Page 9 of Wicked Love

“Poppy! I wanted to see you,” Becca says.

She goes to hug Poppy and I put my hand on Becca’s shoulder.

“We hardly know Poppy, Becca. Remember, we don’t hug people we don’t know well?”

“She my best friend!”

“You sure know how to make me feel good, Becca.” Poppy holds up her hand. “High-five?”

I give Poppy a grateful look as Becca slaps her hand happily. It’s important to me that I teach Becca boundaries, not just for the sake of other people, but for her own safety when I’m not with her.

“Do you guys come here often?” Poppy asks.

“Yes.” Becca nods. “I'm happy you find us.”

Poppy’s smile grows and her eyes cut over to me quickly before she turns back to Becca. “I’m happy about that too. What a nice surprise,” she says.

We step out of the way, and she places her order.

“Sit with us!” Becca says.

I try not to groan out loud. For some reason, Becca is all about this woman. She seems nice enough, but I’d hoped to spend time with my girl this morning, not a stranger.

“Well…sure, if that's okay with your dad.” Poppy turns to look at me.

I pause and when I speak, it’s not the warmest. “All right.”

Poppy gives me a sharp look, her smile faltering somewhat, and I try to soften my next words.

“Sure. Join us.”

We wait for our drinks and breakfast sandwiches, and when Clara hands them over, we go to Becca's favorite table. It's by the fireplace in the back.

“Elle says you flirt with my dad, but my dad says no, you did not.”

Wow, Becca is getting really good at retaining what she hears. We’ve worked with various speech and language therapists and occupational therapists over the years who have widened Becca’s communication skills, but she still surprises me with the leaps she’s made. We didn’t have enough help in the beginning and unfortunately some of the things the doctors said initially left me with little hope that she’d be as communicative as she is.

So while I’m proud of her right now, I also want to dig a hole and fall into it. I didn’t think I was capable of being embarrassed, but I guess in front of a beautiful woman, it can happen.

Poppy's cheeks turn pinker than they already were, and her eyes fly to mine, wide.

“Um, I wasn't flirting,” she says. “I was just being friendly.”

“I like flirting,” Becca says. “I flirt too.”

“Not exactly,” I say quietly.

“You flirt too, Daddy.”

“No. No, I don’t flirt.”

Poppy laughs and takes a sip of her drink, fanning her face.

“Flirt with Poppy, Daddy.”

“Flirting is when you pay extra attention to someone you have a crush on and like lots and lots,” Poppy says. She puts her hands on her cheeks and looks at me, laughing. “So, no, your dad doesn’t want to flirt with me.” Under her breath she adds, “She’s putting it all out there this morning.”

“It’s the way she rolls,” I say.

---