Page 126 of Hello Doctor

I looked at my mom getting that hot spiky feeling in my chest. I didn’t like saying goodbye to her. And now I thought I might cry when I was just so happy.

Mommy got on her knees in front of me and pulled me into a hug. “I promise you can come stay again next month, okay? And I will call you tonight.”

I looked at her, not sure if she was telling the truth but hoping she was. “Do you promise?”

She nodded.

“Pinky promise? Tessa told me you can’t break a pinky promise.”

Mommy smiled and held up her pinky. I shook it extra hard so it would stick.

“I love you,” she said. She said that a lot lately. It made me think she meant it.

“I love you too,” I said, hugging her extra tight.

“Let’s go,” Daddy said.

We went out to his truck, and I climbed into the back seat, mostly because he said I couldn’t sit in the front seat until I was at least twelve. Total bummer. He drove for a little while until we got to a park, and I said, “This isn’t our house.”

He laughed a little, like I said something funny. “I wanted to talk to you about something serious.”

My face got all pinched because I was confused. “What is it?” I thought this was supposed to be a surprise.

He said, “Come on. Let’s go to the swings.”

We walked together to the swings, and I pulled my shorts down a little so the swing wouldn’t burn the backs of my legs. Then I kicked off the ground to get started and asked again, “What’s are we talking about?”

He used his legs to push himself back and forth and said, “It’s about Liv. What do you think of her?”

“I love her,” I said quickly. “She’s totally fun.” I stuck out my legs to show my cowboy boots. “And Ilovethe boots she got me. Are you wearing your bracelet?”

He held out his arm showing me the bracelet on his wrist. I wondered if it made his hair itchy.

He asked, “What do you think about me dating her?”

“Well, kissing is totally gross.”

He laughed again. But I still thought it was gross. “Do you have any worries about us being together?” he asked.

I thought about it for a second, which made me stop swinging as much. “I don’t want you and Livvy to break up like you and Mommy did. That sucked.”

His face confused me. He wasn’t smiling, but he wasn’t frowning either. “I agree; it sucked. And I don’t want to break up with Livvy ever. That’s why I got this.” He moved his hips on the swing and pulled a box out of his pocket. He opened it, showing me a pretty ring with a sparkly diamond. “This was Grandma’s ring. I want to give this to Liv and ask her to marry me, but only if you’re okay with it, because we’re all a family, and we all get a say.”

I jumped out of the swing because I was just so dang happy! “Yes, Daddy! You need to ask her today!”

He smiled big, like he was hoping I’d say that. “I think it would mean more if we both asked her. Will you come with me?”

I nodded quickly. “But we need to get food on the way home because I’m hungry. Can we get ice cream?”

He laughed again. He seemed so happy now. “Okay, we’ll get ice cream. You know, I missed you like crazy.”

“I didn’t miss you so much,” I said. “Because I knew I’d see you in, like, two days.”

Shaking his head, he said, “Come on, kiddo. Let’s go see Liv.”

65

Liv

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