“I think I can arrange that since she had a tantrum this morning when I told her that she couldn’t wear it out to our mommy and me class.” I laugh until my stomach hurts. “It’s not funny. I swear I think she said bitch.”
“She did not,” I say. “What time were you thinking?”
“I’m pulling up to my house now,” she says, and I hear the car stop. “So now would be good.”
“Perfect. I’ll leave now.” I get up. “What should I bring?”
“Nothing,” she says, her voice tight. “And I mean nothing.”
“Listen, that tone might work with Ralph and Ari, but you are not the boss of me,” I say, and it makes her laugh. “I’ll be there shortly.”
I walk to my bedroom, changing out of my jeans for yoga pants and a sweater. Slipping on my slides, I grab my purse on the way out. I make a pit stop on the way, and when I pull up to her house, I’m shocked to see a for sale sign. I grab the two bags and the white box of cupcakes, and then snatch the balloon and walk to the front door.
“Knock, knock, knock,” I say when I walk into the house, and I hear Ariella squeal. “Where is my favorite girl in the whole world?” I sing-song, stopping in the middle of the family room as she runs to me, still a little unsteady. Candace follows, ready to catch her if she falls down. I squat down in time to catch her when she falls forward. “There she is.” I kiss her neck, and she laughs. “I brought you a balloon,” I say, and her blue eyes light up.
“Loon,” she says and looks back at Candace. “Mama, ook loon.”
“I see that, princess.” She smiles and then spots the other bags. “I see also that Auntie Layla didn’t listen to Mommy.”
I laugh at the way she just sang the sentence. “I’ll save the cupcake for after dinner.”
I take the doll I just bought her out of the bag, and she claps her hands and gives it to Candace. “Mama, open.”
“Another doll?” Candace says.
“I’m obviously buying her love. Can you just give me this one thing?” I squeeze her to me. “But enough of that. You’re moving?” I ask her as she sits down next to me and opens the doll for Ari.
“Ralph said that if he can’t pay me for this house, then we have to move,” she says, handing the doll to Ari. “And when I didn’t accept the money, he put a for sale sign on the lawn.” I throw my head back and laugh. Ralph and Candace met a little more than six months ago. He was a single dad and needed help with his social media. Enter Candace and by the time both of them knew what was happening, they were in love with each other. “Little does he know that I already picked out the perfect house.”
“Sneaky,” I tell her, and she shrugs.
“What’s new with you?” I look at her. “How did the date with Miller go?”
“Grandma Nancy loved him.” I fill her in on the date that he had with Nancy, and her laughter has tears streaming down her face. “Then the next day, I felt sorry for him and went out on a date with him.”
She stops laughing and looks at me, shock filling her face. “Wait, what?” She looks confused. “You went out on a date?” I nod my head. “With Miller?” Again, I nod my head, not sure I can put it into words. “The guy you loathe?” I roll my eyes at that. “The guy you paid twenty-five thousand for?”
I throw up my hands. “It was for charity,” I tell her, and she just raises her eyebrows at me. “But yes, I went out on a date with him. I mean, technically. We didn’t really go out.”
She gasps. “Oh my God, you had sex with him?”
“Oh my God.” I put my head back. “I did not have sex with him. He picked me up and took me over to his house and made me dinner.”
She shakes her head. “I’m sorry, I’m just …” Her hands come up. “I’m …” She puts her hands on her face. “You need to just go slow.”
“It’s not a big deal,” I say, getting up now and bringing the white box to the counter. “I owed him a date, so I went out with him. He made me dinner.”
“Hold on.” She grabs her phone. “This is the dinner he made for you?” She shows me the picture that I already saw, and I nod. She gets up now and walks over to the fridge. “I need wine.”
“Yeah, well,” I tell her. “I also let him take me out for ice cream,” I tell her, hoping she’ll let it go, but she doesn’t. “It’s like a miracle.”