Page 49 of Mom-Com
“Gotta go, love you.” I hung up and made a mental note to tell Lily-Marie about my father and ensure her secrecy. A big, mushy grin took hold of my face at the thought of introducing Lily-Marie to my father. They’d get along great, I just knew it.
Gelling my hair back and washing my hands completed my getting ready. It was time to get back to Lily-Marie and talk to our kiddos. I ran out the door and barely made it inside before she was there in front of me, beautiful in one of her dresses that drove me crazy.
“How did you get ready before me, huh?” I didn’t know how she did it. She looked freshly showered and ready for her day, but I thought women always took longer to get ready.
She scoffed at me. “I’m a single mom. I know all the tricks.” She ticked them off on her fingers. “Dry shampoo, minimal makeup, dresses that don’t require ironing, strong coffee. Simple really.”
I shook my head slowly, pulling her into me and wrapping my arms around her. “You’re amazing.”
The front door flew open and hit the opposite wall with a bang. We jumped apart and saw Milly standing there with a big grin on her face. Clark was slowly coming up the walkway behind her and I saw my ex’s car pulling up to the curb.
“Mommy! Guess what? My tooph is wiggly!” Milly ran right up to us and pushed a front lower tooth with her tongue, and sure enough, the sucker was just barely moving.
Lily-Marie got down on her knees and held Milly’s face, her jaw dropped and eyes sparkling.
“Oh my gosh, my big girl! I’m so proud of you.” She gave her a hug and then Milly was dancing over to me, her tongue pushing on her tooth, so proud of her achievement.
“Ewww, that’s so gross. I can’t look!” I feigned disgust and she let out a peal of giggles.
“Come here and look at my tooph, mister!” She chased me and I ran in circles in the living room, finally letting her catch me and wiggle her tooth right in my face.
“Hey, buddy. Stay down here, would ya?” Lily-Marie stopped Clark from going upstairs to his room.
Stein hovered at the door, wondering if it was okay to just come into Lily-Marie’s house.
“Come on in, Stein. Your father and I would like to chat with you three.” Lily-Marie pulled him into the house with an arm around his shoulders, closing the door and leaving the five of us to talk.
Taking the lead, I waved us over to the couches and we all sat, Stein and Clark looking at each other with wide-eyed faces then flickering a glance at us. Milly just sat there and wiggled her tooth.
“Okay, you all know Lily-Marie and I went on a date last night. I’m sure you’re wondering how it went”—Clark groaned and I managed to contain my chuckle—“while also not really wanting to know the details. So, I’m happy to say that we’re now officially dating.”
I held Lily-Marie’s hand and the kids’ gazes darted around, not sure how to react or who to take their cues from.
Stein finally stood up and gave me a hug. “Nicely done, Dad. I’m glad you’re done with your experiment and dating Lily-Marie.” Then he gave Lily-Marie a hug and Clark jumped up to do the same, opting to give me a fist pump instead of a hug.
The boys started talking amongst themselves and then went out back to play. Milly sat on the couch opposite us and kept wiggling her tooth, no expression whatsoever.
“Do you have any questions for Mommy?” Lily-Marie asked her.
She hopped off the couch and wrinkled her forehead. “Do I get another daddy?”
I gulped, the only reaction I allowed, even though I wanted to cry like a baby and wrap her in a hug.
“Yes, love, you get two daddies for now,” Lily-Marie spoke softly.
“Forever.” I nodded at Milly and she finally unfroze and rushed over to me. I gave her a big hug, memorizing the feel of her little arms around my neck. Lily-Marie might need some more time to get used to the idea of forever, but Milly and I were already there.
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The Reality of Love, Mom-Com Style - episode #10
All good things must come to an end, dear reader. Fortunately, that doesn’t mean an end for our girl, Betty. Just an end to her quest to find Mr. Perfect. He’s been found, they’ve swept each other off their feet, and they are currently living happily ever after.
It’s a tale as old as time: boy meets girl, girl tries ridiculously old-fashioned things to find a husband, and boy blocks her attempts and swoops in to steal her heart.
We have also learned that the modern Prince Charming is, in fact, quite muscular, handsome, and dashing, but can also be found in the nerdy professor living next door.
Some may say that the list of ways to find a husband worked like a charm. Others might say love was found in spite of the list of ways. Either way, if you drop your handkerchief and a man picks it up, you may want to get his number.
