“No,” I said, then as gently as I could, I bent down to kiss Flowers on her head first, then my daughter’s.
It wasn’t lost on me that in so many ways this was just the beginning of our journey. In so many ways, I was going to have to prove myself, my love and the strength of my commitment to her. As a person and individual I loved, not just as the mother of my child.
I’d really screwed this whole thing up badly.
“Hey,” I said, as I reached inside the duffel bag and pulled out some Combos, pizza flavored, salt and vinegar potato chips, and Entenmann’s chocolate chip cookies. “You know, it occurs to me that I told you I loved you yesterday.”
“How about that?” she said, glancing up at me.
“You’re glowing,” I told her.
“That’s funny, because I feel all glowy,” she admitted.
“Anyway, I was saying that I toldyouthat I lovedyou.”
“Yep. Heard you loud and clear.”
“Okay,” I said, as I reached in for some fuzzy socks. “Any time you want to say it back…”
“E.G.” she said, looking at me. “I just don’t know that I’m ready. Like, don’t you think you should earn it first?”
One hundred percentIdid, but she wasn’t supposed to think that. She was just supposed to tell me she loved me, because I already knew she did.
“I overcame my fears and drove us to the hospital,” I pointed out.
“You did.”
“I overcame my grief and fell in love with you.”
“That too.”
“I circumvented all professional etiquette and banged my assistant on her desk,” I said, as if she hadn’t been there.
“You probably shouldn’t have done that,” she said, with a teasing smile dancing around her lips. “Just look at the result.”
She shifted Emma up in her arms and dropped a kiss on her forehead.
“Yeah, well, I’m pretty stoked about that particular result.” I pulled out her fuzzy blanket, and when I did, heard something heavy hit the linoleum floor. Not recalling what else I’d stuffed in her bag that would have made such a noise, I draped the blanket over her feet and then bent down to pick up what had fallen.
“Uh oh,” she muttered.
What I held in my hand made no sense. “This is my watch.”
“It is,” she whispered.
My brain reached for a memory. “I lost this watch… well over a year ago.”
“Lost is a very generous term.”
It was like this sudden rush of memories. I knew the night I’d lost it. I knew it because it had been another anniversary I’d chosen to get drunk. I remember stumbling out into the alley. The next morning I’d just assumed it had fallen off my wrist.Ricky had had to come and pick me up, but there had been this person…a young woman.
“Hoooly shiiiit,” I said, my jaw dropping as I looked at my soon to be bride, who was also a thief. “It was you.”
“This is the part where I remind you, you love me and I’m holding your daughter.”
“This is the part where you give me one good reason why I shouldn’t call the police.”
She rolled her eyes. “Statute of limitations.”
