“Sure, babe. We just need to keep the music quiet.” I grabbed the milk and berries from the fridge. Ivy already had a bunch of them cut up, so I stuck them on a plate for her and poured her half a glass of milk. Drew found out the hard way this week that it wasn’t always a great choice to give a four-year-old a full glass.
I began playing Fleetwood Mac’s Greatest Hits from my phone on low, enough that she could hear it and keep twirling but hopefully low enough that Ivy could continue to rest. Finally, I opened my messaging app and prepared to get a load of shit.
Drew:I’m guessing we’ve seen the last of you for the night. Steph and I have polished off your whiskey with Dad. Mom crashed. Chief has been walked. And I’m guessing you’ve gotten laid. All’s right in your world, but my hand is tired.
Steph:Crass. I don’t need to know about your hand. And why don’t you go wash it, bleach it, something.
Drew:You’re sitting across the living room from me. You could just say it instead of texting.
Steph:Dad is between us. I’d rather he doesn’t know how disgusting you are.
God, these two. I had to laugh. They drove me crazy, but I couldn’t imagine my life without them. I checked out Addie. Still doing some type of interpretive dance. Excellent.
Steph:And Jake, I’m assuming from your lack of texts that the Neanderthal that we call our baby bro is correct and you and Ivy have done the deed.
Drew:I’ll give Bookstore a high five at brunch. I like her. Let’s keep her. Don’t fuck this up, bro.
Fuck, brunch. I forgot about that. I didn’t want to make Addie pancakes and ruin her appetite. I’d figure something out.
Steph:Not to agree with the fool, but I hope you know what you’re doing here, Jake. Ivy’s great and she has a kid. This isn’t something to play with.
Drew:Not that we don’t have faith in you, but you know. Love you and want you to keep your head out of your ass.
Steph:I’ll just echo the caveman above. Love you, bro. See you in the morning. Drew and I are crashing at your place with Mom and Dad. I’m taking your bed because I’m assuming you won’t be returning to use it tonight.
Drew:Well, at least you’ll know if he comes home tonight.
Steph:Exactly.
I laid my phone down as I dropped my elbows to the counter and let my head rest in my hands. Rubbing my temples, I had so many competing thoughts. One, what to tell Addie about breakfast. Two, the notion that I was playing with Ivy. I mean, I didn’t know what the hell we were doing, but I certainly wasn’t trying to hurt her. And I’d never do anything to hurt Addie. I hadn’t drunk that much last night, but I felt a headache looming.
Addie tugged on my pants. “Jakey, are we having pancakes?”
I opened my eyes and peered down at her. My heart skipped a beat. What the hell was that? “Sorry, peanut. I forgot that we’re having brunch at my place.”
“What’s brunch?” She wrinkled her nose.
I stood, picking her up to place her on the counter closer to my own height. I placed a hand on either side of her, then tweaked her nose. “Brunch is a grown-up term for lots of breakfast food but a bit later than normal breakfast time. My mom and dad are in town, and my mom wants to make you pancakes.”
“Your momma and daddy are here?” She began doing that thing where she rocked back and forth when she was sitting. It’s like she had too much excitement to contain in her little body, and it threatened to overflow. My parents were going to eat her up.
“Yeah, peanut, they’re here. My mom wants to make you pancakes, and my dad wanted to get donuts.”
Her eyes widened. In a whisper voice, she said, “Pancakes and donuts? For the same breakfast?”
I heard laughter over my shoulder as I turned to find Ivy leaning on the doorjamb to the kitchen, watching us. “I think they’ve won her over before they even met her,” she said with a soft smile.
Holy hell, she was gorgeous. I mean, she always is, but wow. Her blond waves that I’d woken up with in my face tumbled all over. She wore leggings and a worn T-shirt with some feminist saying because of course she did. However, the T-shirt did not disguise the lack of bra, so I was immediately a fan.
She gave me a soft smile as she moved to join us at the counter. Turning to Addie, she leaned in and gave her a kiss on her temple. “Hey, Sunshine. You have fun with Sara last night?”
Addie nodded, looking very serious. “Yeah, Momma. I want her to come over again to play. But pancakes and donuts?”
Ivy gave Addie a soft smile as she moved over to the cabinets. I was delighted to see her pull down coffee beans. Thank God.
“Yes, Addie, pancakes and donuts. But Jake’s momma and daddy don’t get up as early as you did today, so we need to let them sleep some more. How about a snack tray while you watch cartoons?”
“Yahoo!” Addie’s arms shot up again. “Best day ever.” She looked over at me. “Down please,” she asked with her arms out.
