I really struggle to find a mutual interest to bring us together. I’m the hard-ass who keeps my head in the game, and I don’t have it in me to play dress-up or dolls.
“You had fun today, right?” I hear that I’m concerned on all fronts today. “I thought you wanted to go to Pioneer Park.”
“I did have fun. April helped me find all the good places and pull you along.” Hadley shuffles on the sofa to dangle her feet off the edge.
I scratch the back of my head. “Right. April.”
“She's a fun friend.”
“That she is.” Damn it, she's outshining me. Maybe April staying here is a bad idea. I should be focusing on my relationship with Hadley, not adding extra roadblocks.
Hadley surprises me when she cuddles against my arm. “Don’t worry. You’re still really good at reading me stories, and you have connections to the tooth fairy, you promised you did.”
A warm smile hits me as I loop an arm around her little body to bring her closer to me.
“I do have connections,” I promise, because I know that phase is coming soon. Grabbing the remote from the side, I put on the screen to the streaming service. “Let me guess, Encanto?”
“Uh-huh.”
Pressing play, I soak up this moment with Hadley, reminding myself that I’m trying.
The sound of dishes moving in the kitchen causes me to glance behind me to see that April must have been listening or watching, although she's pretending to focus on whatever she is creating.
A while later, with Hadley well into the movie and my tolerance for songs at a peak, I leave her with a blanket and head to the kitchen that is now empty.
Grabbing a water, I station myself at the kitchen counter and begin to skim my tablet, heading to the online toy store.
I tap my finger on the screen as I debate what in the world I could buy that maybe Hadley and I could both enjoy.
The smell of sugar hits me, and the feeling of another person walking behind me fills my body with a full feeling.
April walks straight to the oven to open the door and check on something, not saying anything to me in the process. When she seems to approve of whatever is cooking in the oven, she looks up at me and throws an oven glove to the side.
“Everything okay?” She rolls her lips in.
“Yeah, just looking at toys.”
“I meant you escaped Encanto. Is it because you got to the scene about the abuela?”
“No,” I say, defensive.
Her eyes narrow in on me “Really? Because I heard a rumor that you get emotional during that scene.”
“Absolutely not.” Or yes.
“Alright, I’ll let it go, but I know your secret.” She laughs. “And toys? You don’t need more toys, you have plenty of those.”
“I know, but something I could do with Hadley.” I look into the other room then back at my tablet. “What about Princess Legos?”
April offers me a soft smile. “I really think she has enough toys in her special room.”
I begin my search in the bar of the website, but then excitement takes over me. “Maybe I should have someone install a ballet barre in her playroom.”
“Now that is a perfect idea. She will go crazy,” April assures me.
Something else dawns on me, a memory. “Aren’t you the ballet pro?”
Our eyes catch because she knows I’m referencing that night.
