“This type, a few years. When I was little, I didn’t mind the others so much, but now… They’re like braces, but your teeth never get any better!”
My heart.
This is so wildly out of my scope as a designer, and I’m not even a real designer yet.
It’s just a wild dream backed by a fashion degree I was lucky to get. Designing something with medical considerations, that’s a whole different ballgame.
But she’s watching me with trusting green eyes and I can’t tell her no.
I can’t just explain away her hopes and dreams with lifeless logic, even if it’s the normal, adult thing to do.
“I’ll see what I can come up with, Sophie. Just give me some time,” I say firmly.
She leans forward and hugs me.
“Awesome! Thanks a ton, Margot. You rock.”
I rub her back, a little self-conscious.
I don’t deserve this little girl.
She’s already thanking me for a miracle I probably can’t deliver, and with so much gratitude you’d think I just made it rain puppies on parachutes.
But at the same time, warmth blooms in my chest.
I’m not used to kids hugging me. It’s surprisingly nice, and her skinny arms around my neck feel reassuring.
I give her a parting squeeze.
“I’ll definitely help out if I can, but just know, I can’t promise anything. Are you cool with that?”
“Oh, yeah, Iknow,” she says earnestly. “But that’s better than no one trying at all, right?” My surprise must show on myface, because she adds, “Dad’s cool and all. He just doesn’t get wanting to look pretty.”
No, I don’t suppose he does.
Dadzilla might be an expert at a lot of things, but that excludes his little girl’s style and self-image.
Sophie watches me a second longer, her small face pinched in thought.
“You know, it’s okay if you wanna kiss him,” she says slowly.
What?
I sputter, my fist banging my chest as I try to parse what she said. Surely, she didn’t actually mean—
“Kiss? Honey, are you talking about me and… your dad?”
She gives me a dull look. “Well, yeah. Who else?”
I can’t breathe.
“Why would you say that?”
“Dan said he saw you guys kissing in the attic.”
Holy shit!
I freeze.
