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I release a mighty sigh. “I hate that you’re putting your life on hold for Stella.” I find myself muttering, “Especially since Stella’s own mother isn’t putting her life on hold for anyone at all.”
Genevieve carries on, ignoring my jab at her daughter. “Stella is my life. She is the future of my lineage. Loving her is my honor. Stop feeling guilty, Nolan. Being right here, watching her grow up is exactly where I want to be.”
I continue trying to reason with her. “All I’m saying is—”
It’s at that precise moment that Stella bursts out of the small bathroom, excitedly throwing herself into my arms.“Good morning, Daddy!”
I give her a squeeze and rock her left to right, careful not to hit anything in these tight quarters. “Did you wash your hands?”
Stella giggles. “Of course! What are we doing today, Daddy?
Pulling out of our hug, I pause for dramatic effect. “Insect exhibition!”
Her eyes grow round. “Will there be dragonflies?”
“You bet there will be!” There’s always some sort of festival or event happening in Starlight Falls, and I’m always grateful for a kid-friendly outing to take my daughter to.
“Yay!” Stella hops up and down. She makes quick work of saying goodbye to her grandma with a big kiss. “See you later, Gaga!” And then we head back across the lawn to our house, to finish getting ready.
When we get inside, I scoot Stella into her bedroom to get dressed for our excursion.
Then I head off toward the sound of dishes and utensils banging around at the back of the house. I find Inez dragging herself around my kitchen, making coffee. She’s also wearing my T-shirt again. She looks so damn good in it. I have to say, I don’t mind lending her all the T-shirts she needs.
“Good morning,” I say when she spots me.
“Morning,” she chirps back. “Coffee?”
I nod, but then I cringe when I realize that she’s using my beaten and battered coffee maker. The one that is currently held together by a half a roll of silver duct tape.
The plastic handle cracked last year when I bumped it against the sink, and I immediately rigged it up with tape so I could still enjoy a hot cup of coffee that day. It was never meant to be a permanent solution. But it did the job and held up well, so days turned into months, and eventually, I didn’t see a reason to replace it.
The excuses are on the edge of my tongue, but Inez just picks up the pot, pours our mugs, and doesn’t bat an eye at my shitty coffee maker. It’s like she doesn’t even see the duct tape.
Still, I find myself cringing yet again when she opens the fridge to grab the creamer for us. The goddamned refrigerator handles are also held together with an excessive amount of duct tape.
What can I say? Duct tape is my go to. But I don’t have a good excuse for the state of my fridge. I should have bought a new one ages ago, but I’m not a man who likes spending money on frivolous things.
My little girl comes back, all dressed and ready to go. Her shirt’s yellow and blue stripes definitely don’t match her pink polka-dotted shorts, but I’ve never been one to stifle Stella’s creativity.
“Inez!” my daughter shouts, tackling our guest in a bear hug. “You’re here!”
“I’m here!” Inez laughs, squeezing Stella against her side. “Don’t you look…colorful!” she says, taking in my little girl’s outfit. “What are you up to today?”
“We’re going to hit the insect exhibition,” I announce for Inez’s sake. I’d invite her to come along, but I don’t want to put her on the spot.
Stella beams right up at Inez, and I can already tell what my rugrat is thinking. “Do you like bugs?”
“Oh, I just love bugs!” Inez snorts, shooting me a look that takes me back to our conversation about hotel spiders last night.
Stella gasps excitedly. “Then you should come with us today! Did you know insects don’t just live on land? Some live in freshwater. And even in the oceans.” She waves her hands, full of animation when she speaks.
“Oh, I think Inez is probably going to want to stay home and rest before her shift later,” I say, giving Inez an escape if she wants it. I imagine she has all sorts of things she’d rather be doing on a Sunday.
“But if you come, you could get to see a whole room full of caterpillars before they turn into butterflies! The last time Daddy took me, I saw one meta…metamorph...metamorphing right before my eyes!”
Now it’s Inez’s turn to gasp. “Well, I have to go to try and see that, now, don’t I?!” She looks to me, asking my permission with her eyes.
I nod, fighting back the grin that’s trying to sprout on my lips. “Let’s do this then, ladies.”
