Page 31 of The One I Want
“Great!” Magnolia says, nearly bouncing off the counter. “My teacher is nice, and I made three new friends yesterday. And Uncle Ollie came and saw me at lunch.”
“That’s great. How about you Em? Settling in?”
She shrugs. “It’s okay.”
“Just okay?”
She doesn’t say anything for a second, and I don’t press her. Between the divorce, the move, a new school, and just being a preteen, I can’t imagine everything going on in that amazing brain of hers.
“In my old school, we had uniforms,” she says. “I never had to pick out what to wear.”
“That would have made my mornings easy,” I say. “I used to have to pick out an outfit the night before or I would have been late every day.”
“That’s my problem,” she says. “I don’t know what to wear. I’ve never had to make this kind of decision before.”
“Girl. I got you,” I say, pulling through my first bunny. Based on Magnolia’s smile that is brighter than every bulb in this vanity, I’m doing it right. “How about this? Go pick out three tops and three bottoms you think you might want to wear. As soon as I’m done here, I’ll come in and help you.”
I’ve learned that Emerson’s smiles are guarded. She doesn’t give them out freely. So when I see a small one shine through, I take it as the biggest win of the morning.
“Thanks, Betsy,” she says and walks back into her room.
“Okay Miss Mags,” I say. “Now close your eyes so I can put the finishing touches on it.”
She quickly puts her hands over her eyes as I pull through the last bunny and give her hair a quick spray. I might not dress children a lot, but I do know no proper girl is set for the day without accessories. Luckily, I find them quickly, grab two bows, and clip them in.
“All right…open!”
She uncovers her eyes, and I wish I had my camera with me. Her face is priceless. Is this why parents video every single thing their kids do?
“Do you like?” I ask, giving her one last pass with the hairspray.
She doesn’t say anything, instead just turning around and jumping into my arms in the biggest hug her six-year-old self can give.
“I love them,” she says.
Fuck. I think I’m going to cry.
“I’m so glad you do.”
I give her one more squeeze and set her down. She barely has her two feet on the ground before she goes running off across the hall.
“Daddy! Daddy! Look at my hair! Betsy gave me bunnies!”
I lean against the door as I watch Wes kneel to Magnolia, who does a little turn for him to show off her dress and hair.
He listens to every word coming out of her sweet mouth as she tells him about our getting ready process and how I surprised her with the bows. He makes all the correct facial expressions and reactions as she talks about the past twenty minutes as it’s the most important thing of her life. He then tells her how beautiful she looks and how she’s going to have an amazing day at school.
And, there go my ovaries.
Chapter13
Wes
There have beentimes this season when I wondered whether or not it was the right choice to retire. Every once in a while, I have those really good days where I start thinking I have another season in me. One game this season I scored three touchdowns and seriously thought about rolling back the retirement plans.
Then there are days like today, where everything hurts and I limp out of practice. These are the days that confirm I made the right decision. Not even an hour session with the trainer and a good ice bath could do the trick.
“Just a few more months,” I say to myself as I turn off the highway toward Rolling Hills. We have seven regular season games left, and unless we decide to implode, we are headed to the playoffs. If you listen to the talking heads, we’re the favorite to win the championship this year.
