Ava started to laugh. “I’ve been past twenty for a long time,” she said. “But maybe when you and I go shopping we can find an appropriate two piece that will make you both happy.”
He squinted one eye at her and then shrugged. “We’ll see how happy it makes me.”
“You always look pretty handsome in your suits for work, but it’s not the same as fashion for a little girl. Or fashion for a woman. Not even fashion for your mother, though she is pretty stylish.”
He knew that. He always suspected the day would come when Adele and he would have fashion issues but didn’t think it’d be this soon. He’d have to let go of some things though and know that Ava would indeed put his daughter in appropriate clothing when they shopped.
“I don’t always like all of Grandma’s clothes. They are kind of boring,” Adele said. “But don’t tell her I said that.”
Ava crossed a finger in front of her chest twice. “I promise. But men, they don’t understand that fashion isn’t the same for all women.”
“I understand just fine,” he said, realizing that he was going to get ganged up on and wasn’t even upset over it. He’d been missing this in life and hadn’t even known.
27
A Good Job
Ava was thrilled to get through seven hours on the beach with only two phone calls for work. Nothing urgent that required her to go in and with any luck the rest of the day and night would be the same way.
She was having a blast with Adele playing in the sand and going down to the water and splashing around.
Seth seemed more relaxed than when they got here and she wasn’t sure what was going through his mind. If he was nervous about tonight or not.
If he wanted her to stay in the guest room, she would. That didn’t mean the two of them couldn’t fool around though.
Now they were on their way back to Seth’s to clean up and go to dinner. She needed to wash off all the sunscreen and any sand that was still clinging to her. Adele had her hair in a braid, but between sunscreen and saltwater it was looking fairly greasy.
“Do I have to take a shower?” Adele asked, almost whining as they walked in the door to Seth’s house. She didn’t always show this side and Ava wondered if there might be a little bit of a tantrum coming.
“Yes,” Seth said. “We are going out to dinner and we all need to clean up.”
“I don’t want to,” Adele said. “Showers are at night or first thing in the morning. It’s not even dinner. So that means no shower.”
Ava looked over at Seth and saw him narrow his eyes at his daughter. “That isn’t how it works,” he said. “We are going to dinner tonight, which you said you wanted to do.”
“I do,” Adele said. “I like going out, but I don’t need to shower. I’ve been in the water all day.”
Ava stuck her hand out and touched Adele. “But you’re sticky. Feel my arm. I’m the same way. I need to shower too. If we don’t then things will stick to us and people will look at us funny.”
“What will stick to us?” Adele asked.
“If a feather is falling off a bird when we are outside and it lands on us, that will stick to our skin.” She walked over and got a tissue. “A napkin might like this.”
Adele laughed when the tissue was almost glued to her arm. “That’s funny.”
Seth pulled it off her arm and showed it to her. “And it’s gross. See that?”
Adele made a funny face. “What is it?”
“Oil and dirt and grease. Do you want that all over your clothes when we get changed to go out?”
“No,” Adele said running upstairs. “I’ll get my clothes now and then go shower.”
“Sorry if I was out of line or overstepped myself there. I thought it might help.”
“It did,” he said. “No apology needed. I guess that is another difference we’ve got other than shopping or fashion styles. I would have just told her she had no choice and to do it. She would have stomped her foot and crossed her arms, maybe gotten a nice little lecture or the loss of something if she continued.”
“So I stopped a fight,” she said.
“We don’t fight. She knows I’m the boss in the house. She gets away with a lot, but there are some things that aren’t negotiable. Not everyone can win every single time.”
“No,” she said. “They can’t. You’re doing a good job with her.”
“And you did well just now too. I wouldn’t have thought to try to reason with her.”
“Because as you said, you’re her father and you’re the boss. But even the boss doesn’t always handle things the best way.”
He frowned at her. “Are you questioning my parenting?”
“Oh boy. No.” Wasn’t this what her father lectured her on weeks ago? That she had to walk a fine line with the father daughter relationship. “You’re a great father. Better than most I’ve seen, trust me. I meant that there were plenty of times my father thought he knew the best way to handle something and my mother had to step in and deal with it. Or vice versa.”
“I haven’t had that luxury for years,” he said.
“Daddy, I’m getting in the shower,” Adele yelled from the top of the stairs, then ran away.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it,” Ava said. “Why don’t you go take a shower and then I’ll clean up after you.”
“Come on up with me. Are you washing your hair?”
“No. It will take too long. It got blown around, but I can brush it and put it back.”
“Adele will be in there twenty minutes easily. What do you say we hop into my shower together fast?”
“That might be risky, but I’m all for it.”
“Consider it a tease
