8
An Innocent Touch
Seth wasn’t sure what the heck he was doing right now but watching Adele jump around the house sure did make his heart float right along with hers.
Was it because his daughter was so excited or because a woman that he found attractive was coming to lunch?
It might be equal parts of both, but since his daughter was part of today’s audience there wasn’t much he could say or do that he might want to if he and Ava were alone.
And those thoughts had no business being in his mind when it seemed all Ava was doing was coming to teach him how to French braid his daughter’s hair.
He hoped that made him look more like a great loving father and not some wuss.
And if it did make him look like a wuss, it was what it was because Adele had to come first.
“Daddy,” Adele said, running down the stairs. At least she was holding the banister in her sprint to the landing. “I’ve got a lot of rubber bands for Ava.”
He looked at the bag of accessories that resembled a shattered rainbow on steroids. “I see that. I don’t think we are making you look like you’re from Jamaica though.”
“What?” Adele asked, wrinkling her nose.
This was why he needed another adult around. Ava might have understood his little crack. Ellen sure would have.
No, no. His late wife shouldn’t be in his mind when he had another woman coming. That wouldn’t be right.
“Nothing,” he said. “It was a joke, but you wouldn’t understand.”
“But I want to understand,” Adele said.
“Sometimes when women vacation in Jamaica they get a lot of braids in their hair to keep it out of their face.” Just like Ellen did when they went on their honeymoon. Urgh, there he went again.
“Oh. Like that picture of Mommy you showed me?”
“Yes,” he said, putting his hand on her head. He liked to show her pictures of her mother often so she didn’t forget her. He couldn’t let that happen.
“Mommy was pretty, but those braids looked funny. I don’t want them.”
He smiled at her. Yeah, Ellen did look funny in that picture and when she’d taken those braids out, her hair was a mass of frizz worse than if Einstein stuck his finger in a socket.
When the doorbell rang, he moved to the front. “That must be Ava. Remember, you thank her for showing me how to do this.”
“I will, Daddy,” Adele said, dancing along his legs while he walked. “I just hope you can learn.”
He did too. He opened the door and there Ava was, smiling. More like smirking at him. A mischievous glint in her eyes. He wasn’t sure if she found this whole situation humorous or sweet. He supposed it didn’t matter at this point since she was here.
“Hi,” she said. “Hope I didn’t come over too fast?”
“Not at all,” he said.
“Daddy is ordering us pizza,” Adele announced. “That way you can teach him how to braid before it gets here and he won’t have to worry about burning lunch.”
He let out a sigh. “I don’t burn lunch,” he explained to Ava. “Only when I’m cooking and someone pulls me in another direction.”
Ava winked at him. “Completely understandable since you prioritize your time for your daughter. But here I was thinking I’d get tomato soup based on your grocery trip.”
“That’s for me,” Ava said. “I love tomato soup and grilled cheese. My favorite right now. I’m going to eat it every day for a month, but Daddy said I could only get five cans to start.”
“And you slipped in a few more,” Ava said.
“I did. Because I know I’m going to eat them all, but Daddy doesn’t think I will. He said my eyes are bigger than...what is it, Daddy?”
“As you can tell I changed her batteries recently and she’s running full on.” Ava howled with laughter and he took that as a good sign that she got his little joke. “But yes, Adele finds a food that is her new favorite and then insists she’s going to eat it every day for a month. It lasts a week or two.”
“And you are left with all the remains?”
“Exactly. I don’t happen to be a fan of canned tomato soup. She hasn’t grasped the concept that the store isn’t that far and I can go get more.”
“The mind of a youth,” she said.
“Can we order pizza now?” Adele all but screeched. “I’m hungry. I want wings and a salad too.”
Another sigh out of his mouth. “What kind of pizza do you like? If you even like pizza and I shouldn’t have assumed that. They’ve got all sorts of things on the menu.”
“I’m not fussy and pizza sounds just fine. I’ll eat whatever you get.”
“Mushroom,” Adele said. “That’s my favorite, but Daddy won’t eat it. I only get it if I can get one slice at a time.”
“I like mushroom,” Ava said. “Maybe your father can get one split in half. Mushroom for us and the other half for him?”
Adele stomped her foot and put her hands on her hips as if a light bulb went off. “Now why haven’t I thought of that?”
He bopped his daughter on the nose with the tip of his finger. “Now you know. One pizza coming up with half sausage and half mushrooms.”
“Let me show you all my rubber bands,” Adele said, reaching for Ava’s hand and pulling her to the kitchen island where she’d left them.
“I’ll place this order and be right in.” When he was off the phone, he moved to the kitchen and saw that Adele had dumped out all the rubber bands and was picking out which ones she liked the best.
“You sure do have a lot of favorites,” Ava told his daughter.
“No one wants to be left behind so I like everything.”
“Again, through the eyes of a youth,” Seth said. “If only the world felt the same way.”
“Amen to that,” Ava said. “So why don’t
