I grinned. “Last night was the best I’ve slept in years.”
“Because you’re away from Gwen?” she asked, tilting her head in the cutest fucking way.
“No.” I sipped my plain black coffee and admired her toenails. They had snowflakes painted on them, and it was charming as hell. “I’m away from Gwen a lot during the season. That wasn’t it.”
“Huh.” She clicked her tongue. “It’s so cozy here. I also passed out, which, ha, I assumed I’d be up all nightoveranalyzing what happened.” She laughed a bit before inhaling right over the cup. “I can’t believe you knew what drink I liked. This is so kind, thank you.”
“I remember everything about you,” I replied, vowing to be honest moving forward. I had told her my truth last night, so there was no going backward. Only forward. Even if I didn’t know what the hell that meant.
“Hayden,” she said, her voice clogging with emotion, “did you order it… not as hot?”
I nodded. “You prefer kid temps so you can drink it right away.”
“I can’t believe you. No one does that for me.” She stared out the window, a contemplative expression on her face. “Do you know all our friends’ drink orders?”
“No, Char.” I fought a smile as she pieced it together. She complimented me last night on how I remembered small details, and this was a perfect example.
“But you know mine.”
“Yes.”
She tucked her knees up to her chest, holding the croissant in one hand and her coffee in the other. She wiggled her snowflake-covered red toes before facing me. “What are we doing?”
Buzz. Buzz.
My phone vibrated, interrupting the moment. Seeing my mom’s name on the screen shifted my mood. Gwen came first. “It’s my girl. I gotta take this.”
“Of course.” She waved her hand, the red splotches returning to her cheeks. For some reason, the thought of leaving her right now seemed like the wrong decision. Sheasked the question I didn’t know the answer to myself, and if I left her here with that thought, she could come to false conclusions.
“Do you care if I take it in here?”
“What? Oh, not at all. Please.” She grinned, and I felt like a million dollars. Definitely the right call.
“Hi, sweetheart! How’s Gigi and Geepaw’s house?” I smiled at my daughter’s toothy grin staring back at me. She hadn’t quite figured out how to hold the smartphone, so it only showed half of her face.
“So fun. Last year, we watched a movie that had monsters!”
“Last night, you mean? And monsters?”
“Last year. Last year, we watchedPuss in Boots. The monsters were good ones.” She shifted the phone so now I saw up her nose.
“Gwen, baby, hold it a little farther from your face. I see your boogers.”
“Boogers!” She giggled before dropping the phone. “Oops!”
“What are you and Gigi doing today?”
“Gigi is taking me to the park. Gigi is. We have yummy bread and milk, and Gigi and we’re going to the park. The bird park.”
My daughter and parents named the parks around their house. The bird park was the larger one with a swing set. One time, Gwen saw birds there, hence the name. The other park was swing park (even though they all had swings), and the third one was Gwen’s park because my daughter thought she owned it.
It all made sense in the mind of a three-year-old, and that’s what mattered.
“Are you going to wear your coat? And your gloves?” I asked. “It’s cold out there.”
“Yes. Gigi will tell me.”
“I miss you. Are you having fun?”
