Page 125 of The Infiniteness of Yesterday
“You already said that, Mom.”
I laugh. “Goodnight my little monster. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She hangs up the phone and I’m not surprised when Spencer’s phone rings immediately after. He answers and like me, puts it on speaker.
“Daddy!” she shrieks before he can answer.
He chuckles. “Hey, how’s my princess?”
“Good,” she sing-songs. “I had a tea party today with grandma and grandpa. I’m staying the night tonight.”
“Oh, that sounds fun.” He reaches across and grabs my hand, flipping it palm side up where he proceeds to trace over the lines there.
“It was. And we collected seashells.”
“I know that’s your favorite.”
“Yeah, can I add them to our collection?”
“Sure thing.” He grins. “Bring them with you next time.”
“Do you think mom would want to see my seashell collection?”
He chuckles, holding eye contact with me when he says, “I’m sure she would love that.”
“Cool. I’ll ask her.” She seems to set the phone down for a moment, talking to my mom. She comes back and says, “I’m going to bed. Will you read me a story?”
“I’ll always read you a story.” He pulls his hand away from mine and straightens, nodding for me to follow him upstairs. “Do you have a book in mind?”
“The ghost one.”
He chuckles, reaching back for my hand with his free one. “I should’ve known.”
We reach the top of the stairs, and he leads me straight into Monroe’s bedroom. I turn on the bedside light and he shoots me a grateful smile as he squats down at her bookshelf and pulls the requested book off the shelf.
We settle on top of her bed together and he says to her, “I have the book. Are you in bed and ready for the story?”
“Yep.” It sounds like she’s patting the bed covers. She stays in my old bedroom when she spends the night there and I smile picturing her there. “All ready.”
“And you brushed your teeth?”
She sighs heavily. “Grandma made me.”
He chuckles. “You have to brush your teeth, Roe. Oral health is important. We don’t want cavities.”
She sighs heavily. “Daddy, I didn’t call you for a lecture. I called you for my story time.”
“All right, all right,” he says, flashing me an amused smile.
He lays the phone on his chest and opens the book to the first page. I find myself smiling as he reads, making voices for the various characters. He’s awfully good at it and I foresee another career venture for him in voice acting.
When the story is finished, he closes the book and says, “Night, Roe. Daddy loves you.”
“Love you, too,” she replies in a sleepy voice. “Night, night.”
He hangs up the phone and sighs, angling his head toward me. “You look awfully cozy there,” he remarks about the way I’m curled up against him.
“What can I say? You have an excellent reading voice.”
