Page 104 of Perfect Composition
“In the kitchen,” I yell back.
“Where’s that? I think I’m lost,” comes at me faintly.
Placing the chef’s knife down on the counter, I go in search of my daughter, laughing.
I pass by the panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean just past my pool deck. I ignore security patrolling the grounds and call out, “Austyn?”
Then I find her sitting at the base of the stairs leading to the upper levels. “Mama always taught me it was safer to wait in place.”
I chuckle, holding out a hand. “I was just about to make breakfast. Want some?”
“Do you know how to cook?” she asks warily as she clasps my hand.
“It was cook or starve,” I admit as I tug her to her feet.
She’s silent as she follows me to the kitchen. I immediately resume chopping peppers for the egg white omelet I was preparing. “Social media believes what they want to regardless of facts, don’t they?” Austyn asks.
“In general or about me?”
“Both.”
I put the knife down and contemplate her question. It’s a tricky one. “I’m not perfect, Austyn,” I warn her.
She snorts as she gestures to the coffeepot. “Help yourself. Cups in the cabinet above you,” I inform her, lifting my own mug for a sip.
“Let’s be real. I’m around the same age you were when you and Mama had me. I know just how ‘not perfect’ two people can be.”
I choke as the warm liquid slides down my throat. “Christ. I don’t want to think about you doing things like that!” I shout.
My daughter has the gall to laugh at me as she lifts her mug aloft. “Beckett, please. Mama already had these discussions with me when I was younger. Besides, she at least wasn’t hypocritical.”
I sputter. “It’s not hypocritical. It’s…”
Austyn takes a sip of her drink. “Hmm?”
“It’s being a parent,” I thunder.
She patronizingly pats my arm. “You’re new at this. I get it. You’ll get used to it. But please, try not to have a coronary over how much skin I’ll be showing in my dress for the Grammys.”
I open and close my mouth like a fish. “How did Paige do this alone for all these years? She deserves an award.”
“At the very least,” Austyn agrees as she hitches herself onto a stool in front of me. “Then again, when she was really frustrated, she would ship me off to Uncle Jesse and Uncle E.”
I move the skillet onto the burner and begin sautéing the vegetables. “Cheese?” I ask, hating I don’t even know if my daughter likes her eggs with cheese.
“Does a cow go moo?” she retorts.
“Thank God you’re not going to worry that a few bites of cheese is going to ruin the lines of your dress,” I mutter.
“Beckett, I say this in all sincerity, you’ve been dating the wrong women.”
I couldn’t agree more.But a little glow starts. “Paid much attention to my career?”
She shrugs. “Your music was okay. I had a total girl crush on Carly.”
“Tell her that when you meet her later. She’ll love it.”
“Don’t think I won’t. Your music was good. Solid.”
