Page 33 of Numbers Boy
She rolls her eyes, her focus firmly on Stacy, but I see a small twitch of her lips.
“Do you girls want to go look at the dresses?” I offer, seizing the chance to finally break the ice for good. “I’m kinda bored of puzzles.”
“Really?” Lilly asks with wide eyes.
“Could we maybe do makeup, too?” Isabella adds with a tentatively hopeful look.
“We can for sure look at it, but I should text your mom before I go putting anything on your faces.”
Not waiting for me, the girls scamper off toward my bathroom. Stacy follows eagerly, clearly sensing their excitement, and I bring up the rear at a more sedate pace. A smile tugs at my lips when I hear them talking and giggling with each other as I pull out my phone and send a quick message to Amy. I figure I can stall for time by doing hair first since she probably won’t be able to check her phone right away at work.
Me: Hey Amy, it’s Steve. Noah gave me your number just in case.
I’m surprised when she texts back only a few minutes later, just as I’m setting out all of my hair tools and accessories.
Amy: Hi Steve, you caught me right at my break time! How’s it going with my (hopefully) little cherubs? *angel emoji* *fingers crossed emoji*
Oh, I’m going to like this woman, I can already tell.
Me: Things are good! The girls are awesome *heart emoji*
Me: I just wanted to check in with you since they asked if we could do hair and makeup.
Amy: That sounds super fun!
Amy: But can you try to keep things light and positive? I get the feeling Isabella’s been hearing comments at school. Yay, middle school! *eye roll emoji*
Me: For sure!
Amy: Thanks! Let me know how it goes
Me: Will do. I hope work goes smooth
I lock my phone screen and set it down on the vanity before turning to the girls.
“Good news, girlies! Your mom is on board, so let’s get this party started!” I grab my phone again to pull up Spotify and search “Let’s Get It Started.” At the last second, the Kidz Bop version catches my eye, and I click on that instead of the original. Just like before, I’m not sure exactly what is considered inappropriate. Plus, sometimes the covers are so bad they’re funny. Then I grab a brush and wave it around. “Who’s up first?”
Both girls immediately raise their hands, making me laugh.
“Alright, ladies, let’s do this.” I position Lilly directly in front of the sink, facing the mirror, and steer Isabella behind her. I stand behind both of them. “Hair train. We can always switch in a little bit.”
As we get started, the girls are soon talking about school and friends and other random things. For the most part, I just listen, trying to get a feel for what’s important to them. At one point, I look up and see a perfect set of french braids in Lilly’s hair. It’s adorable on her and highlights her sweet, open face.
“That’s awesome, Isabella. Do you girls do each other’s hair often?”
Isabella just shrugs, careful not to disrupt where I’m curling some of her own locks. “Usually, we play with Uncle Blake’s hair. He’s got longer hair than either of us, so it’s great to try different things on.”
“That’s awesome,” I reply, and I mean it. “Blake is really important to you and your uncle, huh?”
That gets them both going again, telling me all about Blake and sharing stories of him and Noah. My heart warms at how they talk about the two guys with so much love I can practically see it radiating off them. The closeness they describe betweenNoah and Blake reminds me a bit of me and Stu, and it gives me hope that Noah won’t be put off by our twinsies moments. With everything I learned about Blake, I really hope to meet him soon. I think, other than all the girls, he’ll be the biggest influence on whether Noah and I work out.
Just as Lilly is recounting the time that Noah and Blake dressed up as peanut butter and jelly for Halloween one year, the Kidz Bop version of Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated” comes on over the speaker. In the mirror, I catch Isabella rolling her eyes, a grin on her face.
“Problem with my DJ skills?” I joke, winking at her in our reflection.
“Just because we’re kids doesn’t mean we have to listen to this kind of music. We’ve both heard the real versions and worse songs than whatever this is.”
I just shrug and move on to pinning up the curls I’ve made, not wanting to make a big deal of it. “Well, when you can have fun without the swearing and all that other stuff, you can have fun with anything. You girls are fun enough on your own.”
