I smile. “She just arrived.”
With that, both Pippa and I head into the living room. Julie walks in with a huge orange plastic box in her hands.
“What’s that?” I ask. I’m one hundred percent sure I’ve never seen that box before.
“Supplies,” Julie replies simply. “Pippa, are you ready?”
Pippa nods. She and my daughter sit on the living floor, opening the orange box and rummaging through it.
“I’ll be in the study for about three hours,” I tell them. “I have a conference call with Boston.”
Neither Pippa nor Julie looks my way, so i
t’s safe to say neither will miss me.
I return to the living room two hours later, looking forward to sprawling on the couch for the remainder of the day. I want to enjoy a few hours with my girls, maybe watch a movie. When I open the door to the living room, I do a double take.
There’s glitter everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Pippa and Julie stop midchat, greeting me with startled expressions.
“Dad, we thought you wouldn’t be back for another hour,” Julie says, in a tone that sounds an awful lot like an accusation.
“I know this looks like glitterland right now, but I promise you we’ll clean up,” Pippa says, almost breathless.
Glitterland? More like glitterhell, but I bite back the remark and say, “Looks like the two of you are having fun.”
At this, both Pippa and Julie smile. “We are,” Pippa says.
“Yeah. We’re making mock-ups for my design class,” Julie explains.
I have no idea why that requires turning my living room into a pool of glitter; however, if it makes both of them so happy, then I’ll drown in glitter if I have to. I make my way to the couch, but even that is full of tiny, sparkling bits.
“Aren’t you a little too old for glitter, Julie?” I ask.
My daughter gasps, as if I’ve spat an offense of the highest order.
Pippa crosses her arms over her chest. “You can never be too old for glitter. I love it.”
“Of course you do,” I reply. She and Julie exchange glances then both grin, which can only mean one thing: they’re planning a move against me. I eye the two of them, trying to figure out what it’ll be. Come on, Callahan. You’re a damn CEO. Think fast. What are they planning? My mind comes up with nothing. It seems I’m no match for these two masterminds.
“Your dad deserves a lesson,” Pippa says.
“I agree,” Julie answers.
The two of them dig their hands in the box, and before I realize what’s going on, they attack me. I tumble back on the floor and they fall over me, shrieking with laughter as they fill my pockets with glitter, dripping it everywhere on my clothes. I burst out laughing as well, and soon the muscles in my stomach begin to hurt.
“There, now you’re one of us,” Julie says after she calms down. “Glitter fan.”
“Mission accomplished,” Pippa adds. The three of us are sprawled on the floor, Pippa to my right, her head on my shoulder, and Julie on my left, cocooned against me.
As we all regain our breath, a recognition hits me hard. This is right, the three of us together, almost like a family. Pippa looks up at me, and I know she feels it too.
“Hey,” she says softly. “I mentioned it before, but I didn’t officially invite you. We’re celebrating Ava’s birthday at my parents’ house next Saturday. Would the two of you like to come? It’ll be a lot of fun.”
“Yes,” Julie answers before I even open my mouth. “Dad, can we go?”
“Sure.” For the first time in a long time, I feel whole.
Chapter Seventeen