"How's your day?"
"Busy. Daisy is supervising by snoring."
"Poor dog," he says.
I grin at the ceiling while he talks about practice and a teammate who tried to microwave a protein bar.
The conversation lasts maybe two minutes, ending with Gabriel saying he will be home earlier tonight and he will cook pasta with broccoli since we had chicken last night.
Still when the call ends I sit there smiling like an idiot.
***
When I get home from an afternoon meeting, the house hits me with warmth and noise the second I open the door.
Garlic. Butter. Something simmering.
And Maddie in the kitchen, standing on a stool like she's hosting a cooking show.
"Natalie!" she yells. "Daddy and I walked Daisy and he let me hold the leash all by myself."
Daisy barrels into my legs at full speed, tail whipping like a flag. "Hey, girl," I say, bending down to scratch behind her ears. "Did someone have a big walk today? That deserves a premium doggie din din." Daisy thumps her tail against the floor like this is the best news she has heard all day.
Gabriel appears from the stove holding a wooden spoon, his sleeves pushed up, hair slightly messy like he has been running drills but with pasta.
“Hey,” he says, and his voice does something very inconvenient to me.
"Hi," I say, suddenly aware I'm still wearing my work coat and I'm standing in the middle of his kitchen like I belong here.
"You made it," he says. "Dinner's almost ready."
"Broccoli," Maddie repeats like it's a threat.
Gabriel just smiles and keeps stirring the pasta like this conversation has happened a hundred times before.
I lean against the counter and watch them.
Maddie making dramatic speeches about vegetables.
Gabriel pretending to be a serious chef while sneaking bites of pasta to test it.
Daisy circling the kitchen like she is part of the dinner committee.
It’s easy.
Ridiculously easy.
Like I have always been standing in this kitchen at the end of a long day listening to Gabriel and Maddie argue about broccoli.
"Broccoli makes people strong," Gabriel says.
"Broccoli makes people suspicious," Maddie replies.
I laugh.
"Compromise," I say. "Broccoli makes your body strong. Ice cream later makes your heart happy."
Maddie considers this like a tiny lawyer reviewing a contract.
