Page 47 of The Sweet Part
“Sophie! Don’t say sucks. It’s rude.”
She lets out a big sigh. “I guess I wasted my birthday wish.”
Her birthday wish was for me and Mason to get married?!
“Watch your show. I’m going to make popcorn.”
“Okay!”
I go in the kitchen and get a bag of microwave popcorn and put it in the microwave. While that cooks, I text Mason.
Me:Sophie thinks we’re getting married. I’m not sure this is going to work between us, even casually.
Mason:Can’t you just say we’re friends?
I don’t reply because I’m not sure what to say. I turn the ringer off on my phone in case he calls. I rub my temple. I do have feelings for him. I’m on a tightrope between potential love in my life and protecting my daughter. What an impossible choice.
The microwave dings. I put the popcorn in a bowl and grab some napkins, heading back to the family room.
Sophie’s on the sofa with shreds of wrapping paper around her. “Look what Mason got me!”
She holds up a black T-shirt that saysHot Findswith flames around the letters. Then she shows me a pink Cadillac toy car that looks just like the one she admired and drove.
I steel myself against all the mushy feelings welling up for a man who somehow managed to find a pink Cadillac in the four hours between when I ran out of his house and getting ready for a party. All for my little girl. He cares about her.
But would he be a part of our life long term? I’m a package deal I’m not sure he’s ready for, and it’s not fair of me to ask that of him.
10
I lasted a week without Mason. Days of trying not to think about him. Nights of vivid, sexy dreams. I only caved because it’s raining inside my house. On a Saturday, of course, when plumbers cost extra. I called a plumber, but it’ll take time for him to finish with his other emergency job before he can get here. My parents are away with my uncles and aunts for a winter break in Bermuda. Mason will know what to do. He’ll be here any minute.
Here’s how the disaster happened—while I was showering in our apartment on the top floor, Sophie took a shower in one of the guest bathrooms without my permission to “try it out.” The shower liner was outside the tub, which was basically like showering in the open. Water pooled on the floor and under the baseboard to the ceiling downstairs. It was alongshower.
Even if she did leave the liner out, it seems it should’ve made a puddle on the floor not flooded the ceiling. I’ve got towels down on the foyer floor, and the ceiling has a large bubble, which will likely pop, leaving an unsightly hole.
I stare at the bubble, willing it to stop dripping. Sophie’s lying on her stomach on the living room rug with her connect-the-dots book. We had a long talk about how shower curtains work. Her reply, “Okay. Make sure to tell your guests that, or we’ll have the same problem all over again.” Like everyone is confused about how shower curtains work. Ha.
I hear a truck and peek out the window. Mason. I smooth my hair, my heart kicking harder. I don’t know why I’m excited. We’re not seeing each other anymore. And there’s nothing sexy about a plumbing emergency.
I open the door before he can ring the bell. “Thanks so much for coming. I didn’t know who else to call.” I wince because it sounds like I didn’t want to call him when it’s perfectly fine to be acquaintances who see each other sometimes. “I called the plumber, but he couldn’t get here quick on a Saturday because of another job.”
He steps inside and looks at the ceiling, all business. “What happened?”
“Hi, Mason!” Sophie says cheerfully. “I’m connecting the dots, and then I’m going to color the picture.”
“Cool,” he says. He turns to me in question.
I tell him the shower story and gesture for him to follow me upstairs. When we get to the bathroom, he looks at the shower and tub and crouches down to look at the floor.
He stands. “You’ll need to add a corner lip over here because it’s too easy for water to spill out on this side. They should have what you need at the hardware store.” Does he think I know what that is and how to install it?
“Uh, do you think you could find a corner lip and install it? I’ll reimburse you for the cost.”
He shoves his hands in his jeans’ pockets. “Sure.”
“Good because I don’t even know what a corner lip is.” I smile. He doesn’t smile back.
Guess he’s not cool with being acquaintances. Maybe he’s mad I called him?
