Madalyn chuckled, “Great minds think alike.”
I stepped in pace with Lila as we moved toward them, then I asked, “How are the two of you still hungry?”
They both shrugged.
I shook my head.
As the four of us walked into Gushers, I felt every pair of eyes on us.
Everyone said hello to Lila as we walked through the restaurant, and a few pairs of eyes came to me. The feminine kind.
I paid them no heed.
I was done with all of that.
Madalyn was looking at her menu, then she leaned into Lila’s side, “How good is this?”
I watched as she scanned the menu and looked at what Madalyn was showing her, and then she threw her head back and started laughing, “Sweetheart, you don’t want to know.”
“Now I gotta know,” Madalyn’s eyes had a twinkle in them.
Cole chuckled, “Same.”
“Fuck it. So do I.” I said.
Lila’s eyes twinkled, then she called out, “Pete? You got a minute to come out here?”
“That my Lila girl?” an older man’s voice called out.
“Sure, it is. You know her voice by now,” Darla said as she came to our table and took our drink orders.
Pete came walking over to us and looked at Lila. “What’s up, sweetheart?”
“Can you explain how this came to be on the menu?” Lila asked with laughter in her tone.
He looked at the menu, then he too threw his head back in laughter.
Darla was snickering as she folded her arms and waited for Pete to share.
He was still chuckling as he shook his head, “Y’all ever see that old movie with Chevy ChasecalledFunny Farm?”
The kids shook their heads, and I did because I’ve never seen it.
“Well, watch it. Ethan watched that movie with us at our house when we were watching them a long time ago, so Frank and Misty could have a date night. And Ethan wanted to know what they tasted like. So, we added them to the menu to get a laugh out of it.”
I looked at Lila, “You got plans tonight?”
She looked at me, tilted her head, and said, “I did. I rearranged them to be with the kids today and tonight.”
“So, in other words, you're ours tonight?” I teased.
Her eyes twinkled, then she bit her lip and nodded.
“Great game, Cole. Heard everything over the radio.” Darla gushed at Cole.
I watched as my boy’s cheeks pinked. “Thank you, ma’am.”
“Ma’am? How old do you think I am?” she asked with a wink.
