Page 48 of A Me and You Thing
Claire shoos us away to shower and change, saying she wants some time with the girls. When we’re done, she takes her leave.
Sawyer places the girls in their booster chairs, ready to feed them dinner. I linger in the foyer, not sure what to do. This is the time when we always part ways. I close myself in my room for my courteously insisted upon “alone time” while Sawyer handles dinner and bedtime. It’s not what I want, but I honor his wishes.
“Do you need any help?” I ask, practically begging to stay.Hint, hint.
“I’ve got it. Thanks, Breezy.”
I’m Breezy again. Thathasto mean something. He seems to have switched to my nickname without even realizing it.
“Okay, then. I think I’ll eat later.” Because serving up my plate and taking it upstairs just feels sad. I turn toward the stairs. I’m halfway up when I hear Sawyer’s voice.
“Breezy?”
I turn. “Yes.” I sound much too eager. I can’t mask it.
“Would you like to join us for dinner? I’ve been thinking... it might be good for the girls if we had family dinnertime. Healthier for them, you know? It will give them a glimpse of what a family should be. Mom, dad, and children. Would you mind? If you’d rather not, don’t worry about it. I don’t want to impose upon your time off.”
So polite and formal. So unlike the old Sawyer. Regardless, I have to remind myself to breathe.
“I think that’s a really good idea, I mean, really good for the girls—it doesn’t matter to us, of course. Uh, actually, I’d be happy to join you for dinner. I don’t mind at all. Really. It’s not inconvenient... or anything.” Ouch. Since when am I a bumbling idiot? Since Sawyer Denali decided to notice me, that’s when.
He says nothing more and, thank goodness, neither do I as we sit at the table together and fill our plates. Sawyer even has the girls fold their arms as he says a blessing on the food. I keep my eyes open and embrace the scene before me as if I’m observing it, not living it. Sometimes it’s the simplest things in life that bring me the most happiness. I never thought I’d have anything remotely resembling this and now it’s so close I can taste it—and it’s so very sweet.
Mom, dad, and children.
Plus one crazy heart beating madly on overdrive.
Be still my heart.
It completely ignores me.
I LEARN A lot about Sawyer during our dinner. Things I never knew. Like he’s actually quite soft spoken when he’s not joking around. I thought he was always a bit of a jokester. Not so. He has a serious side, I mean different from grief-stricken Sawyer. I also find that he loves to talk about the details of his job at the aquarium.
As a matter of fact, he goes on and on about it.
“I had to make some dietary adjustments for the sea lions today. They weren’t looking as healthy as they should. And the otters, their water quality was off, as well as the water temperature. It explains why they were moving slower than usual, they seemed lethargic and...”
“Aren’t they practically the same animal?”
“No, closely related though.”
A long explanation ensues about the differences between sea lions and sea otters. I tune him out. I’m not going to lie, he has a sweet job. But I don’t find the particulars very fascinating. It’s kind of... boring. Is this really what he loves to talk about?
Huh.
I change the subject at the first opportunity.
“Why do you always wear a pinky ring?” I’ve noticed that he’s always wearing a thick silver band on his right pinky.
“It belonged to my grandfather and was handed down to me. I always wear it, as my job permits, that is.” Also of note, he still wears his wedding ring, but I don’t mention that.
When silence descends upon the table, Sawyer reverts back to what he knows best. He brings up a picture of an electric eel on his phone, and shows it to the girls.
“What’s this?” he asks.
They have trouble with the letter L, so when they answer, it sounds more like, “Eew.”
My thoughts exactly. I’m losing my appetite. Things that live in the ocean are so... slimy. Did Quinn enjoy listening to him go on and on about this kind of stuff? I don’t remember her mentioning it.
