Page 20 of Love Me Gently

Now

“Daddy!”

I squatted in time to catch June as she flung her body at me at full speed.

“Oof,” I grunted and picked her up, adjusting her feet so her heels didn’t dig into my hips. Her arms wrapped around my throat, and if she were any stronger, she’d be choking me. “How are my girls?”

“Feral.” Marie laughed and slipped the strap of their overnight bags off her shoulder. “And they keep getting worse.” She reached out and playfully pinched the back of June’s knee, making her shriek.

“Mommy!”

“Thanks for bringing them back.” It’d been my night to go get them from her home, but I had a late call-out. It was nights like this I was thankful for how easy we co-parented.

“It’s not a problem. You know that.”

She grinned down at Ella who was studiously removing her shoes, lining them up against the wall. She’d said hello to me as soon as the door opened and then was practically barreled out of the way by her little sister. Which almost knocked me down the stairs considering the entryway in my split-level home was barely large enough for me alone.

Not that Ella ever seemed to mind. It never ceased to baffle me how Ella looked exactly like me, June like her mom, and their personalities matched us the exact opposite.

“How’s school, sweetheart?” I reached down and settled my hand at Ella’s head.

She grinned up at me from her crouch on the floor. “Recess is stupid.”

“Oh.” I eyed Marie.

“What have we said about that word?” she asked our daughter.

“Yousaid it wasn’t a nice word.” I hid my chuckle with pressed together lips and flashed wide eyes to Marie. She matched my look with an eye roll. “But I think it’s true because there’s nothing nice about recess.”

“What’s wrong with recess?” In kindergarten it could be anything from being bullied to taking a dodgeball to the face.

“I can’t sit and read,” Ella muttered. “Mrs. Lipton says Ihaveto go run and play.”

“Oh…The horror…”

Marie chuckled and quickly covered it, June popped off my shoulder far enough to screech right into my ear. “Iloveto run and play!”

I flinched at the ear-piercing squeal and gave her a tight hug.

“What’s wrong with running and playing?” I set June down on her feet and got close to meet Ella eye-to-eye. “Does something hurt?”

“No. My hair gets sticky and gross.”

Behind me, Marie’s muffled chuckle sounded much like a snort. I forced the grin that wanted to break free to press into a frown. Only Ella, my five-year-old daughter going on twenty-year-old fashionista, could be upset with this. “I’m sorry. That has to be hard. What if we started wearing your hair up more? Would that help?”

“Maybe.” She shrugged. “Do we get dessert before bedtime?”

“Absolutely. Cookies on the counter from Mellie’s Cakes. If that’s good enough for you.”

“Mellie’s!? I love Mellie’s!” June’s small feet thundered up the stairs, and Ella followed.

For being the older sister, she somehow ended up following after June most of the time.

“Sorry,” I said to Marie when they were gone. “Couldn’t help myself tonight.”

She shrugged. “Your problem getting them to sleep after a sugar high, not mine.”

I should have known she wouldn’t care. It was my week, and outside of phone calls, we respected the differences, however minor they might be, in how we parented. “Thanks again for bringing them back. I do appreciate that, you know.”

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