Page 44 of Dance with Me on New Year's Eve
Not long after, a bump jarred me upright. “What?”
Jeff’s cheeks were sucked in. “Wake up, we’re almost here.”
I pulled down the sun visor as I licked my lips. “Oh, I wasn’t sleeping—”
“You so were,” Lila chimed in. “You were kind of snoring.”
Jeff raised both his eyebrows a bit, but he said nothing.
“Lightly!” she added. “Not like all loud and gross.”
Her father cleared his throat. “Snoring isn’t gross. It’s not something people do on purpose. Besides, she—”
“Fine, fine, maybe I had a slight doze,” I said, irritation lacing my tone. “It’s been a long week.”
“Actually, all weeks are the same length unless there’s a time change,” Lila pronounced.
“It’s just an expression, sweetie,” Jeff said.
“Oh, grown-up speak? Blah.”
I bit my lip to keep from laughing, and Jeff pulled into a small parking lot surrounded by trees in every direction, a few nearly bare and several shedding leaves as we arrived.
As they retrieved the bags from the back, I stood outside the car and yawned as my eyes swept the area, landing back on Jeff.
“Are you really tired, Roxanne?” he asked.
“A little. But it’s no big deal, just—”
“Do you like ‘Roxy’ or ‘Roxanne’? I thought you liked ‘Roxy,’ but Dad calls you ‘Roxanne.’ You have to tell us which one of us is right, OK?” Her expression was gleeful as she snuck a glance at her father.
“I really prefer Roxy.” I paused, watching him spray bug spray on everything.
She laughed. “Dad, see, I was right!”
“Oh, your dad knows I prefer ‘Roxy.’”
Her eyes widened as she looked between us. “Then why do you call her that, Daddy?”
“This isn’t relevant. Do you girls want to hike or not?”
Lila and I frowned at each other.
“Sorry, I don’t mean to be grumpy, sweetie. I just want to be on our way. You know, not to miss the midday sun.”
The girl shrugged and started walking toward the trail entrance, marked by a sign I couldn’t read from here.
“Don’t be so slow!” she called back, laughing as I was trailing her, with Jeff a few steps behind me. She stayed within sight but ahead of us for the first few minutes but slowed down so we could catch her.
Jeff sighed and held out his arm. “Give me your bag.”
Lila grinned sheepishly. “OK, fine, I’ll let you carry it.”
“Aww, what a thoughtful daughter you have,” I chimed in. Her playfulness around Jeff was apparently catchy, as I couldn’t imagine any time I’d ever felt comfortable joking around in front of him. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Apart from occasional exclamations about random sightings in nature, we were all fairly quiet as we hiked for the first half hour and then came to a clearing that revealed a pond, peaceful and bright as the water reflected the sunlight.
I raised a hand to shade my eyes as I scanned the scene. The lake was surrounded by maple and willow trees, my favorite kinds. I could just barely see a couple of lonely docks on the far side.
