Page 43 of That Time in Venice
In addition to their evening jaunts to the movies, dinner, or some other engagement, she and Reed squeezed in more lunches. With more flexibility in her schedule, they tended to meet at the deli on the first floor of the Continuum building, or she’d swing by the house to dine on the delicious paninis Mrs. Miller made when he workedfromhome.
Then, every night after he’d put Brielle to bed, Reed called and they talked for at least an hour, about nothing and everything—catching up on the past and getting gossip on old acquaintances from theircollegedays.
“I can’t wait to taste your spaghetti. I hope the food lives up to the hype from your biggestcheerleader.”
Reed laughed. “She’s definitely my biggest cheerleader. Did I ever tell you about my struggles withherhair?”
“No.” Anika sat on one of thestools.
After a quick taste of the sauce, Reed sprinkled in a pinch of salt and resumed stirring. “I didn’t have a clue how to style her hair. My cousin’s wife was a lifesaver. She took me to Target and showed me all these products for women with curly hair.” He set down the spoon and leaned his back against the counter, folding his arms across his chest. “Did you know there’s a line called MixedChicks?”
Anika laughed. “Yes,Idid.”
“I was overwhelmed by the choices, but Shawna, my cousin’s wife, she was really patient with me. I pulled in Mrs. Miller, too. We tried a few products, and Shawna showed us how to detangle and style Brielle’s hair.” He laughed to himself. “One day I was doing her hair, and her braid was crooked. I wanted to give up. You know what my daughter saidtome?”
“What?”
“Do you remember what you said, Brielle?” The love in his eyes was evident when he looked at hisdaughter.
“You can do it, Daddy. I believe in you.” Briellegrinned.
“That’s right. You made sure Daddy didn’t give up.” As he became emotional, Reed’s jaw tightened. “So I started over, and Ididit.”
Anika smiled at him and then looked at Brielle’s hair. “Now you’re anoldpro.”
“If you think that’s good, wait until you see mycornrows.”
“You docornrows?”
“Don’t sound so surprised. I’m not half bad.” He drained the spaghetti into a colander. “We’re eating on the deck tonight. If you don’t mind, could you grab the plates from the cabinet and help me take the dishes out to thetable?”
“I don’t mindatall.”
They spread out the food family style on the outdoor table—meatballs in a rich burgundy sauce, spaghetti bathed in olive oil and brightened with lemon zest, garlic bread, and steamedasparagus.
Each one of them wolfed the food down and cleaned their plates, including Brielle, who ate a hearty amount for someone so small. Her animated chatter and giggles filled the evening air as the sun went down. Watching Brielle and Reed together, it was obvious how much they adored each other. He patiently answered all her questions and listened attentively as she described her time at the park and a visit to the children’s museum in painstakingdetail.
When dinner was over, Anika sat on the den floor with Brielle and helped her build a castle with LEGOs, while Reed filled thedishwasher.
“Do you want me to put this here?” Anika asked, holding up one of the pieces. Brielle was very particular about what went where, so she was careful to ask each andeverytime.
“Um, no.” A frown lodged between the little girl’s eyes as she surveyed their work so far. “I’m going to put this one here, and you put that one over there,gotit?”
Anika hid her smile so as not to undermine the solemn nature of their task. “Gotit.”
Reed came into the room holding the cordlessphone.
“Brielle, Grandma’s on thephone.”
His daughter’s face went from contemplative tosullen.
“What’s the matter?” Reedasked.
Instead of answering, Brielle jumped up and launched onto Anika’s lap, burying her face in her chest. Anika squeezed her tight, lightly brushing her hair with her hand, and stared up at Reed inbewilderment.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, and disappeared with thephone.
“Hey, sweetie, what’s wrong?” Gentle prodding did nothing to nudge an answer from thelittlegirl.
