Chapter 22 #2
They dropped a marble in the top and we all watched it roll through the contraption—down ramps, through tubes, around corners—before finally dropping into a cup at the bottom.
"Perfect!" Charisse high-fived Sammy.
"That was so cool," Sammy said. "Can we build another one?"
"Yeah! But bigger this time."
And they were off again, already planning their next creation.
Gavin's hand found mine. "Thank you," he said quietly.
"For what?"
"For this. For bringing Sammy. For making this easy when it could have been hard or weird."
"I didn't do anything."
"You showed up. That's everything."
We spent another hour at the museum. The girls moved from exhibit to exhibit, trying everything, laughing at everything, completely comfortable with each other.
At the climbing structure, Charisse helped Sammy reach the top. At the art station, they made matching friendship bracelets—bright colors woven together in patterns only they understood.
At one point, Sammy pulled Charisse aside. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I caught snippets.
"—Aunt Andi's the best. She lets me eat ice cream for lunch sometimes. Oh! Actually, Uncle Danny's the real best! He works for the fire department!"
Charisse's eyes went wide. "No way."
"He lets me pretend to drive the fire truck and pull the horn!" Sammy leaned closer, using her outside-voice-whisper. "It's SO LOUD."
"Oh, I see how it is," I called over. "I need a fire truck to beat out Uncle Danny? Even the Children's Museum doesn't do it?"
Sammy nodded somberly. "I'm sorry, Aunt Andi. Facts are facts."
Damn. This kid is mercenary.
When we finally headed toward the exit, both girls were talking a mile a minute about their favorite parts.
"Can Sammy come over sometime?" Charisse asked as we walked to the parking lot.
"If her dad says it's okay," Gavin said, looking at me.
"I'm sure Tommy would be fine with it."
"Yes!" Sammy pumped her fist. "Can I, Aunt Andi? Please?"
"We'll figure it out."
At Gavin's car, the girls exchanged friendship bracelets—Charisse tying hers on Sammy's wrist, Sammy doing the same for Charisse.
"You'll see each other tomorrow, I think," Gavin said.
"Tomorrow?" Sammy looked confused.
"At your grandparents' house. Your aunt asked us to come over for dinner. Is that okay?"
"Oh!" Sammy's whole face lit up. "You're coming to Sunday dinner?"
"We are?" Charisse asked.
"If you're okay with it." Now I was nervous again. Wondering if we should have done this differently.
"That's so okay!"
"Yes! You're going to love it. Nonna makes the best food, and Poppy tells the worst jokes, and everyone's always yelling, but like in a good way."
Charisse laughed. "Sounds fun."
"It is! My brothers will be there, too. Oh! And wait—" She turned to me and asked, "Will Aunt Bridget be there too?"
"I don’t know, kiddo. I can ask."
"Yes!" she spun toward Charisse. "You know Harper from school, right?"
"Yeah! I know Harper! She's my friend!" Charisse's eyes were bright with excitement.
"Perfect!" Sammy grabbed my hand, tugging it for emphasis. "Can they come too? Please?"
I squeezed her fingers. "I'll see what I can do."
"This is gonna be so cool!" Sammy leaned closer to Charisse, using her whisper-that-wasn't-really-a-whisper. "And my dad said he and my uncles have lots of tough questions for your dad for giving hard times and stuff. But your dad's like really smart, so it should be cool."
Charisse's face went pale, her eyes going wide as she turned to Gavin. "Dad?"
"Oh, honey," Gavin said quickly. "Sammy just means they want to ask me a bunch of questions to make sure I won't be mean to their sister."
"Oh," Charisse looked relieved. "But you're not mean!"
"Sweetheart, it's just big brother stuff."
"Oh." She seemed suddenly satisfied and went back to talking to Sammy.
That escalated quickly and then deflated just as fast. Feeling whiplashed by the emotional swing and all the kids' energy, I looked to Gavin, who just shrugged.
A few minutes later, Tommy's truck pulled up. He climbed out and headed toward us.
"Tommy," he said with a handshake and careful assessment that made me roll my eyes. "Seems it’s about time I actually met you."
"Ahem. Yeah. I’m Gavin. Though I think you probably already know that. Good to meet you." I was fairly sure that Tommy was squeezing Gavin's hand pretty hard, and Gavin was giving back a little of what he was getting, given the odd tug of war happening between them.
Tommy grunted and turned toward the girls.
Gavin turned to Charisse. "Tommy, this is my daughter, Charisse."
"Nice to meet you," Tommy said, his tone genuinely warm. "Did you guys have fun?"
"So much fun!" Sammy launched into her monologue.
"Charisse taught me about building and we made the biggest bubble ever and Aunt Andi let us get cookies shaped like dinosaurs and we got to find the pictures inside the pictures and we got to do the counting machine and they had this climbing wall thing and—"
"Okay, okay," Tommy cut her off with a laugh. "Sounds like you had a great day."
"Thanks for including her," Tommy said to me and Gavin.
"Thanks for letting her come," Gavin replied. "She made the day a lot more fun for Charisse."
After Tommy and Sammy left, the three of us walked slowly back to Gavin's car. Charisse was quieter now, the excitement of the day giving way to thoughtfulness.
"I had a really good time today," I said as Gavin unlocked the car.
"Yeah, me too. Sammy's really cool. She's funny." Charisse paused, then looked directly at me. "And I'm glad you're dating my dad."
My throat tightened. "Yeah?"
"Yeah. He's been really happy lately. Like, more than usual. And I think it's because of you."
I didn’t know I’d been bracing for resistance until that moment. Gavin's hand squeezed mine.
"Well, I'm pretty happy too," I managed. "Your dad's pretty great."
"I know." She said it matter-of-factly, as if it were just an obvious truth. Then she grinned. "And Sammy's awesome. Can she really come over sometime?"
"Absolutely. We'll set it up."
As we drove toward my apartment, Charisse fell asleep in the backseat, exhausted from the day. I watched her in the rearview mirror; her face peaceful, the friendship bracelet bright against her wrist.
"That went really well," Gavin said quietly.
"She's amazing," I whispered. "The way she opened up with Sammy. How thoughtful she is."
"She was comfortable. That's huge." His hand found mine across the console. "She doesn't let people in easily, so today was an awesome start."
When we pulled up to my building, Charisse stirred but didn't fully wake. Gavin walked me to the door, leaving the car running.
"Thank you for today," he said, pulling me close.
"I didn't do anything special."
"You brought Sammy. You made it fun instead of stressful. You let Charisse set the pace." He kissed my forehead. "You were amazing. Everything comes in time."
"She's a good kid, Gavin. It wasn't hard."
"Still." He pulled back to look at me. "I know this was a big step. Meeting her as my girlfriend, not just someone who's around. Thank you."
"She's the most important person in your world."
"She is. But you're part of that now," he said, and kissed me properly.
When we broke apart, I could see Charisse's silhouette in the backseat, still sleeping soundly.
"Go," I said. "Get her home."
"See you tomorrow?"
"Sunday dinner. You sure you're ready?"
"Bring it on."
"Don't say I didn't warn you."
I watched him drive away, then headed up to my apartment. My phone buzzed before I even got the door unlocked.
Bridget: How'd it go?
Andi: Really well. Charisse and Sammy are already best friends.
Bridget: And?
Andi: And she said she's glad I'm dating her dad.
Bridget: Awwww!
Andi: They're coming to Sunday dinner tomorrow.
Bridget: Oh shit. Will the Doyle brood be bringing their interrogation lists?
Andi: Probably. Want to come? Sammy already asked if Harper could be there.
Bridget: Wouldn't miss it. This is going to be entertaining.
I set my phone down and looked around my empty apartment. Tomorrow, Gavin would meet my entire family. My loud, chaotic, overwhelming family. And Charisse would be there too, navigating the madness.
But today had gone well. Better than well. Charisse had opened up. She'd laughed with Sammy. She'd told me she was glad I was dating her dad.
One day at a time. That's what we'd said.
And today had been a really good day.