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“Uh-oh. Is Ruby still thirsty?”

She nodded, looking solemn.

“Are you ready to leave?”

“No!” She stomped her foot. “I not done playing!”

Uh-oh. Was I about to see one of those famous Terrible Two tantrums? I wasn’t sure what the solution was. There was no water fountain at this little trailer park playground.

“I’ve got a bottle of water in my car,” Kit offered. “It’s not cold, but…”

“Yes, get it.”

He hopped up and jogged over to the row of parking spaces just outside the playground fence.

“Kit’s going to get you some water to drink. Sound good?”

Ruby watched. “Kit’s a good boy!”

I laughed. “Yes, he is. A very good boy.”

“Best boy,” she said.

I nodded. “Better than Teck?”

She scrunched up her face. “No one better than Teck.”

“Not even Da?”

She shook her head. Then nodded. Had I broken her? Ruby seemed to struggle with the answer, then exclaimed, “Teck and Da are both the best!”

Ah, the solutions of a two-year-old. Not bad, really. She loved them equally.

“Good answer, Ruby,” I said as Kit returned.

“Here you go.” He handed me the bottle of water, and I twisted off the lid. He held his cell phone in his other hand, checking the screen.

“Everything okay?” I asked as I poured the water into Ruby’s empty sippy cup for her.

“Yeah. Dakota texted. She wants us to come by for dinner so she can talk to you about something. Also, she’s making chicken shawarma, and it’s delicious, so you don’t want to miss that.”

“Chicken shawarma, like…the Greek dish?”

“Yeah. This is just an Americanized knock-off, but it’s still damn good.”

I chuckled. “Okay, sounds good.”

Ruby drank her fill and thrust the sippy cup back at me. “Swing!” She started running, then stopped and looked back at us. “Swing me!”

With a laugh, we got up and trailed her to the swings, taking turns pushing her higher and higher, until we’d finally worn her out. By the time we left, Ruby was flagging.

Kit carried her to the car. Seeing him with a little red-headed child in his arms did weird things to my insides. Made me picture a life I never thought I’d have. One day, maybe Kit and I would have our own redhead to take to the park.

I missed a step and nearly twisted my ankle on an uneven patch of ground. Kit caught my arm, still holding Ruby in the crook of his left elbow. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I said, face heating. “Just…not watching where I was going.”

I was getting way ahead of myself, thinking of having a family with Kit. I still lived with my parents. I had to get out on my own, start being an adult, before I could even daydream about being a father.