She rolled her eyes. “It’s a horror movie. Of course there’s nude stuff, but it lasts like, a second. I know what boobs are, Dad.”
“That’s a relief,” I muttered.
There was a good chance I’d be the one hiding my eyes during said nude stuff, not Dani. We hadn’t even hit her teenage years yet. How exactly was I going to navigate all of these landmines?
It was probably different when you had a wife. A partner. Women somehow fundamentally understood how to deal with kids without scarring them before they reached adulthood.
“What does your mother do about movies?”
“Star in them.”
I blew out a breath. Then again, Dani’s family was not traditional by any means. “I mean, with you, squi—G-wiggle.”
Dani made a face. “You can’t call me that. It has special meaning.”
“What special meaning?”
She tossed aside her throw and reached for the crutch leaning against the arm of the couch. “I’m hungry. I’ll get breakfast.”
“I was going to get breakfast.”
“You should sit down. You look tired, Dad, and you’re not as young as you used to be.”
I sat, mostly from shock. Exactly how bad did I look after a night in that chair? “I need breakfast too.”
“I’ll make it. You need help around here. It would be different if you had a wife. Karen even said.”
My head was reeling. “Karen even said what? And why do I need a wife?”
“To make you breakfast,” she said as if it all made perfect sense. “And for you know, like companionship when you’re old.”
She was going to send me to the bathroom to check for wrinkles whether or not I wanted to. So, I was a little more salt than pepper at the temples lately. I certainly wasn’t at the point of worrying about having a partner in my declining years.
“What exactly did Karen say? Exactly,” I enunciated.
“She said how you work a lot, and it’s hard to be a single parent. Her dad was too, and she said he changed when he started dating again. Until then, he was really mean.”
“Mmm-hmm.” I wasn’t going to wonder if I was “really mean.” I wasn’t the world’s friendliest guy, but I was far from an ogre.
No matter what Dani and Karen thought. Although that rather stung. I’d believed Karen and I were friends. Well, as much as you could be with a girl almost young enough to be your daughter.
“Have you thought about it?”
“Breakfast?” I rose again, unwilling to be deterred. “Yeah, I’m starving. Let me handle that end of things.”
“Not that,” Dani said impatiently before she screwed up her mouth. “Maybe pancakes? The apple kind?”
“Sure. Why not? I just got some apples from Mrs. Turner. First of the season.”
“Mrs. Turner is married.”
“That she is. And why are you obsessed with married people and me dating all of a sudden?” I cocked my head. “Is your mother seeing someone?”
Cagily, Dani looked away and leaned down to fiddle with her wrapped ankle. Yep, I had my answer.
Jessica was dating, and poor old Dad was not. He was probably going to turn gray and end up alone. I wouldn’t have put it past my ex to even plant that in my daughter’s head. One of her sly little jokes that so was not one.
I sat beside her on the sofa. “Just because your mom is dating doesn’t mean it’s the right time for me. I want to make sure anyone I bring home is going to love you just as much as I do.”