Page 17 of Daddy Issues

The squeal that pierces my ears in the closed space of my small car jumbles my brain and could shatter glass.

“Mila!” I laugh.

“Yes! I’ve never had one before! Tia got one with her mom and big sister and I’ve always wanted to see what it was like. It probably tickles, huh?”

Shit. My heart sinks. I probably should have checked with Graham first to see if it was okay. I’m not about to disappoint her now though, so I’ll have to apologize and ask for forgiveness after.

“It may tickle because it’s your first time, but you get used to the sensation after a minute.”

Mila takes over the music, playing her current favorites—Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift, and Selena Gomez. We jam out as we take the quick trip to the next town over. I pull into a parking spot at Glamorize Nails, a place I’ve been going to since I was a teenager, and we both hop out.

“Hey, we’re a little early for our appointments, want to grab a snack at that espresso stand?” I ask, pointing to the tiny walk-up shack.

Her face wrinkles up in disgust, and while I agree with her, I’m confused. What ten-year-old girl doesn’t want to hit up a coffee stand?

“What gives? You don’t like it? They have smoothies.”

“Isn’t there some rule about you going to other coffee shops? You’re a Haven, Hailey! Plus, Bean Haven is the best, and nowhere else can even compete.”

A laugh bursts from my lungs, my head dropping back just as the Washington skies decide to open up, rain pouring down on us.

“Oh my gosh, Mila!” I yell as I grab her hand, pulling her in the direction of the nail salon. “Run!”

Mila squeals next to me as we bolt to the safety of the awning that extends from the front of the building.

“Oh my gosh, it hasn’t rained this hard in so long!” Mila says, and she’s right. Our part of Washington has more of a constant cloud cover with random days of drizzle, it hardly ever downpours like this. But summer is nearly upon us, and with it comes random thunderstorms and heavy rain. I won’t complain. I thrive in this weather.

“I guess we’ll just head inside then and maybe they’ll be ready for us. You ready for your very first pedicure?”

“Yes! Yes! What color are you going to do?”

“I’m thinking a vibrant red, what about you?”

“I’m going to look at all the options, but I love blue right now. Maybe they have a light blue, do you know? Oh! Can they do like, artwork on it? Like a flower? Tia had a flower, and it was so cute.”

“They can definitely do flowers. C’mon, let’s head inside and get settled so you can make some decisions.”

Mila and I spend the next hour getting pampered. Her giggles were infectious to everyone who was there, bringing joy to everyone’s day. She’s a breath of fresh air, and so much fun to spend time with. She chose light blue polish with white flowers on the big toe that she is so excited to show off. I love that I could give her this experience and be a part of it. There’s still that little voice in my head reminding me to apologize to Graham and hoping that I didn’t cross any boundaries without checking with him first. But he’s so easygoing, I honestly can’t imagine him being upset that I took his daughter for a pedicure.

After we get home, Mila works on her homework at the bar while I pull out ingredients to make breakfast for dinner. Since I was raised on pastries from Bean Haven, breakfast food really isn’t my go-to meal. But on the rare occasion breakfast is on the menu, pancakes are always a good idea.

“You’re plugging away at that math homework, girlfriend. I’m proud of you,” I tell Mila as I whip the batter up with a wooden spoon. I’ve been working with her the last few weeks after seeing how frustrated she was getting. Turns out she is much more of a word person and really dislikes numbers. She has so much perseverance though, and she’s determined to understand it and build on her foundations.

My phone chimes from the counter, so I set the spoon down to check the notification. My heart nearly bursts in my chest when I see Graham’s name flash across the screen.

Graham: Hey, Hails, gonna be late tonight. Don’t worry about dinner for me, I’ll figure something out. Not sure when I’ll be home.

Me: Long day! I’m sorry! Don’t worry about us. We’re having pancakes for dinner and a TV show marathon.

Me: Wish you were here though

Graham: Me too. Tell Mila I love her

Me: Of course.

“Your dad’s gonna be late tonight, so you know what that means?”

“Just us girls?”

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