“Are they going to be alright, Daddy?”
“I’m sure everything will be fine,” I answered, not wanting her to worry.
“What are you going to do about the painting? Maybe we could finish it up,” she said. “That could be fun, don’t ya think?”
Scratching my head and looking around again, I answered, “Well, I was just thinking about that. It’s been a while since I’ve painted walls, but maybe? I’ve got to get another hour or so of work done first, but let’s see how that goes. Head back outside. Those fumes are strong.”
Matthew had placed big fans around the living room, and as I stepped around the furniture that was huddled together in the center of the big room, covered with plastic, I checked to be sure the windows were all open.
I met MJ back outside and settled into the lounger with my laptop. About an hour later, I got a cryptic text from my Mom.
Mom: Help is on the way.
What in the world was she talking about? That’s when I scrolled higher and saw that my daughter had sent her a text about the painters.
“MJ, when did you text Mimi?”
She looked over at me with wide innocent eyes from her own lounger, book in hand and answered, “Oh, not sure. Earlier?”
“MJ.” I warned, my parental voice in place.
She shrugged and fell silent. I was about to say something when the doorbell rang.
“Who’s that?” I asked, checking my watch. It was almost 3 pm, and I realized I’d missed lunch. “Oh, shoot. Sorry, kiddo. Didn’t realize I’d been working that long. Are you hungry?” I asked, walking to the front door.
“No worries. Got a snack a little while ago.”
When I opened it, Vicky stood in front of me with a confident smile. She was wearing leggings and a long, fitted T-shirt, something I’d never seen her in.
“Ah…” Such a conversationalist I was.
“Hey,” she replied cheerfully. “Is this where the painting party’s at?”
“The painting part…wait,” I groaned. “Let me guess. My mother reached out.”
“Listen, when I take on a client, I commit to being a part of every step. You have a party to throw, and my painters couldn’t finish. So, I’m here! Oh, and I have tacos. And some rollers we will need are in the car.” She held up two bulging bags of what smelled like heaven.
I took the bags from her and opened the door to let her in, MJ barreling into her like a torpedo after Vicky had barely gotten into the house.
“Iknewyou’d come,” she said, her voice muffled against Vicky, who held her tight.
“MJ, girl, have you grown taller since I saw you last?” They lifted their heads, looking at each other with complete adoration, my heart bursting at the sight.
“I think so,” my daughter replied, nodding her head earnestly. “I’m keeping to just one or two cookies a day so the sugar doesn’t stunt my growth. I’ll be a teenager soon, you know?”
I chuckled as I set the bags on the kitchen counter and grabbed some plates, peeking at Vicky.
Her expression grew serious as she responded. “Oh, I know. Those teen years are right around the corner.” She lifted her eyes to me and caught me smiling widely at their interaction. I nodded a thank you to her as she ruffled the top of MJ's head.
“Let’s get you fed and see what we need to do, ‘kay?” she asked. My heart skipped a beat as MJ agreed, taking Vicky’s hand as they walked into the kitchen. How many times could my poor heart handle this kind of unexpected scene? Vicky’s eyes returned to mine as she shrugged her shoulders. I was sure she was tiptoeing around how she acted with MJ after I basically ran away from her the other night.
We all settled at the table, my daughter chattering away about herarchitecture ideas while Vicky took notes on her phone. I slid four tacos onto my plate after seeing the huge mound of them she had brought, and then gave one to MJ.
“These smell amazing. Thank you so much. You really didn’t have to do all this,” I said, then took a smaller bite than I usually would so I didn’t get scolded again. The action made her eyebrows raise as I hid my smile. She put one taco in her plate before lifting it to her mouth and I tried not to watch her. This woman was so beautiful even doing something as simple as eating a taco, for heaven’s sake.
“What kind of books do you like to read?” MJ asked curiously, my ears attuned to the answer. We hadn’t talked about my passion for reading and how it saved me after Katy left.
“Well, I love both fiction and nonfiction. I love reading true life stories about redemption and people overcoming hardships. They inspire me. Books that will help me understand people of different cultures. But as far as fiction? I love sweet, clean romance novels,” she answered wistfully.
