“I take it visitations aren't going well,” Kate held her glass up.
“What visitations?” Natalie asked wryly.
“That’s good, right?” Heather asked.
“Well, on the one hand it’s great. He’s not good for her and every time she comes home, she’s a pill the rest of the week. On the other hand, I’m dreading the time when she realizes she doesn't have a dad to take her to things like the Father Daughter ball.”
“I’ll take her,” Travis said casually from his perch on the counter.
“What?” Natalie's eyes widened.
“I’ll take her. It’s not like I’m going to be going with my boys. Besides, she’s ours too.” He took a swig of beer as if he hadn't just rendered the three women in the room mute.
Kate stared at her husband. She felt the tears that seemed to constantly hover during this pregnancy slide down her cheeks. Her heart hurt with love for the man who would make an offer like that to a woman who wasn't his sister and for a little girl who wasn't his own. Then again, this type of thing was one of the reasons she’d married him.
“That’s--” Natalie’s voice cracked. She walked the two steps to him and hugged him tightly. Travis patted her back awkwardly with his free hand and sent Kate a frantic look over Natalie’s shoulder. Kate smiled and sniffed.
“What’s going on?” Kate looked over her shoulder as Jack and Molly walked in the room trailed by Atticus.
“Why is everyone crying?” Molly asked with a worried look on her face.
“Please note I’m not crying,” Travis said as Natalie stepped away from him.
“No, but you apparently make all the girls cry,” Jack said dryly.
Natalie wiped her eyes. “Sorry. He just said something very sweet.”
“I didn't mean it to be sweet.”
“He offered to take Maddie to her Father Daughter dance,” Heather said, dabbing at her eyes with a blue patterned napkin from the table.
“Oh.” Jack still looked confused. “When is it?”
“I’m not sure,” Natalie said.
“You’re not sure,” Jack repeated slowly.
“Well, I think it’s sweet,” Molly’s eyes glistened.
“I’m still not sure I’m getting this. He offered to take Maddie to a dance at some point in the future?”
“Yes,” Kate nodded her head and smiled at the love of her life.
“And you’re all crying now?”
Heather nodded.
“And now my wife is starting to cry?”
Molly smiled and shrugged.
“Okay then.” Jack turned to Atticus who was watching the exchange with a confused look on his face. “Why don’t you go play and we’ll just pretend we know what’s going on here.”
“Okay, Daddy.” Atticus spun on his feet and raced towards the stairs.
Jack turned back around and stared at his friends.
“I think I should have a beer.”
“Things might start to make more sense,” Travis agreed.
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This was a little piece of my current work in progress. I thought it matched the prompt for this week's Write on Edge Write at the Merge which showed an image of a heart and a quote about friendship. I love the friendships I've created not just between the four women in my novel, but also between the men in their lives. Now...just need to finish the editing process!
5 comments:
Great, now *I'm* crying. :)
ROFLMAO! You captured this scene brilliantly. Hat tip!
Thank you.
Well. I think we all have a crush on Travis now.
You're good.
I was a little lost at first because I missed the other scenes, but caught up quickly. Even coming in mid-scene, you perfectly captured the beauty of their friendship, how men and women view things differently, and the humor in that.
Well done.
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