I was nervous when I picked the girls up at their house tonight but when I saw Amelia come running to the truck in a pink dress that matched her moms, I knew it would be the most perfect night.
No matter what happened.
“What about there?” Melanie and I both looked to where Amelia was pointing this time. Lucky enough for us, it was a nacho stand. It wasn’t what we were thinking she would choose but it was better than having popcorn for dinner.
“Let’s see what they have.”
Melanie lead the way as Amelia stayed glued to my side, her hand never leaving mine. It’d been that way since I’d helped her get out of the truck. Long gone was mom and now here I was. Melanie had given me a slight snicker as Amelia proclaimed that my hand was now hers. Before she looked away I caught a glimpse of sadness that I hadn’t gotten to ask her about yet.
I knew this was hard for Melanie but I wanted her to know that she still made all the calls in what was going to happen here. If she didn’t want me to be this close to Amelia, all she needed to do was say so.
“It looks like they have a kid’s nacho with meat, cheese, sour cream, and salsa.”
“That sounds good, mommy!” Amelia jumped at my side and screamed in enthusiasm.
A few heads turned our way. I stood taller, looking down the moms that tried to place a scowl on their face at Amelia’s outburst. The second their eyes met mine, they scurried away, leaving us in peace.
“We’ll have a kid’s nacho, a petite nacho, and,” Melanie turned to me, “what do you want, babe?”
My eyes widened at the term Melanie used and I wasn’t sure if she’d realized she said it. She stood there still waiting for me to tell her what I wanted to eat. I looked over the menu and knew immediately.
“I’ll have the jumbo nacho.”
“And the jumbo nacho.” Melanie pulled out her wallet but I let go of Amelia’s hand, reaching for mine and rushing to the counter to try to shove my card into the person’s hand before Melanie could pay.
Right when I got my hand close enough, Melanie swatted it away and handed the man in the truck her card and smiled at him, then at me. She placed a hand on my chest and reached up, placing a kiss on my cheek.
“You can get the desert.”
She turned away, still acting as if nothing had happened. All I wanted to do was take her in my arms and have her answer the new questions that were forming in my head.
I needed to know what she was thinking.
“Let’s go find a seat.” Melanie took Amelia’s finally empty hand and lead her to a bench, not far from the truck. I stood at the pick-up window, waiting for our food. From afar, it looked like a mother and daughter sitting at a table but straining my ears, the conversation was far from the typical mother daughter one.
“I like Jack, mommy.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. He’s nice and helps us. And he likes you and you like him and he would have let me eat popcorn.”
I held in the snicker as I turned around to grab our ready food. When I got to the table, Melanie shot me a grin with another eye roll and I’m glad I’d heard what Amelia said. It solidified the fact that Melanie knew that Amelia already had me wrapped around her finger.
My heart beat faster as I placed the food down in front of us and took my seat. Out of everything Amelia had just told her mother, it was the fact that I’d let Amelia eat popcorn that Melanie was focusing on. I knew Melanie liked me but for Amelia to also see it and say something set me on edge. When it came to her daughter, Melanie had been closed off, but now that we were in the open, I wasn’t sure what she would do with what Amelia said. Would she brush it off or would she run, knowing that if her daughter could see what was happening, everyone else could.
“What’s that look for?” I played into Melanie’s hand, making sure to steer the conversation away from what else Amelia had said.
“Oh, nothing.” Melanie slide her nachos in front of her.
She took a bite and closed her eyes, taking in the different flavors that were now hitting her tongue. They were apparently good nachos. I looked over to Amelia who was also devouring hers and it was cute that both girls looked exactly alike when eating. Not just that but in general. I hadn’t realized how similar these two were.
“This was a good choice, Amelia.”
“Mhm!” Amelia still had her mouth stuffed with nachos as she picked up another chip and shoved it into her mouth. She was the epitome of happiness. Then I looked over to Melanie, who had a sad look on her face, again.
I scooted closer to her on the bench.
“What’s wrong?” I leaned in, placing a hand on her side, pulling her closer. All the while, my eyes were on Amelia who was still blissfully eating.
