“She did?”
“Did you know him? You have the same eyes as me.”
I remembered Sully saying something about kids and their mouths; anything and everything comes out of them. Back when he said it, I disregarded it, never believing I would experience it for myself.
Well, my daughter might as well have dropped the mic. I had a kid and she had a mouth.
Even when she was sick.
“I did know him,” I said, going with it. Jules was going to kill me, but I was pretty sure there was no movie to distract Darla from this conversation.
She took another sip of her drink, and then a bigger one.
“You like that?”
She nodded. “Tastes good.”
“The perfect amount of sweet and not,” I said with a wink.
She winked back and took another big gulp.
“Here, give it to me and I’ll set it right next to you on the table.” I leaned over her to set the drink down.
“How did you know him?”
Settled back in my seat, I blew out a long breath. Kids and their mouths.
“We were in school together. Your mom, dad, and I.” That sounded believable.
Her eyes started to close. “He’s busy with work, but he thinks about me.”
“He does think about you. I know it.”
She gave half a nod and fell asleep.
I sat there for a long while until I knew she was out, and then I went up to my office and grabbed my laptop.
Seated back at her feet, I worked until she woke up, hot and thirsty. It was time for some meds, so I got Darla another drink and a popsicle. And this time, we did watch a movie. Not a princess movie or a cartoon, but a funny one about a bunch of kids, a dog, and their clubhouse.
Darla giggled and laid her feet on my lap. It was the best two hours of my life.
When the movie was over, Darla said she had to pee. Drew from a few months ago would have been shocked to think of himself taking a little girl to use the bathroom, but Darla was his daughter.
And nothing feels more right.
I helped Darla up and showed her the way, waiting right outside the door for her.
“You hungry?” I asked when she came out.
“No.”
“No prob. Let’s go rest some more.”
“Thanks. Mom keeps making me eat toast.”
“Well, she’s a mom. She’s supposed to.”
This made Darla smile.
