Jordy loved that he had the money to send his kid to the best school in the city. He loved having the freedom to pick her up some days. He just wished that didn’t meanthis.
Sully texted him three times while he was waiting. Jordy shot his dashboard the finger and muted their chat.
Finally it was his turn, and whatever child-herder they had on duty released Kaira into his custody. He scooped her up for a hug, planted a big, silly kiss on her cheek, and got her settled into her car seat. “Hi, peanut. Did you have a good day today?”
“So good, Daddy!” She spent five minutes breathlessly telling him about it while he waited in the agonizing line to leave the school parking lot—surely someone somewhere could solve this traffic issue? Surely the school’s parents would pool their money to hire someone to figure that out? Should Jordy join the PTA?—and then said, “Daddy, we should go out for dinner.”
The abrupt shift in direction threw him so much he almost missed an opening to turn left, which would result in seven hundred parents all laying on their horns behind him. But he made the turn fine. “We should, huh? Why do you say that?”
He knew his kid was spoiled, but dinners out were one place he had actually managed to create what he thought was a pretty good home life balance. She didn’t expect things like that.
“Because,” Kaira said as though Jordy had asked a question with a very obvious answer, “you and Rowan had your firstweek of work and I had my first week of school and we should celebrate.”
Jordy rewound Kaira’s rundown of her day and identified key phrases likeweekend plans, which sounded like a thing a six-year-old shouldn’t care about but at least explained the sudden request.
He couldn’t fault the logic, though. And with Kaira providing such a convenient excuse, maybe he could get Rowan to come and relax. They could go for an early meal, walk along the lake, tire out the kid—
“I think that sounds like a great idea,” Jordy agreed. “You and I can choose a restaurant when we get home, okay?” One that was not McDonald’s or Tim Hortons.
“And we have to invite Rowan.”
“And we have to invite Rowan,” Jordy agreed. “We’ll make sure it’s someplace he likes too.”
“Can I get dino nuggets?”
“If the restaurant has them,” Jordy tempered, not wanting to make binding promises while also hoping he could talk his daughter out of the sort of restaurant that served dino nuggets.
It wasn’t until Jordy was searching the fridge for an afternoon snack and caught sight of leftovers that he got the idea.
As a bonus, it didn’t take much to get Kaira on board.
“Rowan, Rowan! Daddy says we can go out for dinner tonight!” Kaira said the moment Rowan was in the front door.
“Oh? Did he now?” Rowan lifted one eyebrow and smiled.
“Yes. He said we can go to getusfood!” She collided with Rowan, wrapped her arms around his leg, and looked up at him.
“Us food?”
“Yes, like how you make,” Kaira explained.
“Ah, of course. Us food.” He shot Jordy a look, curious, maybe, about Jordy’s choice.
Jordy waited until Kaira hurried off to get her shoes and then said in an undertone, “I figured it was the only way to talk her into a restaurant that didn’t serve dino nuggets.”
Rowan snorted. “Right. So where are we headed?”
“I have some recommendations from the internet, but if you have a place in mind….”
“I know the perfect place.”
The restaurant was a tiny hole-in-the-wall, decorated with minimalist Indo-Asian flair. Kaira loved it. She stared at everything and asked questions, and when their server arrived, she almost fell out of her chair trying to touch the soft fabric of her embroidered tunic.
“Are you from India?” Kaira wanted to know.
Fortunately the server smiled, unoffended, and said, “Sorta. My parents were born there.”
“Oh! Like Dada and Dadi! They send me pretty dresses, but not one like yours.”
