Page 84 of Surprise! I'm Engaged To My Boss
On one of these occasions, I helped her in the kitchen. Or at least I tried. I was kicked out by her after breaking two glasses and a plate, and all she had asked of me was to wash the dishes.
After that, I would go home and, before going to bed, I would spend a few hours talking to Camila on video calls. Some of them, by the way, were really hot. That woman knew how to drive a man crazy.
However, despite all this, there was no conversation about our future, or even our present. We already had the social label of engaged, but between us, there was still no word that described what kind of relationship we really had with each other.
Which was safe ground for me, since relationships have never been my strong suit. It was comfortable that way for me, just as it seemed to be for Camila.
Finally, we arrived to pick up Alice at Margaret and Caleb's house. Since I was only allowed three hours, I decided not to waste any time, and we chose to goto a large and beautiful square very close to the Harris condominium.
It wasn't anything that could be considered a big trip, but I didn't want to waste time on car trips. Besides, just being out of sight of my daughter's two grandparents was already a huge relief.
“Woof! Woof!” On my lap, Alice vibrated, looking at the floor, where Apollo continued walking beside me.
“See?” Camila commented. She was also walking next to me, but opposite to where Apolo was. “I told you she’d like him.”
“Woof-woof!” Alice repeated, then let out a delightful laugh.
The four of us followed on foot on the way to the square.
“Yes, it’s awoof!” I commented. “His name is Apollo. Can you say that? A-po-llo.”
“Woof-woof!” she repeated, in a tone of someone correcting me.
“Okay, let's call himWoof-woof. After all, before you learn to say his name, you need to say 'daddy'.Daddy! Dad-dy!”
“Woof!” She kept looking at Apollo, visibly not paying any attention to my words.
Beside me, Camila laughed. “All in good time, Michael. All in good time.”
She was right. Because at that moment, all that mattered was enjoying every second of that day.
And maybe Camila would agree to sleep at my place, and that way, she and I would enjoy the night too.
“What are you going to do after we leave here?” I asked, making my intentions clear in my tone of voice.
She didn't seem to notice. And if she did, she hid it very well by giving me the answer without beating around the bush, “It's girls' night out. My best friend Evelyn and I are going to the mall to do some shopping and then we're going to the movies.”
Damn. I got dumped for a best friend.
I couldn't insist because, at that moment, we reached the square and Alice stretched her little arms forward when she saw the playground. In the end, I had chosen the right program.
“I think she wants to go on the swing,” Camila warned, pointing to the toy. “I need to call my grandmother, I said I would do it as soon as we got there because she was worried that the Harrises wouldn’t let you go out with Alice.”
They wouldn't be crazy enough to do that. But I thought it was sweet that Jenna was so concerned. Onmy next outing with Alice, I hoped to take her to meet Camila's grandmother. I thought they would really like each other.
Camila stopped to make the call, and I continued taking Alice to one of the swings. Apollo followed right behind us, also looking excited about the place.
I sat Alice in the chair that was already designed for small children. Apollo took advantage of the moment to come closer and start sniffing her, recognizing her. My daughter laughed, running her little hand over his head.
She then said something that made no linguistic sense, but which I somehow managed to understand as a request for me to push her, which I did. Her little squeals of joy every time the swing moved brought me a feeling of happiness that was completely indescribable.
We stayed like that for a while, I realized that several minutes had passed and Camila hadn't returned. I was curious enough to turn my head back, looking at where she had stopped to make a phone call, and I was surprised to see that she was actually using her cell phone, but to take pictures of me with Alice.
She smiled, looking a little embarrassed at being caught red-handed, and then came closer, saying, “I thought you two looked so beautiful together that I decided I should record the moment. I think Alice will enjoy seeing these photos to remember these moments in the future.”
“She won't even remember this day.”
“That’s why the photos will be even more special. I love looking at old photographs from my childhood, the ones where I’m with my parents. I don’t remember much of it, so I like to imagine what was happening there, what we were doing, or what they said or thought about those situations. Well, you’ll probably be with Alice long enough to tell her everything. And that’s how those memories will be built.”
