Page 65 of Second Dance
Bella met my eyes. “I just want a break from it all. For tonight. Grace will distract me.”
“She’s good at that,” Gillian said.
A part of me wanted to say no. To gather Bella up, lock the doors, sit outside her room, and hold vigil until dawn. Another part knew what a miracle it was that she wanted to spend time with Gillian.
“I get it. You can go with Gillian,” I said.
Bella stepped away and turned to Gillian. “I kind of invited myself, didn’t I? Is it okay? Will Grace be mad?”
“She’ll be thrilled to see you. We’ll have a girls’ night.” She touched Bella’s shoulder lightly. “It’ll be epic. No one does girls’ nights like me.”
Bella grinned. “Can we have popcorn? And a girl movie?”
“We always have popcorn on girls’ night. You can pick whatever movie you want.”
“Can I bring my favorite nail polish?” Bella asked. “Will you paint my nails for me?”
“Absolutely.”
“Come on, I’ll help you pack,” Sonya said.
“Do you want to see my room, Gillian?” Bella asked.
“I’d love to.”
They left the kitchen, chatting about polish colors and which were their favorites. I looked over at my son, who stared at the countertop, tapping his fingers on the surface.
“You okay?” I asked.
He lifted his gaze to meet mine. “Yeah, I’m good. You and Ben will get it all figured out, and we can forget about all of this.” He smiled. “And Bella wanting to go to Gillian’s? That’s a good thing.”
“I guess it is.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Mom would’ve liked Gillian. She would see what a great mother she is and know that we were going to be looked after.”
I pulled him into a hug and he didn’t even resist, just let me hold him for a moment.
“Dad, we’re going to be fine, you know.”
“Yeah, I know. As long as I have you guys, we’re going to be fine.”
14
GILLIAN
After dinner, I sent the girls upstairs to shower and change into pajamas. Grace had been surprised when Bella walked through the door with me, but she'd recovered quickly, pulling her into a hug. To her credit, she hadn't mentioned the soccer game disaster or asked any questions—she simply made Bella feel welcome.
Downstairs, I pulled out a pot for popcorn. Grace appeared in the kitchen doorway wearing her cotton pajamas dotted with cherries.
“Hey, Mom. You good?”
“Sure I am. Why do you ask?” I measured out kernels and added them to the bubbling oil.
“I don't know. It's just been a lot. We're not used to drama.” She glanced toward the ceiling. From above, the shower turned on—Bella was still getting ready.
I smiled, pulling Grace in for a hug. “It has been some drama, but nothing we can’t handle, right?”
“I feel so bad for Bella. She started crying again upstairs.”
