Page 32 of Sew Matcha in Love
“Daddy!”
I popped the rest into my mouth, chewing slowly and swallowing. “Just like Mémère’s.”
The girls whooped, jumping up and down, the dogs joining in their celebration.
“I told you!” Isla hugged Amelie. “We did it!”
“Well, Wynnie helped,” Amelie confessed. She looked up at me. “A lot. They were hard to make.”
“So I’ve heard.” I turned to thank Arwyn, but she wasn’t there.
“Where did she go?” I asked, peeking out of the kitchen.
Amelie pointed toward the living room. “At the sewing machine. She said we’re all yours ’cause she needs the last of the natural light to finish Penny’s bodies because she’s coming tomorrow to try it on.”
“Penny’s bodies?” I asked.
“Yes, Daddy.” Isla rolled her eyes. “The bodies. It’s the part of the dress in the front that has all the pretty decorations.”
“Ah,” I said. “The bodice.”
Isla pinned me with a look that could take down a weaker man. I prayed for her future husband. “That’s what I said.The bodies.”
“Right,” I conceded. Best never to argue with a five-year-old girl who knows more than you do.
“So, it’s just me, you, and you, and the butter tarts?”
“Nope,” Amelie said. “You’ll ruin Chef’s dinner.”
“What?”
Amelie pointed to a box of aluminum foil on the counter. “Wrap it up, Daddy. You can have more later. We have a schedule to keep.”
I waggled my eyebrows. “We do? Tell me more.”
Isla reached her hand into the side pocket of Amelie’s vest and pulled out a piece of paper. She unfolded it and began to read: “Eat two butter tarts before five o’clock. Five: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Five ten: Put in Chef’s dinner and set the timer for forty minutes. Go outside and play until it gets dark.” She looked up. “We should hurry. My weather app says sunset is in fifteen minutes!”
I crossed to the oven and set the temperature. “What’s after playtime?”
Isla continued. “Five twenty-five: Come inside and wash our hands. Five thirty: Dance party. Five forty: Set the table. Five fifty: Daddy takes out chicken dinner and puts it on plates. Five fifty-five: Get Wynnie and tell her dinner is ready. Six: Say a blessing and eat.” She looked up. “That’s all we’ve got so far.”
“Great reading, Isles. That’s a very strict schedule. We’ll have to stay focused to get it all done. And wow, you wrote all that, Amms?”
She nodded. “We made a list with Wynnie and then I copied it.” She handed it to me.
My girl had better handwriting than half the team. “Very nice.”
She beamed with pride.
I loved complimenting my daughters.
I popped the lids off the containers labeled “Friday Dinner” just as the oven dinged it was ready. Once the premade meals were arranged on the middle rack, I shut the door and setthe timer. It was nothing fancy—baked chicken tenderloins, vegetables, and heirloom potatoes—but I liked it, and I knew the girls would eat it. I’d ordered extra food for the nights I’d be home and hoped Arwyn wouldn’t mind. She had her hands full on the days I was traveling, so I figured I’d take care of dinner on the nights I was home.
“Playtime!” Isla announced. “Get your coats on!”
I set the alarm on my phone for fifteen minutes. Didn’t want to be late to wash my hands before the dance party.
Playing with my girls on Arwyn’s old swing set was a blast. I helped them across the monkey bars as the dogs leapt and yipped underneath. On the swings, I let them kick me in the backside while they tried to soar as high as their little legs could muster. Every few kicks to the bootie, I’d pretend they got me good and fall on the ground, thus offering Laffy and Vennie chances to use me astheirpersonal playground and slobber on my face accordingly.
