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“Really?” Caroline’s admiration for Ashton is nothing short of hero worship. When she takes a bite of the sandwich, her face lights up. “This is actually good. Try it, Sophie.”
Sophie takes a nibble. “Yummy!” she says and gobbles down the sandwich half.
Caroline asks, “Daddy will you play with us after lunch.”
I have no idea what playing entails, but if I’m going to be a single parent, I need to find out. “Sure. But we should clean up the kitchen first.”
Sophie sticks out her lower lip, and Caroline says, “Aww. Can’t it wait?”
Their eager faces make me smile. “I guess so. Just this once.”
We clean our plates and add them to the growing collection of dirty ones in the sink. For the next three hours, we play games and puzzles and dress up. My daughters think I’m the funniest-looking daddy ever in a pink tutu. We don’t bother putting anything away after we’re finished with it, and by the time four o’clock rolls around, the inside of our house looks like a tornado blew through.
I use the excuse of making a business call to plant them in front of a movie. Taking my phone outside to the porch, I spend a few minutes with each of my foremen, making certain their projects are in good shape before taking off for the long holiday weekend. While I’m on the phone, I notice our yard, in Tracy’s absence, has grown into a jungle. Like I need one more thing to tend to.
The girls fall asleep during the movie and wake grumpy and hungry around five.
Caroline refuses to take a bath with Sophie, which sends Sophie into a temper tantrum. It takes me two hours to bathe them, locate clean pajamas, and comb through the tangles in their hair. I must remember to buy some magic detangler next time I go to the store.
They argue over what to have for dinner. Caroline wants chicken, Sophie a pizza, and I have a hankering for a burger.
“Let’s order takeout from The Nest,” I suggest. “Then everyone can get what they want.”
The girls usually go wild at the mention of our town’s most iconic restaurant. But tonight, they could care less.
After placing the order online, I grab my keys and head for the door. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
My daughters race after me with Caroline calling, “Wait for us, Dad! You can’t leave us here alone.”
“Of course not,” I say, even though I was totally going to leave my children home alone. While I feel like the worst father ever, I’m not yet ready to give up and hire a nanny. If a woman can do this, so can I.
SIX
WILL
The girls shake me awake as they climb into bed with me early Saturday morning. “Get up! Get up!” they chant as they clamber to their feet and begin jumping up and down on the bed.
I groan. Why are they here? Tracy lets me sleep in on Saturdays. I roll over and reach for my wife, but the feel of her cold pillow brings reality crashing back.
Sophie dives on top of me, knocking the air out of my lungs. “Can we go to the pool today, Daddy?”
I consider the effort necessary to prepare for a pool outing—slathering on sunscreen and gathering all their pool gear, including towels and goggles and toys. But the vision of me dressed in a pink tutu and the thought of being stuck inside the house with them all day makes the decision easy.
I prop myself up on my elbows. “On one condition. When we come home from the pool, you’ll have quiet time while I clean up the house.”
“Deal!” Caroline says, and Sophie bobs her head.
I throw back the comforter and swing my legs over the side of the bed. “But we need to eat breakfast first. And since there’s no more bread in the house for me to burn, what say we go to Main Street Diner for pancakes?”
Caroline victory dances on the bed. “Yippee!”
And Sophie hugs my neck from behind. “Can we go now?”
Caroline adds, “In our pajamas?”
I chuckle. “I don’t see why not. As long as you wear shoes.” But the stares we receive when we enter the diner twenty minutes later tells me this wasn’t such a good idea.
I glance around the crowded restaurant. All the tables appear to be occupied. I spot Ellie, who is seated with Zoe in a large booth on the far side of the diner. Before I can back out the door, Ellie waves us over.
