Page 48 of Gabriel & Skye

“Skye!”

I almost splutter my wine. “I don’t know if Skye would appreciate us calling our new dog after her.” But it sure is cute.

“Hmm. I’ll think of something else,” she assures me.

“Well, you eat your dinner while you think.”

I take a sip of my wine. Though I love our bourbon, sometimes it’s nice to just have a change. 2 Cellos play low in the background from the built-in speakers and I can’t help but think how much I love this house and being here with my daughter. It’s so comfortable and relaxing to come home to this.

“Yum, yum.” She digs her fork in and blows like I told her, taking her first bite.

* * *

Everything is a blur in the lead up to Wednesday. The next day I text Skye the directions to my house after she accepts the offer. It’s not hard to get to if she follows the right dirt road. She’ll be able to find it with the signposts.

My message fails to mention the part I’m really thinking about; I’m really looking forward to seeing you.

I hope she brings all the paperwork with her so we can have everything ready and I can give it to Beau, who organizes the payroll. This will come out of my pocket, obviously, but I don’t have time to keep track of her hours and remember to pay the woman. My trusty finance geek brother can do that.

Trinity was working on a picture last night to give to Skye. It was all love hearts and rainbows when I saw it last. Lord knows what she’s added to it by morning.

Today Trin is wearing her school uniform; it’s a navy-blue dress with red stripes. She’s very proud to wear it.

I help brush her long, dark hair and tie it up in a ponytail, then wrap a navy-blue ribbon around it. I’ve gotten better at bows too, as time has gone on. I’m not the best at braiding, but she’s five, it’s not like she’s a fashionista.

Skye will do the drop off with Geraldine today and get a feel for the route. Geraldine runs a few errands for me in town too when I need them — usually groceries — so I’m hoping Skye will be accommodating with that as well. Usually, I’ll do the morning drop off, but if ever I need to get Skye to do it, it’s probably good for her to know our morning routine, too.

“Now, what’s the secret password we’re going to tell Skye today for school pick up?” I say as I’m securing her floppy ribbon for the second time.

“Cupcake!” she yells.

“That’s right. But remember, it’s a secret password, Trin. So you can’t go yelling it out.”

“Yes, shhhh.” She presses her forefinger to her lips.

“You can’t tell anyone, remember? Tell me again who knows the password?”

She thinks for a second. “Aunt Georgia, Uncle Gray-Gray, Gran!”

“Yes, and Gramps too. And your Uncle Beau and Brooklyn.”

“What about Aunty Hart?”

I give her a chin lift. “Yes, Aunty Hart, too.”

It was something Georgia pointed out to me before she started pre-k. If ever a stranger shows up to collect Trinity, she has to ask them the secret password which I would have given the person in my absence.

Not that I, or the school would allow it to happen. They’re strict with that kind of thing, but you can’t be too careful.

They’ll need my consent for Skye to be able to do the future pickup when Geraldine leaves. But Trinity knows if it were ever to happen, if a stranger shows up that’s not anyone in our family, or her nanny, she asks them the password. And if they don’t know it, she goes to the teacher straight away. It’s a safety measure and a stranger danger thing I thought was worth instilling in her for when she gets older.

I make a coffee and finish getting ready while we wait for Skye to arrive.

Do I take a little extra care when I look in the mirror? Yep, I sure do.

Do I style and gel my hair within an inch of its life? Yup, that too.

And do I spray on an extra splash of cologne just because I can?

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