Page 82 of I'm Yours

“Good news for me. When we move out then you can be in charge of all our meals.”

“Don’t talk about moving out. You just got here,” Mom says sadly.

I grin.

Dad ladles soup into bowls for everyone while I cut slices of bread. Mom might do the bulk of cooking around here, but that doesn’t mean we don’t help where we can. She loves to spend time in the kitchen and truly enjoys cooking. Unless it’s grilling outdoors, which she does as well, or breakfast, she doesn’t let Dad do much as far as meals are concerned. But the cleaning up? That’s a different story. She cooks. She doesn’t do the clean up.

After I say the blessing for the table, we dig in, listening to Emmy tell us all about her day at school. It’s moments like this one that breaks my heart for how much Katherine didn’t get to be a part of. I’m amazed at how well Emmy has adjusted to all the changes. New home and starting kindergarten is a lot to handle, let alone her mother passing.

Both Dad and I polish off two bowls of soup in the time it takes Mom and Emmy to finish theirs and when we’re all finished, Mom offers to help Emmy take her bath while I clean up the dinner dishes.

I haven’t talked to Sadie much today so I grab my phone and shoot off a text, hoping that I can talk to her once I get Emmy to bed.

Me:I hope you had a good day.

I’d love to go over there again tonight but first of all, I’m exhausted and know that I’d end up crashing at her place which doesn’t scream good dad. And second of all, as much of a pussy as it makes me sound, I want her to come to me. I scrub harder on the dishes as I think over our years together. For as long as we’ve known each other, I’ve been the one to initiate everything between us and if we’re going to make this work between us — which I’m praying we will — I need to know that it’s not one sided. I hate feeling so vulnerable when it comes to my relationship with Sadie. Losing her once ripped me in two. Losing her again would surely kill any chance of my heart recovering. It’s scary… but she’s worth it. I trust her and what we’re building. It feels too right.

She doesn’t reply right away, but I’m pretty sure there were some classes tonight at the studio so I don’t think much of it. As I’m climbing the stairs, Emmy is emerging from the bathroom, wrapped up in a towel. Her hair is slicked down from being brushed while still wet and her skin is dewy and a little red. She’s adorable and for a second my heart stutters.I made that.

“Grandma let me use bubbles!”

“She did, huh?” A quick glance inside the bathroom tells me Grandma’s probably regretting that right now as she bends over the tub on her knees to rinse out all the bubbles.

“Uh huh!”

“Fun! Go get on some pajamas and I’ll be right in to help get some clothes picked out for tomorrow. Want to do a puzzle or play Go Fish before bed?”

“Go Fish.”

“That’s what I was hoping you’d say.” I kiss the top of her head and let her get into her pajamas while I check with Mom. “You good? Want me to take over?” I ask her, peeking into the tub and wincing when I see the amount of bubbles still sitting in the tub.

She sits back on her feet and blows some hair out of her eyes. “I may have underestimated how much three capfuls of bubbles would produce.”

“I see. So this isn’t the work of my daughter?”

“Unfortunately no.”

“Then I’m off the hook?” I tease. She knows I’d help her if she wanted me to.

“Yes. You go tend to your daughter.”

“Thanks, Mom. I don’t know what either of us would do without you.”

She grins at me over her shoulder and teases me right back. “Starve. Not have clean clothes to wear. Live in filth. Not be able to spend the night with Sadie without Emmy knowing about it.”

I can’t deny any of it. Chuckling, I say, “Sounds about right.”

I go to Emmy’s room and push open the door. She’s wearing a Christmas pajama top that’s easily two sizes two small and a pair of bottoms with sunflowers on them. “Looking good, Emmy girl.”

She doesn’t even blink at my sarcasm. “Thanks, Daddy.”

Working together, we pick out an outfit for her to wear tomorrow that matches a little better and is appropriate for the cooling temperatures. They talked snow already next week and I’m not even surprised. The air is crisp and smells damp. It’s only mid-October but snow this early on is fairly common. Growing up, our Halloween costumes always had to fit over several layers of clothing.

After three hands of Go Fish, she starts yawning and I know if we’re going to get any reading in, we’d better call it a night. I remind her to brush her teeth and when she returns with breath that doesn’t smell remotely like the nasty bubble gum flavored toothpaste I bought her, I send her back to try again. She groans and I give her a stern look. “Fine,” she grumbles and I try not to laugh.

When she comes back the second time, she dramatically breathes into my face. “Much better. Go pick out books.”

“Three?”

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