Chapter 6
Chapter Six
I’d seen all kinds of violent weather living here in the mountains but nothing that could rival the sheer power of my daughter blowing through the door to my shop.
“Dad, oh my God, I hate you so much! How could you?! And all the other Woolverines?! That’s so shitty. I hate that you did that and am never going to talk to you ever again!”
Gilda stormed past me and Keith and Ellie Morgan, who were here looking to buy a new snowblower, and threw herself through the drape into the backroom with all the flair of an old Hollywood actress.
Maybe I wasn’t her favorite person in the world after all.
I wet my lips. “Sorry about that. Teenagers,” I weakly joked, hoping to save the sale, but Keith and Ellie suddenly recalled that they had wash on the line.
Off they went like Satan was on their heels.
I rubbed my face with my palms so hard it hurt before sneaking back into the work area to talk with Gilda.
Since I had no idea what I had done to bring about such wrath, I was truly flummoxed.
I noticed that the bathroom door was closed.
I tread carefully as one would when trying to sneak up on an angry grizzly and tapped ever-so-gently on the door.
“Gilda,” I called softly while trying to turn the knob. Locked.
“Go away! Do not talk to me ever again. Ever! I hate you.” That struck deep. I don’t think she had ever said that to me. Not once. And we’d had spats before.
“Gilda, I don’t know what I did that has made you so angry, but if you would just come out—”
The door flew open. Her face was red, tear-streaked, and locked into an irate expression. “As if you don’t know!”
“I don’t. I swear.”
She was so upset she stamped a foot. I hadn’t seen that since she was five years old and was told she couldn’t eat crayons to make her poop purple.
“You told the Woolverines that I got my period! Why, Dad, why would you tell them that?!”
Oh. Oh hell. “I just wanted to get some advice on how to handle it when it happens next month. I got lots of good tips like using a heating pad and—”
“Dad! Oh my God, I know all of that! It’s all online, and most of my friends have started already, so I didn’t need the advice of some old women! They probably told the whole town! Why would you even talk about it? You’re the worst father ever. Ever!”
The door slammed shut in my face. If I’d been an inch closer, it would have broken my nose. Instead, just my heart was broken.
“Gilda, honey, I was just hoping to get some help.” I let my brow rest on the doorjamb. If Katie were here, she would know how to handle this. “The knitters had some really good ideas. For both of us!”
“I don’t want their ideas! They’re old and dumb. Franny said not to drink lemonade or dance. What does that even mean? Lemonade?! Gah, I hate that you told them. Just go away. Go be a dumb man somewhere far away from me!”
Not sure how to approach things, I took a step back, thinking that perhaps I should let her cool down before trying to smooth my blunder when the damn bells over the damn shop door rang out.
I didn’t want to leave things but felt that perhaps a few minutes would be good.
Easing away from the scarred wooden door, I hauled my dismal ass through the curtain.
Anders was there, looking as fantastic as ever, with a small bundle wrapped up in what looked to be a pink cashmere blanket.
“Did I come at a bad time?” he asked as his bundle wriggled in his arms.
“Just a little preteen and dad misunderstanding,” I replied, hoping I could fluff it off. Guess I really did wear my emotions on my sleeve and face as everyone tells me. “It’s nice to see you, Anders, and is this the little girl who chews through her mittens?”
“It is. I thought perhaps I should introduce you to her since it is your skill with yarn that is keeping her little feet warm and dry when she leaves the mittens on.”
I moved closer, eager to see his little bundle of joy, even though that meant he probably had a baby mama somewhere. I’d not jump to a straight conclusion after that handholding session yesterday, but he could be bi like me with a child.
“Mitchell, this is Langley’s Ladyship Sprinkles Della Mint Cream.” He pulled back a flap of pink cashmere to reveal a tiny black-and-tan dog. A miniature pinscher with a pink collar and a very wet nose. “I just call her Della for short.”
“Oh. Oh, that is not at all…” I fumbled to get my head in gear. “Now I understand where all the mittens were going. I thought it odd that a baby that small would have teeth to chew through yarn.”
He laughed, and it helped lift my dour mood a little. Della yipped. He placed her on the floor. The min pin began sniffing about as dogs do when they enter a new place.
“Yes, I was picking up strange vibes from you and a few ladies I passed in town yesterday. I wondered if everyone thought I had a human baby with me, given a few disparaging comments from a tall woman at the grocery store. So I’m now taking her out to assure everyone that I don’t have an infant that I leave alone for long stretches of time.
To be honest, I can’t leave the dog alone for too long or she chews my pillow in spite. ”
Della barked from behind the counter. The curtain opened slightly. I watched as Gilda slipped out into the showroom and fell to her knees behind the counter. I couldn’t see them, but I could hear excited yips and soft giggles. Much happier sounds than ten minutes ago.
“She loves children,” Anders informed me as my daughter’s laughter filled the tiny shop. “My eldest brother has three little ones, and she adored them. Since I left home, she’s not had a youngster to play with.”
I picked up a note of sadness in his deep voice just as Gilda and Della rose, the dog in her arms licking her face as if she were a lollipop.
Gilda was grinning widely, yet her eyes were still red from the tears she had just cried.
Tears I’d brought about by being a dunderhead. I owed her an apology.
“This dog is everything,” Gilda announced between laps of a tiny tongue on her cheeks.
She had always wanted a dog, but with both of us gone all day, it didn’t seem fair to the pooch.
Seeing how happy she was, perhaps we needed to reexamine having a pet.
I could bring the dog to work with me if need be…
“She likes you,” Anders said just before Della wiggled free to jump down to the floor.
“Her name is Della. And mine is Anders Becken.” Gilda held out a hand to shake.
Anders turned her hand over, bent crisply at the waist, and kissed her knuckles.
Gilda’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.
The man was so debonair. Who does that nowadays? Only European men, I guess.
“I’m Gilda,” my daughter coughed out, cheeks as pink as Della’s blanket. Anders straightened, smiled at her, and released her hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Gilda.
I have had the pleasure of conversing with your father for a few days now, thanking him for creating little booties for Della to wear out in the frosty grass.
She doesn’t care for them much and chews them into bits, but she also doesn’t like to be cold so here we are gathering mittens that will be worn once and then destroyed. ”
Gilda giggled, threw me a dour look, and then went over to sit by the front window to play with Della. Ouch. Okay, well, she was still mad at me. I blew out a breath, forced a smile, and returned my attention to Anders.
“I’ll be sure to tell Franny across the street that you have a dog and not a baby,” I said and got a funny look from Anders. “Some of the ladies were distressed over you riding your bike in the cold with a baby.”
“Ah, yes. Well, Della disliked the ride. I think we need a sweater for her as the blanket wasn’t enough to keep her warm.”
“I can do it!” Gilda called from her spot on the worn wooden floor. “I’m good at knitting. I can make her lots of sweaters.”
Anders seemed taken aback. “If your father and mother agree, then that will be fine, but I don’t wish to pull you from your schoolwork.”
“My mom is dead,” she replied emotionlessly. It was just a statement of fact for her, sadly. She’d been so young when Katie passed that she never really had time to bond tightly or build any lingering memories. “Dad, are you okay with me knitting a sweater for Della as long as I do my homework?”
Oh, the sass in that question. She could rival any drag queen. I bit back the urge to chide her for being so sharp with me but let it slide. The girl was mad, and she was entitled to her feelings, but I would later discuss her speaking to me with respect no matter how angry she was.
“That’s fine,” I replied coolly. Della pranced around the shop, fetching a small ball of yarn and bringing it back to Gilda. Anders and I mostly watched and made some general small talk until he glanced out the window.
“It’s snowing quite hard now. We should get back to the camper before we get stuck.
My tires are fat and made for some snow but this looks to be a big dump.
” He called his dog over. The min pin pouted as did my daughter but soon Della was covered up in her pink cashmere blanket, with a scarf I’d made wrapped around it. “That should keep her warm.”
“Would you be willing to give us a call when you arrive at the campgrounds? Just to let us know you and Della arrived safely?” I chanced.
“Of course, how kind of you to worry.” Gilda nodded strongly as she gave the little dog one last snuggle. Anders added his number to my phone, and I gave him mine. “There. Now we’re contacts.”
“If you wish, I can close the shop and give you a ride to the campgrounds?” I offered, but he waved that off.