He felt like he should gird his loins or some other archaic phrase to prepare himself. "Yeesss?"
"I just wanted to ask..." She blew out a breath, her gaze turning to the side before looking back up at him again. "Wouldyou really be okay with me calling her mom? I mean, if she's okay with it?"
They'd talked about what Ruth's role would be in their family, but they'd never really talked about how they 'felt' about the matter."
Nick looked at the clock on the wall. If they drove through somewhere instead of getting out to eat, there would be time for this conversation.
Or at least the start of it.
Nick wrapped his arms around her and picked her up like he used to when she was little girl.
Katie's peals of laughter rang off the walls and in his ears.
He felt his spirits lift even higher.
He sat them both down on the bench in the entryway.
And they talked as they both put on their shoes. "You wanted to know how I feel about you asking Ruth if you can call her mom?"
Katie smiled at him as she tugged on one boot and started lacing it up. "Yeah. I know I told you that I want to call her mom, but you didn't really say anything about it besides it being my choice. And if Ruth says I can."
He nodded. "And it does come down to those things. If you call her mom there's a certain amount of expectations that people are going to have."
"Expectations?" She paused her work on the laces, her arms going slack as her brain went into overdrive. "Like who? What?"
Nick had to think about it for a minute.
"Your mom's parents died when she was in college. None of her extended family is close. But they would probably be the only ones to question it." He leaned back and felt the wall against his shoulder blades. He drew in a breath and let it out again. "People outside of our family? I don't think we need to consider them too much. There is another family we're not considering here."
Katie leaned back against the wall, and it wasn't lost on Nick that she was copying his posture.
He didn't think she was doing it on purpose, but since her mom had passed on, they'd become closer than ever before.
They were mimicking each other, and he saw it happen regularly.
He wasn't sure how silly it was to feel like an absolute boss when his daughter mimicked him, but he felt about ten feet tall in those moments.
When she got a little older and started using his own temper against him?
He might not be so excited then.
"You mean..."
He met Katie's confused gaze with a soft smile.
"Ruth's family?"
He nodded. "I'm not sure exactly how many family members she has and how close they are to her. Ruth mostly talks to us about... us. We need to talk to her more about her family. Her life."
Katie nodded slowly. "But when I've asked her about herself, she'll say something and then she'll change it around and ask me questions about myself. Or you."
A strange shadow passed over her features. A shadow that he rarely saw in her expression anymore.
Nick reached out and put his hand on Katie's where it sat on the cushion of the bench seat. "Tell me what you're thinking, Katydid."
She gave him a weak smile.
"I don't think we can rush this, Dad." She rushed on. "It's not that I'm not sure about her becoming family. I don't think you're waffling about it either."
