“But Da-ad!”
Hailey squirms out of my grip, but Micah catches her before she can try to run off again. He picks her up and holds out a hand to help me stand. I straighten, and he pulls me into a hug as I sniffle away the last of the tears.
We thank Kathleen and the zookeeper for their help, and Micah marches for the entrance. Hailey whines and complains, begging for a baby monkey to join Monkey Iris and Monkey Daddy, but Micah stands firm. He walks straight past the stuffed monkeys all the way to the car, never once budging in his resolve. By now, Hailey’s the one crying, though I doubt that’s going to change Micah’s mind.
She wails almost the whole drive home, which, in LA traffic, is a long time. About three blocks from our neighborhood, she finally tires herself out and falls asleep. Micah parks in his driveway and sits quietly for several minutes, his hands white-knuckled on the steering wheel.
Here it comes. He’s going to give me my walking papers. He’s just trying to find the best way to word it.
He takes a deep breath, and I brace myself for the worst.
“I’m sorry, Iris.”
I knew it. “It’s okay. I understand.”
Micah blinks and turns to look at me, confusion written all over him. “Huh?”
“I understand why you’re breaking up with me. I totally get it. I fucked up royally, and there’s no way I can ever make it up to you.”
He blinks a few more times, then bursts out laughing. “Who the fuck said I was breaking up with you? I was just apologizing for my kid scaring the shit out of you.”
Wait … He’s not dumping me?
“But I lost her. Aren’t you mad?”
“No! Iris, kids run off. It happens. Hell, Lisa lost Hailey in the mall one time when she was three, and even though it was the longest half hour of my life, I didn’t blame her. I certainly didn’t divorce her over it.” He takes my hand in his. “You are amazing with Hailey. You guys just click, and it’s so great to see that. You have no idea how much I appreciate the effort you put into interacting with her. I adore that about you.”
My cheeks heat up, and I look away. “She’s a great kid. She makes it easy.”
“You’re going to make a great mom someday. Or stepmom …” His voice trails off, and when I glance back at him, he’s got a strange look on his face. He rubs the back of my hand with his thumb, and I get the feeling he wants to say more.
“Someday,” I agree. “For now, though, I suck at it.”
“Oh, hush.” He stretches across the console to give me a kiss. “Now let’s see if we can get her inside without waking her up.”
Micah carries the sleeping girl inside, and we all head upstairs. Rather than put her down in her own bed, he leads me to his room and gestures for me to join them on the bed. We lie down on either side of Hailey, and Micah pulls the blankets over the three of us, tucking us in. He reaches over Hailey to stroke my hair, and I can’t help but smile at his sweetness. He smiles back, and a tear runs down his cheek.
“I love you, Iris.”
Chapter 24
Micah
There. I said it. I said it, and she didn’t run screaming for her house.
She stayed.
Just looking at the brilliance of her smile when I said it, seeing the sparkle in her eyes, hearing the little sigh of relief … It’s all I need. Even if she never says it back, those things are enough to keep me going.
Iris and I lie there with Hailey for a solid hour before my daughter wakes up. I silently kick myself for screwing up her nap schedule, but the zoo fiasco wore her out. Well, screaming and whining about having to leave the zoo prematurely is what wore her out, but I had to be firm. There’s no way I was going to let her get away with scaring Iris and me like that, especially when she knows better than to run off on her own.
“Daddy?” she says after a little stretch. “Are you still mad at me?”
“No, honey. Daddy’s not mad anymore.”
Her little arms wrap around my neck as she gives me a hug. “I’m sorry I scared you, Daddy.”
“And …?”
