I tell her. “But what we have is different.”
“How so?”
I try to swallow, but my throat has tightened. “I’m here for the long haul,” I somehow manage to get out.
“I don’t think you should say that until you really know what you’re getting into,” she tells me.
“I have a pretty good idea.”
She kisses my cheek. “I appreciate everything you’re trying to do. But you don’t have to pick up the pieces of my broken life because Dex isn’t willing to do it.”
“I want to be here for you. And I want to be here for Sadie.”
“It’s a lot more than feeding her applesauce,” she says pointedly.
“I know that. And I know I’m not an expert on babies. Hell, I don’t know anything about babies. I don’t actually know much about anything other than football and acting…”
“You know about sex,” she interrupts.
“Okay. I’m an expert on sex. That’s true.”
She laughs. “And you’re so modest.”
“My point is that I’m willing to learn whatever I need to know so I can be with you and Sadie.”
She gnaws on her bottom lip for several seconds before she replies. “The reason I haven’t dated anyone since Dex left for school is because I was afraid having a baby in the mix would be too much for most guys to handle.”
“Were you just going to wait to date until Sadie turned eighteen and left home?”
“I was going to wait until she was a little older. Or until I was a little older and it would make sense to date guys with kids. Not many nineteen year olds have children.”
“And some don’t bother to take responsibility for them.” I know it’s mean to get a jab in at Dex while he’s not here to defend himself. But even when he was here he didn’t really defend himself so I don’t feel too bad about the insult.
“My point is that even when I tried to dissuade you from dating me, you wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“That’s because I’m not detergent .”
Abby finds this hilarious. She laughs so hard she actually snorts. “You’re not easily deterred ?”
“That’s exactly what I said.”
She kisses me. “Do you still want to watch the movie?”
I never actually cared about watching the chick flick. “Not unless you do. Did you have something else in mind?”
“We could make out on the couch like teenagers?”
“You are still a teenager,” I remind her.
She grins. “Exactly.”
***
The sound of my cellphone ringing wakes me up. When I reach for it on my nightstand a book falls off my chest. I must have fallen asleep reading the book Abby loaned me: The Big Fat Everything Baby Book .
The book is very fat. Massive . And it does seem to have everything you’d ever want to know about babies, and even stuff you don’t want to know. The person who wrote it wasn’t lying with that title.
“This is Marta Myers. The casting director for All About Ava .”
My heart starts to beat wildly. This is it. I have to get this part.
“We’d like to call you in for a reading with the actress whose been cast in the leading role.”
“Great,” I somehow manage to say even with my incredibly dry throat.
She gives me the details for the callback. It’s this afternoon.
This is it. My big break. I know in my heart I’m going to get this part. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself because I know how unpredictable show business can be. But if the show does well, and they like me, it could mean a steady paycheck.
I could do a lot to help Abby and Sadie with that kind of money.
I read online that Mae Russell was cast as Ava. It was big news. She’s the new Hollywood it girl . I’ve got to do whatever it takes to impress her and impress the casting director.
Mae Russell has dark hair and dark eyes like I do. I don’t have siblings so I have no idea how much a brother and sister are supposed to look alike.
Once I’m dressed and ready for the day I head into the kitchen with my baby book. Maybe I can get a little reading in while I eat
“How so?”
I try to swallow, but my throat has tightened. “I’m here for the long haul,” I somehow manage to get out.
“I don’t think you should say that until you really know what you’re getting into,” she tells me.
“I have a pretty good idea.”
She kisses my cheek. “I appreciate everything you’re trying to do. But you don’t have to pick up the pieces of my broken life because Dex isn’t willing to do it.”
“I want to be here for you. And I want to be here for Sadie.”
“It’s a lot more than feeding her applesauce,” she says pointedly.
“I know that. And I know I’m not an expert on babies. Hell, I don’t know anything about babies. I don’t actually know much about anything other than football and acting…”
“You know about sex,” she interrupts.
“Okay. I’m an expert on sex. That’s true.”
She laughs. “And you’re so modest.”
“My point is that I’m willing to learn whatever I need to know so I can be with you and Sadie.”
She gnaws on her bottom lip for several seconds before she replies. “The reason I haven’t dated anyone since Dex left for school is because I was afraid having a baby in the mix would be too much for most guys to handle.”
“Were you just going to wait to date until Sadie turned eighteen and left home?”
“I was going to wait until she was a little older. Or until I was a little older and it would make sense to date guys with kids. Not many nineteen year olds have children.”
“And some don’t bother to take responsibility for them.” I know it’s mean to get a jab in at Dex while he’s not here to defend himself. But even when he was here he didn’t really defend himself so I don’t feel too bad about the insult.
“My point is that even when I tried to dissuade you from dating me, you wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“That’s because I’m not detergent .”
Abby finds this hilarious. She laughs so hard she actually snorts. “You’re not easily deterred ?”
“That’s exactly what I said.”
She kisses me. “Do you still want to watch the movie?”
I never actually cared about watching the chick flick. “Not unless you do. Did you have something else in mind?”
“We could make out on the couch like teenagers?”
“You are still a teenager,” I remind her.
She grins. “Exactly.”
***
The sound of my cellphone ringing wakes me up. When I reach for it on my nightstand a book falls off my chest. I must have fallen asleep reading the book Abby loaned me: The Big Fat Everything Baby Book .
The book is very fat. Massive . And it does seem to have everything you’d ever want to know about babies, and even stuff you don’t want to know. The person who wrote it wasn’t lying with that title.
“This is Marta Myers. The casting director for All About Ava .”
My heart starts to beat wildly. This is it. I have to get this part.
“We’d like to call you in for a reading with the actress whose been cast in the leading role.”
“Great,” I somehow manage to say even with my incredibly dry throat.
She gives me the details for the callback. It’s this afternoon.
This is it. My big break. I know in my heart I’m going to get this part. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself because I know how unpredictable show business can be. But if the show does well, and they like me, it could mean a steady paycheck.
I could do a lot to help Abby and Sadie with that kind of money.
I read online that Mae Russell was cast as Ava. It was big news. She’s the new Hollywood it girl . I’ve got to do whatever it takes to impress her and impress the casting director.
Mae Russell has dark hair and dark eyes like I do. I don’t have siblings so I have no idea how much a brother and sister are supposed to look alike.
Once I’m dressed and ready for the day I head into the kitchen with my baby book. Maybe I can get a little reading in while I eat
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