“Squeezing a Miller Lite can into a champagne bottle?” I wiped another tear as a giggle escaped.
“Exactly like that.”
“That’s what Mom said.”
He laughed. “She’s right. We tried, and when I look back, I should’ve fought for you girls. I was so worried about forcing you to visit me and upsetting anyone that I didn’t push enough. Was I scared of my two teenage girls? Yes, I was.”
“You probably had good reason to be. A teen girl should wear a sign warning that due to the influence of hormones, she could burst into tears or kill you in the next five minutes.”I threw my hands in the air. “The struggle is real.”
He reached out and patted my hand. “I’ll take your word for it, but I should’ve insisted you see me, and I should’ve come to you and been blowing up your phone every day.” A sigh. “I had one shot, and I blew it with you.”
I looked at him until his eyes met mine. “We’re here to start a new relationship. Put the mistakes we both made behind us. Let’s enjoy this week, knowing that there’s more to come. Okay?”
“That means the world to me, Madison.” He stood, pulled me to my feet, and hugged me. “You know, the holidays are around the corner. Maybe I could come out to New York and see you for a few days?”
I was surprised at how much I loved the idea. “Yes, I’d like that.”
* * *
A short while later, Daisy led me upstairs and told me to freshen up and rest before dinner. Some people may “rest up” before dinner, but naps always end up with me waking up feeling bitchy. It was the last thing I needed for dinner tonight.
My room was fresh and crisp with a powder blue comforter and fluffy white pillows, as well as a white chest of drawers, a desk, and a matching nightstand next to the queen size bed. I immediately noticed the framed calligraphy sign above the bed.There’s Always Something to be Grateful For. Really?Always? Hmmm, I’d have to let that thought simmer for a few days.
I immediately hopped in the shower and did my best to wash the day off of me. I went through my suitcase from hell and pulled on a pair of sweats that were too big and a “Pizza Slut” sweatshirt. Yes, that was the best there was. For a change of pace, I topped off my disgusting ensemble with my shiny tap shoes, figuring what the heck. I blow-dried my hair and was thankful Daisy had a flat iron in the bathroom so I could finally do something with the mop of hair on my head.
The view out the large window in my room was of land as far as the eye could see and a barn in the distance. I could make out a few horses close by the barn, and remembered how much I always loved them, but they didn’t love me back.
I had asthma and allergies when I was a kid. I mean,reallybad asthma and allergies. I still had them, but it’d gotten milder as I’ve gotten older, and I now take a daily medication.
There was a trip to the emergency room at the age of five after attending a Rodeo in Brazil and visiting the pigs and horses due to wheezing, while my eyes looking like I had smoked a bong.
Because of this, my family couldn’t have any pets. Zoey always wanted a cat, but my parents said no due to my allergies. She was certain they were wrong and made me hold the neighbor’s cat for an hour to prove her point. That time I even got a ride in the ambulance.
My mom, trying not to have me miss out on the “summer camp” experience, sent me to asthma camp. Yep, just as fun as it sounds. Lots of kids, each with an adult assigned to them who would carry nebulizers and inhalers.
They let us kids dabble in things that could normally kill them in the spirit of summer camp. It seemed like it was borderline illegal, but I guess getting rid of the allergy/asthma kid for a week was worth the risk to the parents, though it was a little freaky.
An example, I got to ride a horse while I wore a mask. I rode for about 5 minutes, was then pulled off, set on the ground where I puffed on my inhaler, and then had a nebulizer breathing treatment. It felt a little bit like Russian Roulette. Like, “Let’s see if we can get to the wheezing kid in time before a full blown asthma attack happens.” I guess the old saying is true: what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.
As if the gods of beauty were looking down upon me, I pulled open the desk drawer to find make-up. Yes! It wasn’t my typical brand, but all the colors I needed were there. After a few strokes of mascara, blush, and lip gloss, I felt more like myself than I had in days.
The bright sunshine through my window reminded me it was a beautiful new day, and I might as well get all I could from Montana.
As I made my way downstairs, I could hear Daisy and my dad talking and laughing in the kitchen, so I quietly slipped out the front door.
I strolled over to the horses by the barn and leaned against the wood fence, soaking in the atmosphere—the autumn sun and the beauty of everything around me.
I could see why my dad loved it there. It was so quiet, no noise except the sound of the horses. There was a sense of peace and simplicity that I knew was him. He was never able to find that in my mother’s world. Would I ever find it?
I overheard a conversation last year as she poured her guts out to my aunt over martinis, saying two husbands later, she knows her biggest mistake was letting my dad go—trying to squeeze a Miller Light can into a champagne bottle and failing miserably.
“Hey.”
I jumped and looked over to see Jax coming out of the barn with a small smile on his face.
“Hi.” Why did he make me nervous? It must be those panty-dropping good looks. “What’re you doing?”
“Work. Even a wedding week doesn’t stop what needs to get done.”
