Page 54 of The Challenge

Evan served Effie and me each a bowl of the ice cream. We ate while Effie talked our ears off about her school’s upcoming book fair. Evan had apparently told her she could buy five books, but she was making an argument for seven.

Effie liked to move from subject to subject at warp speed. She began telling me about some dance school drama next.

“There are three solos in the dance routine this year. I want one of them. But the teacher hasn’t decided who’s gonna get them yet.”

I scraped the bottom of my bowl. “Well, you think you can do it, right?”

“Yes.”

“Maybe you should talk to her, explain why you believe you deserve one of the spots. If you show her that you believe in yourself, that might help her believe in you, too.”

Effie looked up at me, ice cream around her mouth. “You think that will work?”

“If you’ve been trying your best and showing up to practices on time, you’ve already been proving yourself. But it can’t hurt to sell yourself. At the very least, it shows confidence.” I shrugged. “The worst she can say is no, right?”

Effie nodded, seeming to ponder my advice as she finished the last of her ice cream.

Then she changed the subject again and announced, “I want to buy a bra, but Daddy won’t let me.”

My lips parted. “Do you need a bra?”

“She doesn’t need a bra.” Evan groaned.

“I just want one,” Effie explained to me. “Not the kind with the padded boobies inside, but one for girls with flowers on it.”

I turned to him. “What’s the harm?”

Evan glared. “The harm is that she’s too young.” He gritted his teeth. “It would be one thing if she needed it. Clearly, she doesn’t.”

“Well, it’s only a matter of time,” I said. “Maybe another year.”

“We can wait until then,” Evan snapped.

“I tried,” I mouthed to her.

“Thank you for the ice cream, Daddy.” Effie took her bowl to the sink.

“You’re welcome, baby. Why don’t you get washed up for bed before you do your homework? That way you don’t have to worry about it later.”

“Okay.”

After Effie left, I brought my bowl to the sink and started doing the dishes. “She’s so cute. I remember wanting to grow up before my time, too.”

“My life is gonna be hard enough as she gets older. I don’t need to rush her growing up for no good reason.”

I shrugged. “There’s truly no harm in letting her wear a bra if she wants to. I remember wanting boobs at her age.”

“Well, you certainly got what you wished for.” He smirked, his eyes flashing down to my chest.

I bit my bottom lip and smiled. “Was that a compliment?”

“Take it how you may.” He leaned against the counter next to me and crossed his arms. “Tell me what happened today with your dad.”

I shut off the water and turned to him. “I was freaked out until the moment I laid eyes on him. Then the anxiety began to decrease. Thankfully, his new wife, Courtney, wasn’t home. I would not have been ready for that introduction.” I paused for a breath. “But it felt nice to allow myself to have a parent again.”

Evan smiled, looking pleased. “Good.”

“I also learned some things about my parents’ marriage that I never knew. I’ll go into it another time when I’m not so tired. But in a nutshell, their marital issues started long before my mother got dementia, which I hadn’t realized.” I sighed. “All in all, I’m glad I went.”