I nod. “Thank you for being there.” His touch is instantly comforting, and I resist curling into him to exhale out the entire afternoon. “I wonder what our next run-in will be. Maybe involving some kind of embarrassing animal chasing me in a public square. What’s an embarrassing animal? One of those baboons with the red butt, maybe?”
He throws his head back and laughs, so full-bodied and genuine. It makes me feel like I could fly and punch the clouds. Then he says, “It has to be one that’s weirdly fast, so you have toscurry.”
I snort-laugh. “Yes. Scurrying would be the only option. You’ve already seen me roll down a hill and wrestle a small child in a body of water.” I am smiling so big, I feel it in my bones. “Small Chihuahua?”
“No, that’s too cute. Maybe a mole rat?”
“Or what about, something large and weird? An ostrich.”
We catch each other’s eyes and start laughing, and suddenly it feels like we are standing very close. I take a step back. “You should head out,” I say. “You left your dog and girl behind.”
He makes a funny face. “Avery’s not my girl.”
“Oh, okay.” I try and be cool about it, like hearing that isn’t some sort of relief.
“There’s no rush, Pickle loves Avery way more than me and she’s happy to watch him.”
I want to take him up on this offer so badly. Even though Micais fine and Marcella isn’t upset, I still feel shaky from the whole experience. But it’s completely inappropriate.
He must see the indecision on my face because he says, “Happy to leave you all to it, too.”
Reallywish he wasn’t being so incredibly perceptive right now. Making everything so much damn harder.
“Cassie!” I hear Ozzie’s voice call out. I shoot Ellis an apologetic look and duck back in.
“Mom wants to talk to you,” Mica says, holding out the phone. I brush his mop of curly brown hair out of his eyes before taking it.
Marcella’s wearing a hat and is outdoors in some lovely location. Her cheeks are a bit flushed—from the sun or wine, I don’t know. She says, “Just wanted to tell you that you better not beat yourself up about this for the rest of the weekend.”
I nod, my throat closing up. “I’m sorry if this ruined your trip.”
“What did Ijustsay?” she says. “Also, you didn’t ruin anything. It will take more than a few stitches on my firstborn to pry me out of wine country.”
We hang up right as the doctor comes in and gives us the green light to head out. The doctor, an older woman with warm brown eyes and a kid-friendly disposition, gives us instructions on stitches care and hands me a prescription for some pain meds. Ellis comes in and Mica instantly holds his hand, which is so sweet I almost burst into tears, again.
It’s already getting dark when we head out to the parking lot. “Should we get some food on the way home?” I ask the kids as we pile into the car. “Maybe some soup dumplings?”
Mica and Ozzie can’t believe their luck. I look at Ellis as I secure Ozzie into her car seat. “Should I drop you off at home?”
“Only if you really don’t need the help.”
“Eat xiao long bao with us!” Ozzie’s little voice is laced with a plea. Foodie toddler is hard to resist.
Mica is trying to play it cool, but I can tell he wants Ellis to stay, too. He hasn’t left Ellis’s side since the lake. “Want to have dinner with us?” I ask, trying to keep my voice, my face, every molecule of me, neutral.
“Sure,” he says, getting into the passenger side.
The four of us head out, Mica and Ozzie chattering about all the dumplings they’re going to eat, Ellis and I silent in the front, avoiding eye contact.
26
“You guys really know your stuff,” Ellis is saying as we sit around my dining table surrounded by the compact and wonder-filled boxes of Din Tai Fung. He’s talking to the kids, who are expertly balancing their soup dumplings on their spoons, then biting off the tops before slurping out the soup in them.
“I’ve trained them well,” I say. We all have damp hair from the showers that I immediately made us take once we got home. I started babbling to the kids nonstop while Ellis took his—trying not to imagine him naked in my shower, using my products and having them wash off in a sudsy glide down his body.
Jesus.
Suddenly, Mica pushes out of his chair. “Can I play a record please, Aunt Cassie?”
