Page 76 of Scoop Me Up
After a few moments of consideration, she looked up at me with her wide, blue eyes. “Daddy, can I get pancakes?”
“Of course, Bug. Anything else?”
“Bacon,” she said with a nod.
Mickey swung by and took our order—bacon and pancakes for Ellie, over-medium eggs and toast for me—and when that was done, I turned to face Ellie, who was coloring.
“Bug, can we talk about something?”
Ellie stopped coloring and put her crayons down. “What’s wrong, Daddy?”
“Nothing’s wrong, Bug. I just wanted to… run something by you.” She looked up at me, her gaze one of pure love and trust, and I worried that I was about to shatter something. Jennifer had dated, but I hadn’t, and I had no clue how Ellie would handle me seeing someone she cared so much about. “You know Sam? I mean Mix?”
“Duh.”
I suppressed a chuckle. Of course she knew them. What had I been thinking? “Well, I really like Mix.”
“Me too. They let me help at the ice cream shop and they taught me all about making ice creamandreading.”
“That’s great, baby. I’m glad you like them. Because… well, you know how Mommy had a boyfriend?”
Ellie nodded solemnly. “They broke up.”
I swallowed and nodded. “Yes. They did. Well, Mix and I… Mix is my…”
“Your they-friend?” She suggested with a frown, as if the word didn’t quite make sense.
“Exactly. A special, romantic friend. Does that make sense?”
“Okay.”
Mickey chose that moment to deliver our breakfast, his smirk impossible to miss. He was probably loving overhearing everyuncomfortable word out of my mouth. He gave me a serious nod before leaving us to it.
“Are you okay with that? With me dating Mix?”
Ellie shoved a bite of pancake in her mouth and chewed for a moment. “Yeah. Can I call them Sam now?”
“Probably. I haven’t asked, but I don’t think they’d mind that.”
“And can I run the cash register?”
I coughed to cover up my laugh. “I don’t think you’re quite old enough for that. But you can definitely help out at the shop.”
“Are you going to live with them now? And get married?”
“I don’t know, Bug. It’s not that simple.”
She shrugged. “Okay.”
“Any other questions?”
“Are you in love with Sam?”
My face heated and I took a bite of egg to cover for myself while I tried to control my response. “I feel very strongly about them. Is that good enough for now?” I didn’t think it was appropriate to tell my elementary schooler that I was in love with someone before I told the person in question.
“Yeah. Daddy?”
I put my fork down and looked at her. “Yes?”
