And again, I hate this Ben fucker. “Bernie—”
“I just want to be like the other kids, Zep. You can’t tell Mom because I know it’ll hurt her feelings. She does so much and she tries so hard, but she’s not a dad. She’s a mom. And sometimes, I wish I had a dad.”
“I could go with you,” I offer.
Her head snaps up. “What?”
“I know I’m not your dad, but I am your mama’s boyfriend. And I’m old enough to be your dad. Kind of. I could take you if you wanted.”
“I… I don’t have a dress.”
“We could probably fix that.”
A wide smile appears on her face, and she jumps up to throw her arms around my neck. “Really? You’d do that for me?”
“I’d do anything for you, Bernie.”
Misty pulls up, and she steps out of her car with a smile. “What’s going on here?”
“Mom, I need a dress!” Bernie says and bounces on her toes. “Zep’s taking me to the dance!”
Frowning, she looks at me. “Dance? What dance?”
“The father-daughter dance at school. Zep said he could take me.”
“He did?”
“Bernie, can you give your mama and me a minute?” I ask.
Kissing my cheek, she grabs her backpack and hurries inside, the door shutting behind her. I can see the panic in Misty’s eyes, and I stand to walk over to her, my hands on her shoulders.
“Look, she didn’t want to tell you how upset she was not to go. She knows you do your best, but you’re… well, you’re not a dude, babe. Which I, for one, am very thankful for. And I’m not trying to be Bernie’s dad, but when she looked at me with those tears, I would have done just about anything to make her feel better.”
“She always worries about my feelings,” Misty says, tears of her own springing up.
I officially hate both of these women crying. It tears me to fucking pieces.
“I know she and I pretty much grew up together, but I’m her mom. She should be able to tell me these things.”
“I think she doesn’t want to add to the load you already carry if she can help it. Sounds like she might’ve inherited that from her mama, don’t you?”
Her lip trembles, but she snorts. “Yeah, probably.”
“Look, there’s a store on Main to get her a dress. I’m sure you can find something there. I’ll get ready and show up to take her to the dance, okay?”
“You really are her best friend,” she whispers as she wipes her tears away. “She’ll be ready.”
“It’s going to get easier, Misty,” I promise. “I’m here. You don’t have to do everything alone. I want to help where I can.”
She cups my face and gazes into my eyes before kissing me. “Thank you, Zep.”
“Anytime, baby.”
I head back to my place to figure out the details, but first, I have to call Darla.
“Dresses by Darla.”
“Hey, Dar. It’s Zep.”
