He gave her a one-armed hug and ended that with his hand on top of her head.
He kept it there when she looked up at him.
“Thanks for coming,” she said.
“All hands on deck, right?” he asked, giving her (and her father) an out for horning into what Juno had clearly declared Mom’s Domain This Time, or in this instance, Auggie’s Domain.
He also did this circling her head in a jokey way that had her worried look melting into a genuine smile.
“Right!” she chirped.
“Pepper,” Corbin greeted, calling my attention to him.
I tore my eyes from my girl and looked to her father.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
I had been wrong the night before.
The likeliest scenario wasn’t going to be Corbin messing with me and/or Auggie and me just to be a jerk.
It was going to be Corbin doubling down on winning me back.
Shit!
“Corbin,” I said, fighting punctuating that by leaning into Auggie and/or taking his hand.
There was a message that needed to be relayed to Corbin.
But at that juncture, that message didn’t need to be relayed to Juno.
Oh, I so got she wanted Auggie and me together.
That said, how that would happen and how our growing relationship would be communicated to her would not be because my hand was forced by Corbin.
“You look great,” Corbin said.
I did, because this was a highly unusual beginning, but it was still a date with a hot guy.
So I had on a cute sweater and jeans that did fantastic things to my ass and my hair was curly, messy, beachy perfection.
In other words, I’d gone all out.
But a compliment from Corbin?
Ugh.
“Thanks,” I replied.
“This meeting is early,” Corbin noted.
Oh shit.
Oh shit.
Ohhhhh shiiiiit.
“We didn’t have dinner before we came,” he went on.
Oh shit!
“Would you two like to go somewhere with us after?” he finished.
Goddammit.
It was a good play, pretending we were all friends, but still, interrupting my date with a hot guy at the same time sucking my time, at the same time giving Corbin the opportunity to show Juno mom and dad could get along and see how great we are all together?
If she wanted it, I’d say yes.
Corbin couldn’t know this, but if she wanted it, Auggie would also say yes.
I looked to Juno.
Then I blinked at Juno.
She looked like a Disney villain kid who was about to do something obnoxious, like kick her father in the shin or let loose several dozen caged turkeys that would run him out of the assembly room.
It took so much effort not to laugh out loud, I snorted.
Auggie brushed my fingers with his and said a warning but still amused, “Baby,” under his breath.
Juno was so busy fighting the urge to act like a brat, she missed this.
Corbin did not and his eyes narrowed on Auggie.
“We have plans,” I felt safe to choke out, still fighting my own urge, that being to laugh.
Corbin’s narrowed gaze came to me.
But rainbows and pixie dust flew up from below (not literally, alas) so I looked down to my daughter, who was beaming.
Oh yeah.
She wanted me to be with Auggie.
The fates took a turn for the better in that moment when a male teacher interrupted this awkwardness by calling out, “Parents! Can I have your attention?”
Auggie leaned into me, and his lips brushed my ear, he was so close when he murmured, “He so fucking can.”
I snorted again.
He moved his lips away, but I felt his touch on my hip, there and gone, and again felt magic coming from my daughter’s space, so I returned my attention to her.
She was smiling largely at me, all worries gone.
I was glad she was feeling that, and I wished I could be there with her, totally and completely.
But in a very short car ride a lot had been unleashed from Auggie and we’d walked right into an unwanted declaration from Corbin, so I couldn’t.
Even so, that was where she was in the now.
And I was there with her in the now.
And it was a good spot for the both of us.
I felt Auggie’s arm brush my shoulder as the teacher started to make general announcements and I turned my gaze to Aug.
I’d gotten the shoulder brush because he was close and he’d crossed his arms on his chest (a position I right then noted was kind of his “at ease” because he was in it a lot). His handsome face was alert and attentive, his eyes to the teacher, but he seemed relaxed.
So it was a good spot for all of us in the now (except Corbin, but whatever).
That meant, I was good settling there.
So I did.
* * *
“I just don’t know what to make of this. It’s so much, I might need to meditate for a month to be at one with it,” I joked.
“Babe, El Tejado is totally better than Las Delicias,” Auggie replied, stating a preference I already knew, since my ass was in a booth at El Tejado, waiting for my combo #3.