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Amelia shook her head. “I can’t believe this. In front of Daniel and everything.” She turned to him. “Please say you had an embarrassing show too. We need to make it even.”
“I grew up with a lot of VeggieTales,” he said. “It backfired. I didn’t eat vegetables for years because I thought it would hurt them.”
“Aw, that’s adorable.” Amelia bumped her shoulder with his.
“I would have loved it if you guys had a Disney phase,” Mandy mused. “The songs are so cute. It’s a shame you only liked the one movie from them.”
“We can’t help it that we have taste,” John said. “Well, at least I do. Amelia, I’m not so sure about you.”
“Very funny. I don’t even watch a lot of TV. I don’t have time for it with work.”
“They do keep us busy,” Daniel added.
“Mostly complaining about the same five things,” she muttered.
“That’s right, you met at work,” Mandy said. “Have they been okay with the transition?”
Amelia glanced over at him, and he could see the silent question in her gaze.
“It’s new,” he said. “But neither of us manages the other, so we haven’t run into any issues.”
“And there isn't a rule against it,” Amelia added. "Unless I missed it in the employee handbook."
“Don’t worry too much about work,” Randy said. “This is a vacation. A relaxing one, hopefully.”
Amelia smiled. “It’s been nice for us. What about you, Mom?”
“I’ve just been tired, but I’m still enjoying it.” She returned a small smile to Amelia.
“Hang on,” John said, interrupting them. “We can’t talk over this song. It’s the only Disney one that I like.”
They all went back to watching the movie, but Daniel could see that something was bothering Amelia. It could have been anything from their encounter in the hot tub to the relationship disclosure form waiting for them when they returned to Atlanta.
But judging by the way Amelia looked at her mother, he had one strong guess as to what it was.
Chapter Thirteen
Amelia
Amelia’s brain had an unhelpful way of working through problems.
She’d been trying to find a way to tell Daniel about her mother’s bipolar disorder without making him think the dreaded C-word. She got close to a delicate way of phrasing it as she lay awake that night.
By the time she’d drifted off, she knew exactly what she was going to say.
So then she dreamed about it. And dreams were not helpful. In her slumber, Daniel hadn’t taken it well at all. In fact, he’d left early to avoid dealing with her unsteady family.
When she woke up, she was left with a distinct feeling of hurt that wasn’t even real and shock that Daniel was very much asleep next to her.
Rolling out of bed, she ran her hands through her hair, trying to separate dreamland from reality. She was in desperate need of coffee.
She walked into the kitchen and started the coffee pot. When it was done brewing, she headed out to the balcony with a steaming mug in hand. The thick air promised a hot day ahead, but it was tolerable with a fresh morning breeze.
Amelia only sat by herself for a moment before the door opened and her mom joined her. She was more put together today, but the dark bags under her eyes told Amelia that she wasn’t sleeping well.
“Hi, sweetheart,” she said, sitting. “Your dad told me you might be worried about me.”
“I’m okay,” she replied.
