Page 74 of Please, Forgive Me
Carolina laughed so hard she nearly spilled her coffee.
“More of a big brother than the actual father, huh?” she teased, her eyes glinting with mischief as she fought to keep a straight face.
I rolled my eyes, pretending to be serious, though her joke hit closer to home than I cared to admit. I smiled faintly and shook my head.
“Pretty much.”
We’d started a contest of who could come up with the worst jokes, and Carolina—queen of bad humor—was determined to win. The rule was simple: whoever laughed first lost. But with Max wandering around, sticking his curious snout between us for attention, everything felt even funnier.
Carolina took a deep breath, clearly preparing her next big move.
“Okay,” she said, trying not to smile. “What did the tomato say when it walked into the bank?”
I squinted at her, already fighting laughter. “No clue. What?”
“It wanted to check its balance!” she said with deadly seriousness.
I snorted, trying to hold it in. It almost slipped, but I held strong.
“Alright, that one was pretty good,” I admitted, grinning.
She smirked, not giving me a break.
“What’s the ultimate example of stubbornness?”
“Hmm… no idea. What?”
“Going into school through a revolving door—and leaving through the same one!”
That did it. I broke into uncontrollable laughter so loud that Max perked his ears up, confused. Carolina threw her hands in the air like she’d just scored a winning goal.
“Knew I’d get you with that one!” she shouted triumphantly.
Still laughing, I wiped a tear from my eye.
“Okay, okay, you win. But my turn now. I’ve got one that’ll make you laugh.”
Carolina leaned back, arms crossed, smirking.
“Bring it on.”
“What’s a brown dot on an airplane?” I asked, trying to keep a straight face.
She frowned. “I don’t know. What?”
“A brownie on board!”
Carolina tried to keep her composure, but her lips twitched. A second later, she burst out laughing, throwing her hands up in defeat.
“That was so bad it looped back around and became good!” she said, laughing until she was nearly in tears.
“Told you I’d get revenge!” I said proudly, as Max jumped excitedly between us, barking like he wanted in on the joke.
Still laughing, Carolina leaned back against the couch and looked down at him.
“He’s our witness—this was an epic round of terrible jokes.”
I smiled, running a hand through Max’s fur as he nestled closer to my belly. These silly moments with Carolina were exactly what I needed.
