The Invitation by Vi Keeland(78)

The macaroni and cheese left us all full, so we retreated to the couch after dinner to watch a movie. Charlie laid her head on my lap with her body spread out to my left, and Stella sat on my right. Halfway through Inside Out, Charlie was snoring. I couldn’t blame her. A nap sounded pretty good after that meal, and we’d watched this movie at least fifty times.

At one point, Stella got up to go to the bathroom, so I slipped out from under my daughter and carefully set her head down. Then I waited in the hall. When Stella opened the door, I grabbed her arm and yanked her into the adjoining guest bedroom.

She giggled, and I put my hand over her mouth. “Shhh…she has stealth hearing.” Stella nodded, so I took my hand away.

She whispered, “What are you doing?”

“I wanted to say thank you for dinner.”

“You already did.”

“I meant properly.”

Cupping the back of her neck, I sealed my lips over hers. “You always smell so damn good,” I groaned.

She sucked on my tongue. “You always taste so good.”

Fuck. This was probably a dumb idea. I could feel myself getting worked up already. But I hadn’t had a minute alone with her since she got here, and I needed it. Pressing her against the door, I took her mouth in a rough kiss. When I was done, we were both breathing heavy.

I wiped her bottom lip as I spoke. “You called your mother.”

Her face softened. “Yeah. I don’t think I’ll be going over there for dinner any time soon, but what you said really resonated with me. Life is short, and you never know what tomorrow is going to bring. I don’t want to have regrets, and I’m ready to move on.”

I looked back and forth between her eyes and cupped her cheek. “I’m glad.”

She turned her head and kissed my palm. “Do you think Charlie’s asleep for the night? Maybe I should get going.”

“Definitely not. She’s going to wake up and demand ice cream any minute now.”

Stella smiled. “And then I’ll get to hear one of your secrets. I was kind of looking forward to that.”

“Oh yeah?”

She nodded.

“Well, let me tell you one now.” I crooked my finger for her to come closer. When she did, I moved my mouth to her ear and whispered, “I’m fucking crazy about you, sweetheart.”

She looked at me and smiled. “I’m crazy about you, too.”

***

Sure enough, Charlie woke about ten minutes before the movie ended. She stretched her arms over her head. “Can we have ice cream now?”

I chuckled. “You’re barely awake.”

“I’m awake enough for ice cream.”

“Alright. Why don’t you two go sit at the table, and I’ll make us bowls. You want the works?”

Charlie nodded fast with a toothy smile.

I lifted my chin to Stella. “How about you?”

“What’s in the works?”

“Whipped cream, sprinkles, nuts, banana slices, and chocolate sauce.”

She licked her lips. “Definitely.”

In the kitchen, I whipped up three bowls. Setting them down at the table, I said, “Alright. Who wants to go first?”

Charlie pointed to Stella. “Stella! I want to know her secret.”

“Oh boy…” Stella said. “You need to give me a minute then so I can think of one.”

We shoveled ice cream into our mouths until eventually Stella raised her hand. “Thought of one!” She leaned over the table toward Charlie and lowered her voice. “No one knows this. Are you sure you can keep a secret?”

My daughter’s eyes were wide with mirth, and she nodded rapidly.

“Okay. Well, when I was about eight or nine—not too much older than you—I found this turtle at the park. It was only about this big.” Stella made a circle the size of a golf ball with her hands. “I brought it home and asked my parents if I could keep it, but they said no because they thought he belonged outside. So the next day, I went back to the park and tried to set him free. I put him back in the area of the grass where I’d found him, but he blended in so well that at least a half-dozen kids almost squished him while they were running around playing. I just knew if I left him there, he’d get hurt. So that night, I snuck him back into the house and kept him in a drawer in my room. A week later, my mom found him when she was in my room putting away laundry. She made me go put him back again. I did, but every chance I got, I’d go check on him. I tried putting him in a corner of the park that was safer, but he would find his way back to areas where kids ran around. I worried about him a lot. A few weeks later, my family was going to Florida for vacation—to Disney and SeaWorld. So I tucked the turtle into my backpack, snuck him into SeaWorld, and set him free inside the turtle exhibit. I figured he’d be safe there.”

I raised a brow. “You smuggled an animal into SeaWorld?”

Stella nodded. “I like to think of it as helping him get asylum, but yes.”

“Daddy, can we go to SeaWorld? Maybe we’ll see the turtle Stella saved.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell her the thing was likely long dead. “Maybe someday.”

Charlie shoveled a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. “Your turn, Daddy.”

I admitted that I’d never been to SeaWorld, and then gave the floor to my daughter.