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It’s time I do something about that.
23
INEZ
“And now, pop the English muffins into the toaster,” I say, glancing over at Stella from where I’m taking the sausages out of the skillet.
The little girl follows my instructions and then eagerly turns back to me. “What next?”
I smile to myself, loving her enthusiasm. “We need butter,” I tell her. “Can you grab that from the fridge?”
“I’m on it!” She scurries off immediately.
Stella’s school is still under repair and we’re going to surprise Nolan with a big breakfast today. He’s sleeping in for once and he definitely deserves it.
I’ve been taking advantage of the days off to teach Stella new things. We painted rocks a few days ago and we also baked oatmeal cookies from scratch. We made jewelry and even convinced Nolan to get involved. Now, all three of us have matching friendship bracelets—a ‘manly’ black one for Nolan, yellow for Stella and blue for me. It’s the cutest thing ever. Truly, the three of us have been having a blast together.
When Stella pulls the fridge handle, it doesn’t budge. “It’s stuck,” she tells me, yanking again and again.
“Hang on.” I set down my spatula then give the fridge door a good tug.
And the duct-taped handle pops off in my hand.
Stella gasps loudly, eyes wide, like she’s afraid we might be in trouble.
Right then, Nolan ambles into the kitchen, his shaggy hair falling over his eyes. His attention bounces from Stella to me to the door handle clenched in my fingers.
“Uh-oh…” the little girl mumbles as she stares down at the broken part. “I think we’re gonna need a new roll of duct tape.”
Nolan’s eyes meet mine. And we both burst out laughing. I love this kid’s blunt honesty.
Stella’s face morphs from worry to amusement, and then she’s laughing right along with us.
Nolan takes the handle and sets it on the counter. “All right. That’s it—I’m going fridge shopping today. I can’t have my fridge door falling apart on the biggest celebrity in Starlight Falls.” He winks. “Will you go with me?”
I know it’s not a big deal but my stomach flips at the invitation anyway. “Sure. That could be fun.” I fake a casual shrug.
The three of us finish making breakfast and we sit together at the table. When we’re done eating, it takes us a while to clean up the kitchen. But eventually, we venture out and hit the road to go fridge shopping.
Our options are pretty limited around town, so the three of us drive to Honey Hill, a nearby town that’s about the same size as Starlight Falls.
It’s a mundane outing, but the forty-five minute drive turns into a mini roadtrip and we make it fun, picking up snacks at the gas station and singing along with the radio as a light drizzle hits the windshield. Plus, the sight of Nolan in a Sin Valley Saints hoodie and a matching snapback cap doesn’t hurt at all.
He mentioned as we were leaving the house that he was worried about Stella being mind-numbingly bored with all of this fridge shopping. So as we browse around the kitchen appliance store now, I come up with ideas to keep things exciting for her.
From the moment we walked in through the automatic doors, Stella and I have been playing this alphabet game I made up.
She picks up on the rules of the game immediately. She and I are taking turns and finding items around the store, one letter at a time. And with the little girl occupied, Nolan is able to shop without distraction.
Nolan tried chiming in when we hit the letter C, but Stella scolded him, saying that he has to focus on the appliance shopping.
This kid is so smart and confident. She impresses me every day, and I know that her charming personality is the result of her father’s great work.
We’re almost all the way through the alphabet, when Stella loses interest and shifts her attention to the refrigerators that Nolan is scoping out. She goes up to tug on her dad’s arm, where he’s still grilling the sales person about the freezer space.
“Hold on, Princess,” he tells her.
“No, I want to help,” Stella says, both persistently and convincingly. “I want to help pick which fridge we get.”
