He squeezes my hand again. “Okay. Let’s go.”
We approach his daughter. “Frankie…” he says, with a hesitation and insecurity he doesn’t normally carry. “Lina’s going to come over tonight. To watch a movie.” He watches her face like a hawk.
She looks back and forth between us, sensing something is up, probably because Dom and I are looming over her with absolutely insane looks on our faces.
I take a step back, give her some space, break eye contact for a second.
“Okay?” she says.
“How do you feel about that?”
She continues glancing between us. “Fine? But why are you being weird?” She says with an astuteness far beyond her years, like she does everything else, because Dom, unlike my own, is an amazing father and has raised her so well.
I make eye contact with Dom and attempt to non-verbally communicateyou gonna do this in a bar?
What, you want me to wait and have this conversation when we’re already home?his eyes say.
I guess not.
I wish we fucking thought this out and didn’t have to do this right now, but now we’re locked in, he winces. I sit down in a nearby chair to make this feel like less of an ambush. Dom squats down.
He goes with the ‘rip off the bandaid’ strategy. “Lina’s going to be around the house a lot. Lina and Daddy really like each other.”
She cuts her eyes to me. “Like you’re going to be in our family? Like how Tita Georgia joined our family?”
I start at her comprehension. The ends of Dom’s mouth tip up.
To think that a few weeks ago I was on a self-imposed luxury yacht break, and here I am now, trying to convince a five-year-old to let me into her family.
I freeze.
I almost walk out of the bar with this realization. Leave Dom and Frankie behind.
Because this is the absolute opposite of what New and Improved Lina should be doing. Starting a brand new, harder, time and energy intensive job? Joining afamily? Adopting adaughter?
But then I look at the two of these beautiful identical humans who are looking at me with big hopeful doe eyes, and I push it aside. “Yeah, kind of like that. I’d like to be. I really like both of you—you and your dad.”
“What do you think?” Dom prods gently.
She is silent for a very long moment. Then, the deluge of questions breaks from behind the dam, as if she is a doctoral candidate conducting research for her dissertation and only has five minutes to do so. “Will you read me my bedtime stories alone or with Daddy?”
I don’t miss a beat. “You can pick whoever you’d like to read your bedtime stories. Me or Daddy or both of us.”
“Can I hang out with you during school?”
“During school, no. After school, yes, but I might be busy and might not be able to hang out much.”
“What do I call you?”
“You can call me Ms. Sanchez in school and Lina everywhere else.”
“Will you make new rules in the house or will you follow Daddy’s rules?”
Hm, Dominic’s face says.Good question.
“I will not be making any rules in your house, but I will be enforcing your dad’s.”
“Will you help me do my chores?”
