Chapter 15
fifteen
. . .
Vicky
“Hey, honey. What are you doing home so early?” I heard Angelica say from the living room.
That could only mean one thing: Miles was here. All my bravado vanished by the next day after our pizza date, so I left well before I thought he’d be home yesterday and was planning to do the same today.
Looking down at my jeans and dirty t-shirt, I blew out a frustrated breath.
“All good, Ms. Lazzara?” the electrician, Carl, asked from the ladder he was on.
“Oh, yeah. All good, thanks.” I patted down my hair, unsure of how it looked. Not knowing why he was home so early, I tried to make sure I didn’t appear as disheveled as I felt.
“Daddy! You came home to help us?” I heard MJ cry out, her voice getting louder as she approached her bedroom.
A moment later, Miles entered carrying MJ in his arms. She was showing him what we had accomplished so far. He listened and responded to her, but his eyes stayed on me.
“Hi,” I said, waving quickly, as if I were hailing a cab. I shifted nervously but smiled, hoping he wouldn’t notice.
Nah, he didn’t notice, right?
“Hi.” Luckily, he looked as fidgety as I did. “Looks great in here.”
“Vicky’s been working so hard, Daddy. Isn’t she fantastic?” MJ asked, her wide grin making me smile in return.
“They were your ideas, sweet girl. I just made them happen,” I answered, looking up at her.
Don’t look in his eyes. Don’t do it, girl.
It was pointless to resist. Our eyes always found each other in whatever room we were in. We were like two magnets, I thought, as he looked at me.
“Put me down now. You’re making me feel like a kid,” MJ scolded. He laughed and obeyed.
“It’s amazing, Vicky. What an imagination you have,” Angelica said when she entered, bringing in a box that must’ve just been delivered.
“Oh, that’s probably the glow-in-the-dark chalk I ordered. I thought you could write a quote you love with it. That way, it could stay there as long as you need, and you can see it when you go to bed,” I said, watching MJ's eyes widen with excitement.
“Vicky, you’re the best,” she exclaimed, running to me and giving me a crushing hug.
“Right back atcha, MJ.” I held her and could smell her bubblegum shampoo. “Open the box and let’s try it out. The chalkboard paint should be dry.”
Angelica turned to Miles with a gleam in her eye. “So, are you just here for lunch or home for good today?”
“Home for good. I had a light day, so I thought I’d help,” he answered, his eyes shifting between us. “Here, kiddo. Let me help.”
“If that’s the case, I’ll get a jump on a few things at home then,” Angelica said. Without waiting for him to answer, she kissed MJ on the head. “Send me some pictures tonight, okay, sweetie?”
“Absolutely. Love you, Mimi,” she answered, pulling out the box of chalk.
“Love you, too. You guys have fun,” she sang as she raced down the hall, Miles shaking his head at her hasty exit.
“That should do it,” Carl said, tightening the last planet in place and slowly walking down the ladder.
“Will you do the honors, MJ?” he asked, pointing to the light switch.
“Ten-four, Mr. Carl,” she answered with a serious tone.
Miles looked at me for an answer, and I whispered, “Carl has an old-fashioned CB radio he’s been telling her about.” He nodded in understanding as we all looked up. MJ had turned the bigger lights off, and now the planets bathed the space in yellow, blue, orange, and red.
“Wow,” she said. “This is the best room ever. I can’t wait to bring Jojo to see it.”
I hid my smile when Miles sternly said, “Absolutely not.”
I walked Carl out and thanked him for everything. There was still the extra desk for her projects to put together. It would’ve been easy to find someone to do that for me, but I loved being a part of the process.
When I got back to her bedroom, Miles had already opened the desk box and was pulling out pieces.
“No, I was going to do that,” I said, pointing to the pieces he had strewn about on the floor. “You and MJ can go spend the day somewhere.”
“Daddy said if we all worked on it, we could go to the beach later. Together.”
Miles looked up at me expectantly. “If you’d like to, that is.”
“Oh, well. Sure, if you’d like. Okay, then let’s get to work.
” MJ clapped her hands and squatted down next to Miles, starting to organize the multiple bags of screws and bolts.
I handed him the drill and tool set, and we began working, relieved there was no awkwardness after our last flirty encounter.
As usual, there was a natural ease between us.
“That didn’t take as long as I thought,” MJ said happily as we stood the desk up and Miles lifted it into position. “I’m going to grab my swimsuit and change in the bathroom.”
Usually, the idea of a swimsuit would have triggered my nerves like a loud horn. But in the past two days, since my encounter at the loft, something significant had changed.
“Hey, I know we sprung this all on you. You probably don’t have your stuff to go to the beach and with traffic it would take you forever to go back to the city to get it,” Miles said, pulling me out of my musings.
“Will you be comfortable in what you’re wearing?
” he asked, pointing to my jeans and blouse.
“Actually, I have a beach bag packed in my car,” I answered with a shrug. “Since I made the decision the other night to start exploring the city, I brought it with me, intending to hit the beach out here when I was done for the day. Works out perfectly.”
He smiled, picked up the tools, and said, "I’ll go pack us lunch and get ready.
Feel free to use the guest bathroom to change.
” He lingered, watching me, probably wanting me to mention our near kiss, but he was going to have to make the next move.
I lacked the courage. A few moments later, he stepped out of the room.
MJ will be there, silly. There will be no kissing.
“No kissing,” I echoed on a whisper.
His head popped back in so quick, I jumped.
“What was that?” he asked, with an impish grin on his face.
“Nothing, nothing.” I ignored him and bent to choose a neon blue piece of chalk from the box. Dragging the ladder with me to the chalkboard wall, I stepped up to write something special for MJ.
As I wrote in my best calligraphy handwriting, Miles stepped back in and read from behind me.
“You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139. That’s beautiful. She’s going to love it.”
I twisted, looking down at him, dusting off the chalk dust. “It’s a special verse for me, and I wanted to share it with her to remind her of her worth, something I’ve had to remember recently.”
Holding his hand out to help me get down even though we both knew I didn’t need it, he said, “You’re a very special woman, Vicky. Thank you for this.” Looking around the room, he added, “For all of this.”
“You don’t need to keep thanking me. MJ has stolen pieces of my heart. It’s my pleasure to make her feel special.” He was still holding my hand when MJ’s bathroom door opened. He let it go slowly, pulling the ends of his fingers from mine as she entered the room.
“Let’s go, you two slow pokes,” she said excitedly. When she looked up and read the words I’d written, she smiled. “I love that.”
“Remember them always, sweet girl. There’s no one in the world quite like you. God created you and your beautifully curious mind and everything about you to perfection,” I said, my arms opening to hug her, which she did so willingly.
“I’m so glad you’re here with us,” she said, her words muffled against me.
I looked at Miles, whose eyes had a sheen to them.
“I’ll go get ready,” he said quietly and left the room.
“I need to grab my stuff from the car. Be right back,” I told MJ, who looked at the words again.
“Vicky,” she said before I reached the door. I turned around to face her with a smile. “I wish, I wish Mom saw me the way you do.”
It was hard to stop the smile from slipping, but it stayed.
“I’m sure she does. Who could think otherwise of you?
You’re perfect, like the verse says. Perfect and wonderful.
I’m sure she knows that,” I said as I crouched down to look at her face.
She was everything that verse meant. Her ever-present ponytails were a little lopsided right now, no doubt from the urgency of her changing clothes.
I straightened them and caressed her cheek.
She nodded and wiped away a tear that rolled down her freckled face. MJ was so mature for her age, but at this moment, the little girl missing her mother was all I could see.
“Thanks again, Vicky. I think you’re fearfully and wonderfully made, too.”
Her sincere words further confirmed what God was doing in me from the inside out.
Ren’s warning not to talk about her best friend the way I did echoed in my mind.
Seeing MJ’s vulnerable eyes, I realized in that moment that if she were my daughter, I’d never allow her to speak about herself the way I’ve spoken about myself my whole life.
And I’d never want to say those self-deprecating words about myself in front of her, daughter or not.
“Thank you, MJ. You’ll never know what that means to me.” I held her again, feeling her exhale and melt into my embrace. “Okay, now,” I said, pulling away from her. “What do you say we hit the beach, huh?”
With another swipe of her eyes, she nodded quickly. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
I laughed at her old-fashioned sayings and kissed her on the cheek.
“Be right back then.”
“Daddy, we should’ve brought our kites,” MJ said, pushing the loosened strands of her braids from her face.
“Next time, kiddo,” he said. Turning to me, he asked, “Ready to get in the water?”