“I heard you and Ms Hill talking in the kitchen.”
I turn away from the vegetables again and shift my attention onto her.
“Are you two really serious?”
I decide to tell her the truth.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know because you’re not sure about her, or about yourself?”
“Mmm…both. Although I’m leaning more towards the first.”
“I thought so.”
“But I’m working on it.”
She flashes me a small smile. “Make sure you do.”
“Why do you care so much about your dad’s love life?”
“I like her. I like the person you are when you’re around her.”
“Don’t you like the person I was before?”
“I don’t know who you were before; but I know he wasn’t the same guy who’s preparing a stew for everyone right now.”
“And do you like that? Me, being at home, cooking? Being…a dad?”
“I don’t know.”
At least she’s honest, too.
“I’m going to call Carter.”
“Ask him if he likes stew.”
She rolls her eyes and disappears upstairs, as I turn back to my pile of vegetables once again. But before I pick up the knife, I glance at my phone, resting on the counter.
Carter is coming for dinner. She invited him.
Wow. That’s a big step.
That’s what it seems like. She says they have a project and he’s promised to help her. Something about planets or science. Boring stuff.
What isn’t boring to you?
I consider my answer for a few seconds.
You.
She doesn’t reply; but I’ve made her think about it.
I turn my attention back to dinner. Once I’m done with the carrots, I start on the celery, then the potatoes. By the time I’m chucking everything into a pan, my phone buzzes again.
Did I hear that Carter is on the team now.
I smile. She changed the topic; but she’s not given up on me.
