LEXI
Do you mean you want to spend time with Evie?
With Evie’s hand in mine, we shuffled to the bathroom for our morning routine. The smell of her minty toothpaste filledthe small space as she hummed through brushing her teeth. My mind, however, lingered on the text.
Halfway through breakfast, my phone buzzed again.
DYLAN
Yes, and you.
My stomach dropped.
Why does Dylan want to meet me?
I clenched my phone in one hand and shoveled cereal into my mouth with the other, though my appetite had completely vanished. Evie chattered away about her favorite stuffed animal, oblivious to my sudden tension. We finished breakfast, rushed to get dressed, and I held her small, warm hand as we walked to the subway. My mind churned with questions.
I’d barely dropped Evie off at her preschool when the teacher stopped me to let me know that Evie had a special, handmade card for her dad for Father’s Day, and if I could please make sure it was delivered to her Dad.
Shit, it’s almost the third week of June already.
As I waved good-bye to Evie, she called out, “Can you call Dad and ask him to meet us today?”
Oh God, Evie deserved memories with her father, even if Dylan didn’t care for them. I knew having a child as a single parent was going to be hard. I was prepared for it. But Evie sure as hell hadn’t signed up for the lows of growing up without a father. It made my chest ache when I realized she deserved stability.
By afternoon, I caved.
Evie needed a strong bond with her dad, even if he wasn’t in my life anymore. So, I called Dylan, and to my surprise, he agreed to meet her that evening.
Dylan showedup twenty minutes late. When I opened the door, he was staring at his phone. He didn’t look up until I cleared my throat.
He pressed his hand on my arm and squeezed it warmly, letting it linger. “Hey, Lex. You look good.”
I glanced at his touch on my arm, wondering why I didn’t feel any of the warmth he was supposedly feeling. The nickname irritated me. He’d lost the right to call me that.
I pulled my arm away. “She’s in her room. I’ll call her downstairs.” I gestured for him to sit on the couch, putting distance between us.
“She ready?” he asked, but his eyes were still on me, not looking toward Evie’s room.
“She’s been ready for half an hour.” I moved toward the hallway. “Evie! Your dad’s here!”
She came running, her whole face eager with cautious excitement. “Daddy!”
My chest squeezed watching her sit next to him with disbelief and burgeoning happiness. Now that she was getting older, she was asking me more and more questions about her Dad. And he was finally here.
Dylan patted her head absently, his phone still in his other hand. But he glanced at me as he did it, like he wanted me to see him being fatherly.
“So what are we doing?” He directed the question at me, not her.
“Tea party!” Evie said quietly, tugging at his arm to show him the setup on the floor next to the dining table. “Come see my new tea set!”
Dylan’s nose wrinkled. “A tea party? Come on, that’s boring.” He looked at me again, a smile playing at his lips. “How about we all watch something together? Like old times?”
My stomach turned. This wasn’t about Evie at all.
“But Daddy, I set everything up.”
“Later, okay? I’m tired. Let’s just relax.” He was already moving toward the couch, patting the spot next to him which was closer to where I was standing.
