the movie with her. She was his world--everything was for Emma. Nothing else mattered.
And she lived for him. So I shouldn ' t have been surprised at how much she seemed to enjoy having a father-ish figure around.
I hadn ' t really considered what Emma was missing out on when I decided to not bother with dating. Not that I was terribly interested in it, but I wanted what was best for my little girl.
I didn ' t want to be one of those single mothers who paraded a string of men in front of my kid. I saw enough of that in the beauty shop with my clients.
Every time I hear the story, I ' d be glad I decided to stay away from dating, if only for Emma ' s sake.
Yet seeing her talking to Matthew, I could tell she missed that. There weren ' t a lot of men in the family anymore. Mom hadn ' t been with anyone in years. My husband was gone. Winter got divorced and her ex moved to nicer climates, and my other sister Autumn, well, who knows what ' s going on in her life. If there ' s a man, she hasn ' t said anything.
Of course, if I wanted to know, I could always check Instagram . She was forever posting pictures of, well, everything, on her account there.
I picked up my phone and scrolled through the photo sharing app. Sure enough, my feed was flooded with odd pictures from my sister.
Looked like she was in Chicago. At least, there was a selfie of her outside Wrigley Field. Whether she was living there, or just visiting, I had no idea.
Mom came into the kitchen. Yes. I live with my mother. I ' m not exactly proud of this, but when Jake died, it was the best arrangement. I saved as much as I could each month so I could buy my own house for me and Emma--we were almost there.
" Autumn ' s in Chicago. " I held up my phone to show Mom.
" Her job sure is sending her everywhere. "
I blinked. " She has a job? " My sister has always been a leaf on the wind, tumbling wherever she could, and never staying in any particular place for very long. " I thought she applied for that cruise line. "
" I don ' t think she got it, " Mom said.
" Too bad, that would have been great for her. "
" Autumn, stuck on a ship for months at a time? That would not end well. " We both smirked, because Autumn was, well, Autumn. She seemed to have our flighty father ' s bohemian tendencies.
" Well, at least she ' d be able to say she ' s been all over if she did that, " I said.
Mom grinned. " When you ' re young with no obligations, you can do that. "
For the briefest second, I wondered what that would be like, just tumbling from place to place with no plan, no money, and no worry how I would get there, or what I would do. Such a foreign concept, I couldn ' t imagine what it must be like.
Laughter from the living room jarred my attention and jerked me out of the wandering train of thought, and I smirked at my daughter ' s excitement over the movie.
And, I daresay, the company as well.
I had to do what was best for Emma. A new worry had been creeping in the back of my mind -- how quick Emma was connecting with Matthew.
Mom watched Emma and Matthew laughing at the movie.
" He seems nice, " Mom said as she started the water to make herself a cup of tea.
I got down the powdered drink mix and started making a fresh pitcher. " He is. "
" Emma seems to enjoy him being here. "
" Emma likes anyone she can watch Frozen with. " Though I figured I ' d probably better get back in there before he loses his mind over the singing. Don ' t most guys hate movies with singing in them?
Though surprisingly, Matthew hadn ' t tried to break away yet. Maybe he actually was enjoying the story?
I wondered as I stirred the mix. Was he enjoying himself? Or just humoring the little girl of his fallen comrade?
" What about you? "
" What about me what? " I asked as I put the finished pitcher back in the fridge.
" Do you like him being here? "
I shrugged, because I really didn ' t have an answer. It was nice talking to a man at dinner, a grown-up that wasn ' t my mother, or
And she lived for him. So I shouldn ' t have been surprised at how much she seemed to enjoy having a father-ish figure around.
I hadn ' t really considered what Emma was missing out on when I decided to not bother with dating. Not that I was terribly interested in it, but I wanted what was best for my little girl.
I didn ' t want to be one of those single mothers who paraded a string of men in front of my kid. I saw enough of that in the beauty shop with my clients.
Every time I hear the story, I ' d be glad I decided to stay away from dating, if only for Emma ' s sake.
Yet seeing her talking to Matthew, I could tell she missed that. There weren ' t a lot of men in the family anymore. Mom hadn ' t been with anyone in years. My husband was gone. Winter got divorced and her ex moved to nicer climates, and my other sister Autumn, well, who knows what ' s going on in her life. If there ' s a man, she hasn ' t said anything.
Of course, if I wanted to know, I could always check Instagram . She was forever posting pictures of, well, everything, on her account there.
I picked up my phone and scrolled through the photo sharing app. Sure enough, my feed was flooded with odd pictures from my sister.
Looked like she was in Chicago. At least, there was a selfie of her outside Wrigley Field. Whether she was living there, or just visiting, I had no idea.
Mom came into the kitchen. Yes. I live with my mother. I ' m not exactly proud of this, but when Jake died, it was the best arrangement. I saved as much as I could each month so I could buy my own house for me and Emma--we were almost there.
" Autumn ' s in Chicago. " I held up my phone to show Mom.
" Her job sure is sending her everywhere. "
I blinked. " She has a job? " My sister has always been a leaf on the wind, tumbling wherever she could, and never staying in any particular place for very long. " I thought she applied for that cruise line. "
" I don ' t think she got it, " Mom said.
" Too bad, that would have been great for her. "
" Autumn, stuck on a ship for months at a time? That would not end well. " We both smirked, because Autumn was, well, Autumn. She seemed to have our flighty father ' s bohemian tendencies.
" Well, at least she ' d be able to say she ' s been all over if she did that, " I said.
Mom grinned. " When you ' re young with no obligations, you can do that. "
For the briefest second, I wondered what that would be like, just tumbling from place to place with no plan, no money, and no worry how I would get there, or what I would do. Such a foreign concept, I couldn ' t imagine what it must be like.
Laughter from the living room jarred my attention and jerked me out of the wandering train of thought, and I smirked at my daughter ' s excitement over the movie.
And, I daresay, the company as well.
I had to do what was best for Emma. A new worry had been creeping in the back of my mind -- how quick Emma was connecting with Matthew.
Mom watched Emma and Matthew laughing at the movie.
" He seems nice, " Mom said as she started the water to make herself a cup of tea.
I got down the powdered drink mix and started making a fresh pitcher. " He is. "
" Emma seems to enjoy him being here. "
" Emma likes anyone she can watch Frozen with. " Though I figured I ' d probably better get back in there before he loses his mind over the singing. Don ' t most guys hate movies with singing in them?
Though surprisingly, Matthew hadn ' t tried to break away yet. Maybe he actually was enjoying the story?
I wondered as I stirred the mix. Was he enjoying himself? Or just humoring the little girl of his fallen comrade?
" What about you? "
" What about me what? " I asked as I put the finished pitcher back in the fridge.
" Do you like him being here? "
I shrugged, because I really didn ' t have an answer. It was nice talking to a man at dinner, a grown-up that wasn ' t my mother, or
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