Chapter 9 #2
“Ah, sure, I’ll send her an email and mention it. For your architecture projects, you could always use your chalkboard wall to draw some ideas once it’s done. We could even get you an Erector Set for Christmas. How’s that?”
She squished up her nose in that adorable way she did when she was thinking hard.
“Nah, I think we should just call her. Mimi said Vicky is only working on our house right now, so she’s pretty much ours,” MJ replied with her chin set in a determined lift.
If only that were true, sweet girl.
“That’s not exactly how it works, kiddo.”
“Sure it is. Besides, I think you like her and she likes you so what’s the big deal? Jojo said when you like a boy, just tell him,” she said with a shrug, pushing her star-shaped sunglasses higher on her face.
I was tempted to forget the fact that this was my daughter I was talking to and not someone from school who’d just made me giddy with the idea of a girl liking me.
Check yes or no if you like me and pass me the note in history class.
Record scratch.
“Wait. Who’s Jojo?” I didn’t like any kid who was talking to mine about boys.
“Oh, she’s in my pottery class Mimi took me to. Remember?”
“Sure I know about it, silly. I signed you up for all your summer classes. But this is the first I’m hearing about Jojo. How old is this girl?” I asked grumpily.
“Oh, she’s my age but she’s so much more mature than most. She’s got a phone,” she informed me with her sunglasses now tilted down so I’m looking at her conniving little eyes. She’d been asking for a phone for a year now.
“She sounds like trouble.”
MJ laughed and continued on. “She’s okay. A bit intense. Anyway, about Vicky. I just wanted to say that I really like her. She’s funny and really listens. I mean, just look at what she came up with for my room, Daddy! This is like a dream come true. I bet Jojo would love to come see it.”
“Over my dead body,” I muttered under my breath.
Changing the subject, I asked, “I know we talk every night before bed, but you are still happy about the move, right? That’s what you’ve been saying. I want you to feel like this is home for you, especially when school starts.”
She turned and sat up so she was facing me. “Yes, Daddy. I’ve told you a million times. I’m so happy we’re here. I love being around our family. It does feel like home.”
“I know you have. Just needed to be sure.”
She didn’t turn away but was quiet for a few minutes. I watched as her mouth twisted to the side. It was her tell when she was thinking about how to say something. My daughter was not only incredibly smart, she had the emotional intelligence that rivaled most of the adults I knew.
Keeping my body angled toward her so she knew I was still paying attention, I scanned my device so I wasn’t just staring.
When she inhaled, I knew she was ready.
“Daddy?” she asked, her voice quiet and thoughtful. “Do you think Mom would want to come out and see my new room?”
It broke my heart every time we had this type of conversation.
Taking her hand, I answered, “Yeah, of course. I’ll reach out to her again.”
I was about to say more when one of the painters ran out, panic evident in his eyes. I jumped up and met him at the glass door.
“Mr. Austin, I am so sorry, but there’s been an emergency. My mother has been rushed to the hospital, and we need to leave.”
From where I was standing, I could see clearly that his two brothers were frantically packing up.
“Of course. Don’t worry about it, Matthew. Is there anything we can do?”
“Say a prayer, if you will. I’m so sorry to do this to you. It seems pretty serious. I know your party is this weekend, but she lives in Phoenix. Maybe one of us could come back, but it won’t be before the party,” he said anxiously, wringing his hands.
“None of that matters. Go. Be with your family. We will say a prayer. And if you can, let me or Vicky know how she’s doing,” I said, leading him back into the house, where I shook his brothers’ hands and then walked them out the front door.
Lifting a quick prayer for protection and healing for his family, I looked over what they had accomplished.
They had worked impressively fast this week, but there were still a few walls that needed painting to finish enough for the party.
Honestly, even if we had multicolored walls, it wouldn’t be a big deal.
Grabbing us each a bottle of water from the refrigerator, I considered whether I could finish the job when MJ walked in with a strange expression on her face.
“Are they going to be alright, Daddy?”
“I’m sure everything will be fine,” I answered, not wanting her to worry.
“What are you going to do about the painting? Maybe we could finish it up,” she said. “That could be fun, don’t ya think?”
Scratching my head and looking around again, I answered, “Well, I was just thinking about that. It’s been a while since I’ve painted walls, but maybe? I’ve got to get another hour or so of work done first, but let’s see how that goes. Head back outside. Those fumes are strong.”
Matthew had placed big fans around the living room, and as I stepped around the furniture that was huddled together in the center of the big room, covered with plastic, I checked to be sure the windows were all open.
I met MJ back outside and settled into the lounger with my laptop. About an hour later, I got a cryptic text from my Mom.
Mom: Help is on the way.
What in the world was she talking about? That’s when I scrolled higher and saw that my daughter had sent her a text about the painters.
“MJ, when did you text Mimi?”
She looked over at me with wide innocent eyes from her own lounger, book in hand and answered, “Oh, not sure. Earlier?”
“MJ.” I warned, my parental voice in place.
She shrugged and fell silent. I was about to say something when the doorbell rang.
“Who’s that?” I asked, checking my watch. It was almost 3 pm, and I realized I’d missed lunch. “Oh, shoot. Sorry, kiddo. Didn’t realize I’d been working that long. Are you hungry?” I asked, walking to the front door.
“No worries. Got a snack a little while ago.”
When I opened it, Vicky stood in front of me with a confident smile. She was wearing leggings and a long, fitted T-shirt, something I’d never seen her in.
“Ah…” Such a conversationalist I was.
“Hey,” she replied cheerfully. “Is this where the painting party’s at?”
“The painting part…wait,” I groaned. “Let me guess. My mother reached out.”
“Listen, when I take on a client, I commit to being a part of every step. You have a party to throw, and my painters couldn’t finish. So, I’m here! Oh, and I have tacos. And some rollers we will need are in the car.” She held up two bulging bags of what smelled like heaven.
I took the bags from her and opened the door to let her in, MJ barreling into her like a torpedo after Vicky had barely gotten into the house.
“I knew you’d come,” she said, her voice muffled against Vicky, who held her tight.
“MJ, girl, have you grown taller since I saw you last?” They lifted their heads, looking at each other with complete adoration, my heart bursting at the sight.
“I think so,” my daughter replied, nodding her head earnestly. “I’m keeping to just one or two cookies a day so the sugar doesn’t stunt my growth. I’ll be a teenager soon, you know?”
I chuckled as I set the bags on the kitchen counter and grabbed some plates, peeking at Vicky.
Her expression grew serious as she responded. “Oh, I know. Those teen years are right around the corner.” She lifted her eyes to me and caught me smiling widely at their interaction. I nodded a thank you to her as she ruffled the top of MJ's head.
“Let’s get you fed and see what we need to do, ‘kay?” she asked.
My heart skipped a beat as MJ agreed, taking Vicky’s hand as they walked into the kitchen.
How many times could my poor heart handle this kind of unexpected scene?
Vicky’s eyes returned to mine as she shrugged her shoulders.
I was sure she was tiptoeing around how she acted with MJ after I basically ran away from her the other night.
We all settled at the table, my daughter chattering away about her architecture ideas while Vicky took notes on her phone. I slid four tacos onto my plate after seeing the huge mound of them she had brought, and then gave one to MJ.
“These smell amazing. Thank you so much. You really didn’t have to do all this,” I said, then took a smaller bite than I usually would so I didn’t get scolded again.
The action made her eyebrows raise as I hid my smile.
She put one taco in her plate before lifting it to her mouth and I tried not to watch her.
This woman was so beautiful even doing something as simple as eating a taco, for heaven’s sake.
“What kind of books do you like to read?” MJ asked curiously, my ears attuned to the answer. We hadn’t talked about my passion for reading and how it saved me after Katy left.
“Well, I love both fiction and nonfiction. I love reading true life stories about redemption and people overcoming hardships. They inspire me. Books that will help me understand people of different cultures. But as far as fiction? I love sweet, clean romance novels,” she answered wistfully.
“Me too. Well, the true life stories, not the romance ones,” I interjected as they both giggled.
“Huh. Well, I like to read science books and books about music. But for fun, I love adventure books, especially if the girl is the one who saves everyone,” MJ said enthusiastically, making Vicky and me laugh.
“I used to love the Nancy Drew stories when I was your age. I found them in the library, and they helped me with some of my English classes,” Vicky said.
“I like you a lot, Vicky, but I don’t want to read kissing books yet,” MJ said with a look of disgust on her face, which made me deliriously happy.
“Good. No kissing til you’re thirty!” I exclaimed, eating another taco, the tangy BBQ sauce making my taste buds zing. I noticed that Vicky was still taking tiny bites of her first one.