Chapter 39 #2
“Right?” I say with exasperation. “Take me back to the days of Spirit. I’ll never complain about Matt Damon’s narration ever again!”
I can hear Cam full-on laughing through the phone. It’s been a long-standing joke both of us could basically mute the movie and narrate it ourselves as many times as the girls have watched it.
“I never thought I’d miss good ol’ Matty, but I’ll take him any day of the week over Barbie, Skipper, and Chelsea.”
Now it’s my turn to laugh hysterically.
“Should I be concerned you just whipped out the name of Barbie’s sisters so easily?”
“Oh, shut it! It’s the curse of being a girl dad,” Cameron throws back.
“I think what you meant to say is ‘it’s the perk of being a girl dad.’”
“Yes, exactly,” Cam says, sarcasm dripping from his words.
I know he loves being a girl dad with every fiber of his being and would sit through a million horrible movies if it meant spending time with Addie, but tonight, it’s girls’ night, and I’m so pumped.
“You know you love it,” I say, turning into the Equine Center. I have a few more hours at the clinic before I need to get the girls, but I’m feeling optimistic about the rest of the day since my morning with Princess P went so well.
“I do.”
“Hey, I just turned back into the Equine Center and need to head inside to finish up a few things. Go get your stuff done and have fun with Beck.”
“Okay,” he says with a chuckle. “I will. But send me photos of my girls tonight. You included.”
My smile widens. I love being considered his girl.
“I will. I love you.”
“Love you, too,” he says before hanging up.
The rest of the day flies by, and I was right, it turned out to be a good day. There were no major incidents, and everyone left healthier than they came in. I call that kind of day a win.
Pulling up to get Paige first, since her day camp is on my campus, I decide to keep our girls’ night a secret until we pick up Addie.
“Hey, Mommy, where are we going?”
“It’s a secret,” I say a bit conspiratorially.
“I love secrets!” Paige exclaims.
“Well, I’m sure you’re going to love this one the most.”
“Is it a horse?”
Well, shit. I walked right into that one.
“No, baby, it’s not a horse. I’ve told you many times it’s just not the right time for you to have a horse.”
“I know,” Paige says quietly, looking down at her lap with disappointment.
Desperate to turn it around, I breathe a sigh of relief when we finally turn onto Addie’s street. “Hey, Paigey, why don’t you look up and see your surprise.”
Jerking her head to look out the window with enough force to cause whiplash, Paige swivels her head left and right before her eyes land on Addie’s house.
“We’re at Addie’s house!” she exclaims.
“We sure are, and it’s girls’ night, so let’s go get Addie and head back to our house to start the fun.”
Paige squeals before fumbling to rip off her seat belt and climbing out of the truck to go get Addie.
***
We make a quick trip to the store to gather supplies for the best girls’ night ever: nail polish in neon colors, animal-print face masks, candy, and ice cream. I even grab us all sets of matching pajamas. I mean, go big or go home, right?
I was already planning to make tacos for dinner tonight, so at least I can say I provided some kind of nutrition. I know Cameron wouldn’t care, but the thought appeases my mom guilt over feeding Addie a bunch of shit while she’s at my house.
On the drive home, the girls chatter excitedly in the back seat, already planning out what they’re going to do first, and when we pull up to the house, they are off like a shot, Paige dragging Addie by the hand to the front door.
I maniacally laugh because neither of them can get the door open without my key. I stand, waiting at the car door, smiling like a loon with grocery store bags threaded all the way up my arms. They both turn to face me and realize I may need a few more sets of hands to grab all of our things.
We file into the house and unload the numerous bags of goodies for tonight before I start on dinner. I assumed the girls would run off to Paige’s room to play, so I’m pleasantly surprised when they both sit down at the island with me in the kitchen.
“Mom, can we help make dinner?”
“Um, sure, Paigey, I’d love for you girls to help,” I say, mentally scrolling the list of things they can do to help me that don’t involve a hot skillet or a sharp knife.
I quickly cut open a couple of ripe avocados, placing the halves in a bowl before grabbing the box of hard shell tacos with a pan and setting them down in front of the girls.
“Can one of you mash these avocados so we can have guacamole with our chips? And the other open the package of taco shells and lay them out on the pan so they’re ready to warm once we get closer to dinner time?”
They both agree with a chorus of yeses, and I turn back to the stove to brown the beef while feeling good I was able to include them. Soon, I hear quiet giggles from behind me, which is never a good sign, and spin around to find both girls with globs of mashed avocado on their cheeks.
“Oh my gosh! What are you girls doing?” I ask, trying to hide my own giggle.
“It’s a face mask!” Paige exclaims. “Mommy, you’re the only one who likes guacamole, and there was so much in the bowl after we smashed it we thought you wouldn’t need it all for just your tacos.”
Addie pipes up next. “Yeah! And did you see all of those packages in the aisle where we got our animal masks? There were avocados on them. It’s a good thing we didn’t buy that kind because we have all these avocados at home.”
Momentarily, I’m distracted in the best way by Addie using the word home to describe my house. I know this isn’t her actual home, but I hope her words mean she’s starting to think of being with Paige and me as home too.
Snapping back to the moment, I can’t help but let my laughter loose.
“You’re right, there were masks with avocados on them, and I’m sure your skin will be glowing once you rinse it off.”
I’m about to motion for them to do just that, when I think better of it and get out my phone.
“We need a before picture. Scoot in and give me your best smile.”
They lean closer, putting their arms around each other’s shoulders and touching their cheeks together before throwing up a peace sign.
The moment I capture is not one of two girls with bright smiles, instead I capture their looks of pure disgust as the mashed avocado on their cheeks slides together.
Paige rears back. “Ew, that’s gross!”
Followed closely by “Why is it so slimy?” from Addie.
I burst into uncontrollable laughter as the girls wave their hands toward their faces in horror.
“I bet you’re both super excited to have those animal sheet masks now.”
They nod, their faces still twisted up in disgust.
“Why don’t you go clean off in the bathroom. Dinner’s almost ready.”
While the girls are cleaning up, I throw the taco shells in the oven, finish seasoning the meat, and get the sides I know Addie and Paige will like out of the fridge.
Waiting for the girls to return, I grab my phone and shoot off the picture I took of the girls to Cameron.
Tonight’s off to a good start. ::winking emoji::
His reply is almost immediate.
CAMERON
Oh wow! And does your face match?
I send him a quick selfie of me in front of the stove, dinner cooking in the background.
Nope, I like my avocados for the tacos going into my mouth, not on my face.
The bubbles appear and disappear several times, so I place my phone down on the counter and put the plates and silverware we’ll need for dinner on the table.
When I’m headed back to grab the food, my phone dings.
Looking down at the screen, my jaw drops, and my hand comes up to cover the gasp that explodes from my mouth.
CAMERON
That’s interesting because I like your taco in my mouth AND on my face.
My cheeks flame, and I shake my head side to side, not even knowing how to respond to that comment, deciding the only thing I can do is go with deflection.
Cameron Brown! How many beers have you had?!
He immediately responds with a selfie of his own. He’s so gorgeous. His green eyes are glittering with mischief, and he has a huge grin on his face while holding his beer toward the camera in a cheers position.