“She’s mine.”
“Yes, I know. Ours. But I never want to take her mom away from her.”
“Can we come in?” the big dude asked. “It’s looking a little weird with us standing out here.”
I unlatched the chain, and just as Drew walked inside, Darla opened the bathroom door.
“Drew!” She ran and jumped into his arms.
“Heya, superstar.”
Held in Drew’s arms, Darla stared down the big guy as if he were a short kindergartener. “Who are you?”
“I’m Russ, a friend of your parents.”
My eyes glazed over at the wordparents, and I felt faint.
“Jules!”
“Mom, I don’t have parents ...”
Those words echoing in the room were the last I heard before I actually did faint.
I came to on the bed, my feet up on a pillow, my head propped in Drew’s lap. Darla sat next to me, dressed for the day and licking a lollipop.
“Ugh,” I groaned.
“Mommy, are you okay? You fainted. Drew asked me if you ate yesterday, but I couldn’t remember. Did you?”
“I did, baby girl.” I tried to sit up, but Drew held me still.
“Take it easy.”
“Mr. Russ knew my dad too, like Drew. A long time ago,” she said.
Apparently Drew had fixed the situation, the crisis averted.
Of course.
He was the hero, and eventually I’d be the bad guy.
“Russ is going to drive my car, and I’m going to take you and Darla home after some breakfast.”
“We need to get back for my tennis lesson tomorrow, Mom.”
I closed my eyes, blocking out the sun and the sight of my girl, cooing after her father once again.
“It’s time for us to go, Jules.”
I nodded. Drew helped me up and walked me to the bathroom, where I did my thing and slipped on some clothes.
Thankfully, Russ was gone when I came out of the bathroom. Darla was now sitting next to Drew, telling him about the ocean.
“Turtles are my favorite, but fish too. And today, we were gonna look for dolphins. When I grow up, I’m gonna be a sea doctor. Isn’t that awesome?”
“It sure is, superstar. What about your tennis?”
“Of course, I’m going to play tennis too. I’m going to do it all like Mom.”
