’t want you to feel pressured. But we would love for you to come, only if you’re free,” I spoke up.

She giggled on the other end and then cleared her throat. “Of course, I want to go. Who is turning down ice cream in this kind of weather? Not to mention, I will have the best company in the world.”

I couldn’t help but to smile as Charlie cheered in the backseat like we had won a national championship or something. But, if I was being real, my inner self was celebrating just as much. I loved being around Willow, it just felt so natural. Almost as if we fit like the pieces to an intricate puzzle.

“Cool, we didn’t do bad ourselves by inviting you. Can you be ready in the next ten minutes? We’re already in the car.”

“I’m already dressed.” she replied.

“Cool, be there in ten minutes.”

We ended the call and Charlie squealed as I backed out of my parents’ driveway. She talked the entire ride to Willow’s parents’ house about how excited she was and how she couldn’t wait to tell her about her school day. It was our routine on Fridays for Charlie to give a full assessment of how her week had gone. It cracked me up to hear her talking about the things that happened. These kids were like small grown-ups.

We finally pulled up in front of Willow’s parents’ place and she was already waiting outside. Since that day she’d gotten her hair wet, her curls had been on full display every time I saw her. They served to enhance the beauty that was already there. I got out of the car to open the door for her and placed a kiss on her cheek.

“You look beautiful.” I told her.

I took one more look at her from top to bottom, loving the way her orange sundress caressed her curves before jogging back around to the driver’s side. As I was getting inside, Charlie was talking a mile a minute. I couldn’t help but laugh as I put on my seatbelt then backed out of the driveway.

Charlie hadn’t slowed her talking down until she realized we made it to Dip & Dazzle. It was a new ice cream shop in Rose Haven. The woman who opened it moved here from the city from what I heard. I had only seen her in passing at a few of the community events. But from what I knew, she was cool.

I parked then helped Charlie from the backseat. Usually, my child preferred to hold my hand but today, it was a whole new ball game. She rushed over to Willow to grab her hand, which Willow gladly obliged. I stuffed my hands into my pockets and followed closely behind them.

When we stepped into the shop, there were a few other customers in line with their kids. The closer we got, a woman with wild, curly, copper colored hair came into view. She had freckles covering her face and green eyes. She smiled widely at us and Charlie released Willow’s hand to step in front of us.

“Hi, I’m Aubree. Welcome to Dip and Dazzle! How can I make your day sparkle?” she asked.

Stars shined in Charlie’s eyes as she looked at all the different flavors.

“It’s our first time here, so lead the way,” I told her.

“I love to hear that; hopefully, we can keep you and your family coming back. By the way, you three look beautiful together. I love to see it!” she commented.

Willow looked back at me with a smile and I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her flush against my front. I kissed her cheek before ushering Charlie forward. Aubree began telling us about all the flavors they had, the different holder choices, and toppings. She had my baby’s head spinning.

By the time she finished, Charlie ended up getting a mermaid bowl. Which was a mixture of green apple, blueberry, and bubblegum pink flavored ice cream with pearl candy on the top inside of a seashell looking container. I went simple and got butter pecan on a cone, and Charlie convinced Willow to get the same thing as her so they could be twins.

Once we all ordered, we made our way outside, since the ice cream shop was near a park. We found a free picnic table and ate while laughing and talking. Charlie had eaten most of her ice cream before I allowed her to play for a bit.

“I see Charlie is doing better.”

I nodded and looked over at Charlie as she played on the slide with another little girl.

“Yeah, I think the therapy sessions are working. Obviously, it’s only been a few sessions, but she can already sleep through the night. I figured I should take my wins where I can get them. I went by my place for the first time today with Jordan.”

She leaned forward and reached out to take my hand in hers.

“How was it? Outside of the obvious, because I’m sure it wasn’t easy.”

I nodded and released a breath. “Yeah, we got the place as clean as we could with the time we had. I think I’m going to send someone in to finish. It might be time to look for a new place. I would love to say it’s for the good of Charlie, in part it is, but it’s also for me. I’m ready for more and that place kept me complacent. It was cool for the time I had it. But now, with new things happening in my life, more space is necessary.”

Willow smiled, then turned her back to me so she could lie back against my chest.

“You might be right, but I hate the way you had to come to that conclusion.”

She tilted her head to the side to look up into my eyes, then placed a hand on my cheek. I leaned in and placed a delicate kiss against her lips. No hurry, I just wanted to feel her lips against mine.

“Same.”

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