Chapter 13
Chapter thirteen
Imade an elaborate hand gesture as we walked into the apartment, as if I was revealing a circus trick. Even I saw the irony in my actions. “This is it.”
I studied the pinched expressions on my daughters’ faces. They looked at the apartment with as much enthusiasm as Keely had. Vance was standing behind them, looking grumpy again. Ignoring his glower, I pasted a smile on my face and turned to the girls. “I even got us a moving-in present.”
I forced cheer into my voice, ignoring Vance shooting daggers at the wall.
Small apartment forgotten, Elana whirled around. “Is it a toy?”
Kneeling down in front of her, I shook my head. “It’s not, sorry, pumpkin pants. It’s something useful.”
Addy took her sister’s hand, a sure sign that she didn’t feel comfortable in our new home. “Is it toilet paper?”
“That would be useful, but that’s not it either.”
I stood up and pointed at the box sitting on the counter. “Why don’t you open it?”
They scrambled to be the first one there, then pulled the box down. It landed with a loud thump on the floor. Luckily there was nothing breakable in it.
Ripping open the top, they pulled out the new bedsheets I’d bought them. They were identical since I knew they’d fight otherwise.
Elana waved her pillowcase around, the plastic that had covered it flying through the room. “There are dogs on them.” She hugged it to her. “I love it. Can we put them on?”
“Of course.”
I showed them their room and helped them change the sheets. Orange jumped up on the bottom bunk, and Elana, who would be sleeping there, covered him with the blanket. “Can Orange sleep with me tonight?”
“He’d love that.”
Addy leaned over the side of the top bunk. “Then I get Winston.”
The cat loved my girls, so he wouldn’t protest.
“How about I make us spaghetti bolognese for dinner and we watch a movie? I think I spotted a packet of microwave popcorn when I packed the food.”
We’d spent the day at the old house, half the time with Vance. He’d come over after lunch and stayed. He then followed us to the apartment, where he’d now taken a seat on the couch.
The girls cheered, and Addy leaped off the top bunk. I cringed at the loud bang it made. We were on the second floor, so the neighbors downstairs wouldn’t be happy with us. “No jumping, Addy.”
“Sorry.” She bounced from foot to foot. “Can Vance stay?”
The girls adored Vance. He’d played with them, answered all their million and one questions, and brought them ice cream. I glanced at the man in question to see if he wanted to stay for dinner again, and when he nodded, I did the same.
She cheered, then did a little fist pump. She was already half in love with him.
Join the club, girlfriend.
Addy raced out to the living room, Elana right behind her, yelling loudly because apparently that was the only way she would say anything at the moment.
“Do you want to see our new room? It has stars on the ceiling. Mom put them up. And she bought us new sheets. And we’re having spaghetti for dinner.
Can you stay? Eric said a bad word at school today. ”
My eldest threw up her hands. “He said dang. That’s not a bad word. But Ms. Bowler said an actual bad word today when she put too much vinegar and baking powder in the bowl to show us how to make a volcano.”
“Was it the f-word?” Elana cut in.
Addy huffed. “You don’t even know what the f-word is.”
“Do so. It’s shit.”
Elana broke out into giggles, and I knew it was time to cut this off before a serious fight ensued. Or one of them said the actual f-word.
I joined their huddle, my two girls now glaring at each other. Turning to Elana, I crouched down in front of her. “Where did you hear the f-word?”
“Uncle Thad said it when he hit his finger with the hammer.”
“Elana, we don’t use bad words.” Poking her in the belly until she giggled, I put on a mock stern face. “And I thought we agreed other people cursing was going to be a family secret not to be repeated?”
She shrugged, holding Vance’s hand that she must have grabbed while I was talking to her. “Forgot.”
“It’s okay,” I conceded. “Right, you have twenty minutes.”
She huffed but knew that was all she was going to get. “Fine.”
Addy leaned her little body to the side to pull Vance in the direction of her and Elana’s room. “Have a look at our room, Vance.”
I laughed at his panicked look when she dragged him down the hallway, closely followed by Elana and Orange. Winston was perched on top of the bookcase watching us.
I sank onto one of the barstools since they were the only place besides the couch I could actually sit. The chairs around the table didn’t pull out much since there wasn’t enough room.
After giving myself a minute, I cooked dinner. I called out to the girls to come back after about twenty minutes, but unsurprisingly they ignored me. Putting down the knife I’d been using to cut tomatoes for the salad, I washed my hands and went into the room.
But nothing could have prepared me for what I walked into.
Not only was Addy telling Vance a story about a giant spider that she’d seen at school while busily draping him in glittery scarves—one of which she’d tied around his head, making a bandana—but she’d also made him sit on one of her small chairs that looked about ready to collapse under his sizable bulk.
He was holding a minuscule teacup between his thumb and pointer finger, and a doll was perched on his knee, held tight with his other hand.
He was lucky his hair was too short for hairclips, or he’d be wearing them the same way Orange seemed to.
Our dog was happily sitting next to Vance, hoping to get crumbs of the invisible cake, while Elana draped a sparkly scarf around him as well.
“I see you started the party without me.”
Vance lifted his cup to me in a toast. He seemed weirdly at ease.
“We need five more minutes, Momma,” Addy begged.
“We made a deal, ladybug.”
“But—”
I held up my hand. “No. We agreed on twenty minutes.”
It would be downright cruel to make anyone who wasn’t related sit through a tea party that lasted longer than that.
She pulled out the pout, aiming it right at Vance since she knew it wouldn’t work on me. “But Vance hasn’t had tea with Mr. Bear and Scarlett yet.”
He put his teacup down. “I promise we’ll do it next time, nohea. Now let’s listen to your momma, okay?”
He took off the various scarves, folding them, then placing them back into the box Addy had ripped them out of.
Elana wrinkled her nose. “What’s nohaha?”
Vance put down the last scarf and kneeled in front of her. “It’s Hawaiian and means ‘beautiful.’” He tapped her nose. “Because that’s what you are. Now, let’s go find out what delicious dinner your mom made for us.”
The girls took one of his hands each and didn’t let go until they were in the living room, having somehow managed to get through the hallway together.
I plated up dinner while Vance helped the girls sit down.
“Can I have juice?” Addy called out to me and stuck out her bottom lip. “Please.”
I had a few juice boxes left that I was going to save for school lunches. But they’d had a big day and it was their first day in the new apartment, so I nodded. “But you have to share with Elana.”
Addy held on to Vance’s sleeve. “I want to sit next to Vance.”
Elana nodded, her little curls flying up and down. “Me too. Me too.”
I chanced a glance at Vance, who no doubt was thinking how he’d fit in one of the chairs. But he somehow managed to squeeze himself into it. His front was up against the table, but he didn’t say a word, no matter how uncomfortable he looked sitting so upright.
The girls had big grins on their faces.
After everyone had food on their plates, the conversation flowed easily.
Vance wiped up the tomato sauce Elana spilled on her sleeve, helped them both pour their juice into their cups, and listened to them with rapt interest as they told him all the things they’d learned at school and daycare last week.
Addy alternated between stuffing her face and talking. “My cousin’s little brother can eat three ice creams in a row. Without throwing up.”
Vance nodded at my eldest’s declaration. “That’s quite a talent.”
I loved that he didn’t correct her and explain that her cousin’s little brother was also her cousin.
He simply rolled with it. And I didn’t jump in and remind her that she didn’t have a cousin, as Hank was an only child as well.
She always told everyone that Linny’s, Malena’s, and Keely’s kids were her cousins, and sometimes it was just easier to let it go.
When dinner was done, we moved the few steps to the living room. “Thirty minutes of television, and then it’s bedtime.”
Addy pulled a face, and Elana hissed at me. I raised a brow. “We don’t have to do screen time if you’re so against it.”
I tickled them and they giggled, rolling on the couch. “But we wants to watch TV.”
This came from Elana.
“Okay, then. I think it’s Addy’s turn to choose.”
Not surprising to anyone, she settled on Beauty and the Beast.
“I want to be a queen when I grow up.”
Her declaration was met with a serious nod from Vance. “That’s a great aspiration. And always make sure you have a plan B in place in case it doesn’t work out.”
Addy nodded sagely, then crinkled her nose. “What’s a plan B?”
“Another option. An alternative to what you’re planning. Because plans don’t always work out the way we want them to, so it’s good to be prepared. Just in case.”
She hummed in agreement and settled into the cushion. Vance didn’t sit down; instead, he turned to me. “I’m going to talk to your mom for a minute, okay? We’ll be right back.”
A chorus of “okays” followed, and before I knew it, Vance had led me to the girls’ bedroom with a hand on my elbow. He shut the door, then stood in front of it as if to block any escape attempts.
He faced me with a frown on his face. “I didn’t say anything yesterday because you had a big day. But this apartment is unacceptable. You can’t possibly stay here.”