Page 66 of Dare You to See Me
“I have a lot of work to do this morning. I won’t be able to join you for coffee. Thanks, though.”
“Oh it’s okay. We can still ride to school together and I’ll just bring you back home.” This guy is not getting the hint.
“Um…I…” Dahlia comes racing up just at that moment.
“Mommy. Who’s here? Oh. Hey Mason.” Her voice falls as does her face when she sees the two of them.
Same sister.
“Hey Dahlia. We came to go to school with you today.” Mason looks about as excited as his dad and I’m sure Dahlia looks about as thrilled as I do.
“Why don’t you go get your shoes and backpack and we can get going,” Wesley orders her and it has me turning up my nose.
“We are not quite ready, yet. Why don’t we just see you at school.” I try to brush him off.
This guy must’ve been bad at games when he was a kid because he’s still not cluing in on what I’m trying to politely and indirectly say.
“It’s okay. We’ll just wait for you.”
I stand there stunned for a moment, trying to figure out some way of getting out of this.
“Car seat?” I blurt out. “It will be too much of a hassle to switch car seats. We can just drive in our car and follow you there.” I give myself a mental pat on the back having thought of that one on my toes.
But that shoulder dust quickly blows away when he says, “Well how about we walk? Mason has his scooter in the back of the truck, and it’s only a few blocks. If we leave now we can be there with plenty of time. How does that sound, Mase? Want to ride your scooter?”
“Yay!” He shouts, jumping up and down.
“I want to ride my scooter, Mommy.” I look over my shoulder at Dahlia who stands there wiggling her sock covered toes. “Please.”
I look outside and see the sun shining and the air crisp but just right as the seasons prepare to change. If there is going to be any walking to school, this couldn’t be a more perfect morning for it. As badly as I want to say no to Wesley, I just can’t say no to my daughter.
With a sigh, I concede. “Okay. We’ll ride scooters. Go grab your shoes, little dove.”
The bright smile on Dahlia’s face is worth the misery I’ll be in for the next thirty minutes.I turn back to Wesley who still stands there looking weasley, and I shiver at the thought.
“Can you give us just a few minutes? I’ll grab her scooter and helmet and we’ll be right back.” Wesley waves at me as he walks back to his truck to presumably get Mason’s scooter.
I close the door and tap Dahlia on the bum. “Okay, little miss scooter tooter. Go get your shoes and I’ll get all the rest of your things.”
There is no argument or discussion to be had. She nods her head enthusiastically and hops off. I make a mad dash, tucking her lunch kit into her backpack, grabbing her scooter and helmet from the garage, and shoving my phone in my back pocket.
I freeze, thinking of a possible way out of the awkward walk back with only two scooters as a buffer between Wesley and I.
Me: Morning! So I have a situation. Wesley and Mason showed up at my door this morning –I’ll explain later– and it seems we are now walking to school. The last thing I want is to spend any alone time with this guy but I’m kind of stuck. What should I do?
I hit send then chew on my lip, waiting for him to respond. I don’t know how long it’s going to take since I’m sure he is already greeting the early students, so I tuck my phone back into my jeans after another minute passes without a response.
“I’m ready,” Dahlia sings as she comes running back into the living room.
“Okay. I guess we should go.”
With the scooter and helmet in hand, she opens the door and stops on the porch. I clip on her helmet and set the scooter down on the walkway, then go back to lock my door.
“Let’s go ladies. Your escorts await.” Wesley looks happy and jolly while I stand here full of dread.
That was the longest twenty minute walk of my entire life.
I hang Dahlia’s helmet on the handlebar of her scooter and set both in the bike rack. I finger through her tangled hair and take her hand.
