Page 70 of Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming
He loves spoiling Courtney, but he does make sure she knows to be respectful. When she was six, she had a full-on spoiled brat phase that he had to nip in the bud. She saw her mother acting so entitled and began to imitate her behaviors. Patrick stopped buying her whatever she wanted, and she learned to appreciate what she already had. Now, when he buys her stuff, she knows to show appreciation.
“Thank you again for bringing me,” she says.
Patrick puts his arm around her and kisses her temple. “Anytime, baby girl.”
“Daddy?”
“Yep.”
“I overheard your talk with Mr. Trammell.”
“You did? How much did you hear?”
“A lot.”
“How did I not see you?”
“The restrooms are by the vending machines. I saw and heard you, but you two couldn’t see me.”
“Oh, okay. Well, sweetheart?—”
“It’s okay, Daddy. You don’t have to explain. It’s kind of like how mom kept wanting you to be with her, but Mr. Trammell and Aimee were an actual couple—so it’s a little different.”
Patrick smiles at his daughter’s assessment. He never believed in lying to Courtney. She once asked him if he and her mom were ever in love. Patrick answered her honestly and said no. This pissed Sheila off. She claims it was because she thought it would confuse Courtney, but all she did was say “okay,” and then asked for a cookie. Since then, he’s always sanitized the truth, but he’s never hidden it from her.
“Exactly. This doesn’t make you like his books less, does it?”
“No, if anything, I like them even more. Something about seeing him do something so silly for a woman made him seem … I don’t know. Human.”
“Yeah, our humanity is never more present than when we do something embarrassing.”
“By the way, you should propose to Aimee now.”
“What? No, I wanted to ask over a romantic dinner on the last night here. I figured you could hang out with Bridget and her kids. I already asked her.”
“No, Dad. Do it now! It’ll be so cute.”
“And it will be a nice addition for your show.”
“That, too.”
Patrick laughs. “I’m not prepared, sweetheart.”
“Don’t worry, I got you.”
Courtney gets up and heads to the nearest microphone. Patrick follows her.
“Pumpkin, this is not necessary.”
“Daddy, hush. I know what I’m doing.” Courtney grins.
She gets to the microphone and smiles. “Hi, Aimee.”
“Hi, Courtney!”
“Everyone, this is my dad, Patrick. Daddy, say hi to the people.”
Patrick gives a toothless, shy grin and waves.
