Page 16 of Promised Summer
“Baby, we have to go inside. It’s almost time for dinner, and Nana said she’s making your favorite mac and cheese tonight,” I told her, but even her favorite food couldn’t tempt her.
My gaze flicked helplessly from her to the dog. I was ecstatic that she was finally throwing a tantrum and acting like a kid her age should, but this was the first time I’d experienced it without Kassy’s help, so I was left perplexed.
Lily seemed to be on Karla’s side too and was now flopped on the seat, her head resting on Karla’s lap as if she didn’t want to part either.
Jones laughed when he saw this.
“This isn’t funny,” I grumbled, which only made his lips curve up with more amusement.
“Karla, how about you go with your daddy so you can have some yummy food? Then tomorrow after work, your daddy can bring you over to my place to play with Lily again?”
Jones spoke patiently while coaxing my girl. Karla refused to look our way. One hand gripped her plushie, while the other was slowly stroking Lily’s head.
Jones wasn’t fazed at being ignored. He just smiled and tried again. “If you’re a good girl tonight, and if yourdaddy allows it, you can even stay at my place tomorrow. Then you can play with Lily all night. How does that sound, baby?”
My breath hitched at the term of endearment, even though I knew he wasn’t using it on me. I forced myself to focus on Karla instead of the steady uptick of my pulse.
Jones’ offer seemed to have gotten through to her, as she was finally willing to look our way. She considered it for a second, then finally nodded.
A breath of relief escaped me as she let me pick her up and carry her out of the truck. Lily lifted her head at the action, but probably seeing that we were all still standing there with the cab door open, she rested her head on her forelegs.
“Sorry for offering that without asking your permission first,” Jones said.
I shook my head. “If it weren’t for your offer, we would still be dealing with a wriggling worm on our hands, wouldn’t we?” I asked Karla the last question and tickled her belly. She giggled and acted like she’d never even had a tantrum in the first place. Even as angelic as my girl was, I had to admit the quick shift in attitude kids had was kinda scary…
Turning back to Jones, I added, “I’m sorry for intruding on you tomorrow. If you have other plans or would prefer a quiet night by yourself, I can figure something elseout.”
Karla protested by trying to grab my short hair, but came out unsuccessfully. I disarmed her hands from my head and pinched her chubby cheeks. “Baby, were you trying to hurt Daddy just now?”
I laughed when she refused to meet my eyes and tucked her head under my chin to hide.
Jones watched us and smiled. He also reached out and gently pinched Karla’s cheeks. But when he did it, she giggled happily.
“You and little Karla are definitelynotintruding. I would love for you two to come spend the night…I mean, if that’s okay with you, Daddy.”
I almost choked on my spit at the last word. Karla had called me that since she learned how to speak—Kassy and I had taught her mostly as a joke—but hearingDaddyfrom Jones was more than I could handle, apparently.
Jones sputtered and added, “I mean not Daddy in aDaddyway, but because you’re Karla’s Daddy, you know? Daddy in the normal way…and I’m going to shut up now.”
At that moment, Karla thought it was the perfect time to chime in and call, “Daddy, Daddy!” then break out in fits of giggles.
Oh, my sweet baby girl, who was still ignorant of the lewd meanings people gave to perfectly normal words. I hoped she stayed that way for a long, long time.
“We’d love to spend the night. Thank you,” I smiled and finallymanaged to say.
Jones smiled back, his pearly white teeth sparkling almost as bright as the evening sun. “I’ll text you when I get home tomorrow. Is your number the same?”
I nodded, and another wave of guilt rode through me. If I had gotten a new number, I could have said I’d lost his, and that was why I never reached out to him again. Instead, I couldn’t even hide behind a poorly crafted excuse.
Jones’ hand froze from where he was reaching to get his phone from his pocket, and I wondered if he was also wondering why I couldn’t have sent him a simple text when my number had stayed the same this past decade.
I sometimes asked myself the same question…
“Great!” he said a little too forcefully and with a tight smile on his face. “I’ll see you and Karla tomorrow, then.” He gently tugged on one of Karla’s braids, making infectious giggles fill the air again.
“Let’s wave goodbye to Jones and Lily,” I told Karla, and she used her entire body to wave excitedly at them both.
Lily stood on the seat, tongue lolling and tail wagging in goodbye as Jones closed the back cab door. He got into the driver’s seat and rolled down the window to shoot us another wave before pulling out.
