Page 51 of After the Red Carpet
“She’s so fair. Look, she has your lips,” Ella observed.
“And big, beautiful eyes like you.”
“But they’re blue like yours.”
He kissed Ella’s forehead, looked deeply into her eyes, and said, “This is the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen, the two of you together. Thank you for bringing her into the world. You are spectacular, and I love you with all my heart.”
Ella sniffled, looked down at their little bundle, and said, “We love you so much. Welcome to the world, Betty Sinclair Forrester.”
Finn peeked into the bathroom. “Hey, girls.”
“Daddy!” Betty exclaimed, jumping up and down, her blonde curls bouncing.
“Hey, you,” he said, picking her up. “You’re getting so big. Are you sure you’re only two?” Betty giggled and he asked, “Is it bath time, sweet girl?”
“Daddy, you give me my bath and read my stories.”
“Sure,” he said, setting her down.
Ella turned the tub off, tested the water one last time, and rose.
“Hi, baby,” Finn said, giving her a kiss. “How was your day?”
“It was great. We did a big finger-painting project. Betty really takes after you—planning things out, taking her time, trying to get her art just right. When she’s thinking, her eyes get intense like yours too. She’s so careful and methodical about selecting each color, and she likes to keep them separate. We may have a budding artist on our hands. Or a mathematician. You’ll see her new artwork on the refrigerator.”
“I can’t wait to see them.”
“We had fun, though we made quite a mess.”
“Mommy cleaned up,” Betty said.
“That’s right,” Ella replied, pulling off Betty’s clothes. “Now it’s time to clean you up.”
“My turn,” Finn insisted. He grazed Ella’s arm. “I got this, go relax.”
“Joyce roasted a chicken. Meet me at the table when you’re done.” She bent down and kissed Betty. “Be a good girl for Daddy and have sweet dreams. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Nearly an hour later, Finn found Ella in the dining room. She began fixing them each a plate of food. “Is she down?”
“Yeah,” he replied, dropping a kiss in her hair before taking his seat. “I let her pick three books as always, but then she begged me for one more.”
“Finn, if you do that, then . . .”
“I didn’t. We just snuggled for a little while. She really loves the touch-and-feel animals book, which is a nice departure from the never-ending princess stories.”
“She’s so excited for our trip to the zoo tomorrow, and I promised we’d go to the pancake place first. It was funny, though—when I told her we were going to the zoo, she got confused,” Ella said. “She thought that meant we were flying to Georgia. I tried to explain that we were just in Georgia for a couple of months while you were making a movie and that there are lots of different zoos in the world, but it went over her head. She had so much fun that day at the Atlanta Zoo.”
Finn smiled. “All she wanted was the zebra, and ice cream of course.”
“Yeah, I expect we’ll be spending most of tomorrow looking at the zebras again. Maybe someday we can take her on a safari in Africa so she can see what they’re like out in the wild, where they belong. I want her to know about nature and what the world really looks like.”
“Speaking of which, she was telling me about all her body parts again during her bath,” Finn said. “Apparently,you taught her a new word. After she found her legs, feet, and toes, she pointed and said, ‘gina.’ Then she said, ‘My gina is mine,’ which I guess was her way of saying it’s private.”
“I think it’s important for her to understand her body. Using make-believe words never made sense to me, so I taught her the real word, but she’s still learning how to say it, which is kind of cute. I didn’t want to tell her not to touch it or shame her for exploring her own body, but I told her it’s private and not for other people to touch. It’s just hers.”
“That’s smart. You’re such a good mother. Gotta admit, it caught me off guard and I think I stammered a bit. Given the fact that you’re the most brilliant and provocative pleasure theorist of our time, I shouldn’t have been surprised.” She blushed and he continued, “Speaking of which, have you made any progress on your book?”
Ella shook her head. “Barely. Betty takes up most of my time these days. She’s at a demanding age. I still manage to attend all of my philosophy club meetings, but I can only find little bits of time to write. Can’t remember the last time I could really clear my head and get immersed in it.”
