Rick.
“Whoa!” Cam said admiringly. “That was smooth .”
Amy nodded and punched a couple of buttons. “And now it’s uploaded.” She looked at her father. “So don’t get any ideas about taking the phone away.”
“Way to go !” Cam held up her hand and Amy high-fived her. “Now get me!”
Amy took several pictures of Cam hamming it up, then handed the phone over so Cam could get the same pictures of her.
I watched with pleasure as the two of them communicated with the same kind of shorthand Jordan, Theresa, and I used to have in high school. Understanding so deeply imbued with private jokes, late-night talks, favorite songs, and shared secrets that words were almost unnecessary.
They could have kicked serious ass on Password .
Rick, meanwhile, had disappeared into the bedroom and emerged several minutes later in basketball shorts, a tank top, wet hair, and—it was undeniable—a certain glow to his skin.
“You look radiant,” I said to him.
“Very funny.”
“Actually, I’m serious.” I looked to the girls. “What kind of mask was that?”
“Dead Sea mud,” Amy said.
“The stuff you got in New York last month,” Cam added.
“Wow, that’s right, I forgot all about that.” How I’d forgotten a thirty-dollar mud-mask-treatment purchase, I don’t know, but this experiment with Rick had reignited my feeling that it was worth it. “Go rinse off, let’s see how pretty you look.”
“How do you know when it’s time to rinse it?” Cam asked.
“The guy at the store said you rinse when you can’t smile anymore.”
“So, like, when you’re totally depressed?” My daughter had a gift for joking with a straight face, but the hard mud certainly helped.
“How about now?” I suggested.
She did smile then. “Fine fine fine!” She hooked her arm through Amy’s and they ran off to the bathroom, where their laughter was amplified tenfold.
“Too bad they don’t get along,” Rick said, nodding in the direction of the laughs.
“I know.” Truly, it made my heart soar to hear the girls having so much fun. “It’s torture that we force them to be together like this.”
He smiled and came to me, draping his arm across my shoulder and steering me toward the couch. “If only there was some way we could make sure they’d always have each other. Like sisters.”
I bristled. And it was unfair because he was completely, totally, one hundred percent right.
And he was completely, totally, one hundred percent within his rights to try and get an answer to his proposal.
But I just couldn’t give him one.
“They are like sisters,” I deflected. “It’s wonderful how close they are. They’ll always have each other, just like Jordan and me. No matter what.” God, it sounded so pointed when I put it that way, even though I hadn’t intended for it to.
Of course, it was pointed, so it didn’t matter whether I meant for it to sound that way or not.
And he knew it.
“Nice rebound,” he said sagely.
“I’m not trying to—”
He put his finger to my lips. “I know what you’re doing. You’re mulling. It’s what you do. Admittedly, it’s hard to be patient while you mull in a situation like this, but I’m trying.”
I looked into his eyes and felt better. “I appreciate it.”
He smiled, and everything about him was warm. “Good. You pain in the ass.”
We both laughed and sat down on the couch, where we passed the rest of the evening companionably. No arguments, no problems, no passion, no steam … just … peace.
And I had to wonder if I was foolish in even wondering if that was enough.
* * *
When I was a kid, my friends and I used to hang out at Montgomery Mall and go to Woolworth’s to buy Village Naturals beer shampoo, Maybelline Kissing Potion, Bonne Bell Lip Smackers (they were $2.50 then for the big size), and all the other products we saw advertised in Tiger Beat , Teen , and Seventeen that promised to make us more beautiful and irresistible
“Whoa!” Cam said admiringly. “That was smooth .”
Amy nodded and punched a couple of buttons. “And now it’s uploaded.” She looked at her father. “So don’t get any ideas about taking the phone away.”
“Way to go !” Cam held up her hand and Amy high-fived her. “Now get me!”
Amy took several pictures of Cam hamming it up, then handed the phone over so Cam could get the same pictures of her.
I watched with pleasure as the two of them communicated with the same kind of shorthand Jordan, Theresa, and I used to have in high school. Understanding so deeply imbued with private jokes, late-night talks, favorite songs, and shared secrets that words were almost unnecessary.
They could have kicked serious ass on Password .
Rick, meanwhile, had disappeared into the bedroom and emerged several minutes later in basketball shorts, a tank top, wet hair, and—it was undeniable—a certain glow to his skin.
“You look radiant,” I said to him.
“Very funny.”
“Actually, I’m serious.” I looked to the girls. “What kind of mask was that?”
“Dead Sea mud,” Amy said.
“The stuff you got in New York last month,” Cam added.
“Wow, that’s right, I forgot all about that.” How I’d forgotten a thirty-dollar mud-mask-treatment purchase, I don’t know, but this experiment with Rick had reignited my feeling that it was worth it. “Go rinse off, let’s see how pretty you look.”
“How do you know when it’s time to rinse it?” Cam asked.
“The guy at the store said you rinse when you can’t smile anymore.”
“So, like, when you’re totally depressed?” My daughter had a gift for joking with a straight face, but the hard mud certainly helped.
“How about now?” I suggested.
She did smile then. “Fine fine fine!” She hooked her arm through Amy’s and they ran off to the bathroom, where their laughter was amplified tenfold.
“Too bad they don’t get along,” Rick said, nodding in the direction of the laughs.
“I know.” Truly, it made my heart soar to hear the girls having so much fun. “It’s torture that we force them to be together like this.”
He smiled and came to me, draping his arm across my shoulder and steering me toward the couch. “If only there was some way we could make sure they’d always have each other. Like sisters.”
I bristled. And it was unfair because he was completely, totally, one hundred percent right.
And he was completely, totally, one hundred percent within his rights to try and get an answer to his proposal.
But I just couldn’t give him one.
“They are like sisters,” I deflected. “It’s wonderful how close they are. They’ll always have each other, just like Jordan and me. No matter what.” God, it sounded so pointed when I put it that way, even though I hadn’t intended for it to.
Of course, it was pointed, so it didn’t matter whether I meant for it to sound that way or not.
And he knew it.
“Nice rebound,” he said sagely.
“I’m not trying to—”
He put his finger to my lips. “I know what you’re doing. You’re mulling. It’s what you do. Admittedly, it’s hard to be patient while you mull in a situation like this, but I’m trying.”
I looked into his eyes and felt better. “I appreciate it.”
He smiled, and everything about him was warm. “Good. You pain in the ass.”
We both laughed and sat down on the couch, where we passed the rest of the evening companionably. No arguments, no problems, no passion, no steam … just … peace.
And I had to wonder if I was foolish in even wondering if that was enough.
* * *
When I was a kid, my friends and I used to hang out at Montgomery Mall and go to Woolworth’s to buy Village Naturals beer shampoo, Maybelline Kissing Potion, Bonne Bell Lip Smackers (they were $2.50 then for the big size), and all the other products we saw advertised in Tiger Beat , Teen , and Seventeen that promised to make us more beautiful and irresistible
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