“I’ll try my best to keep up.”He was kicking himself for not filling up an insulated mug and bringing some coffee with him.
“I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”The older woman’s smile offered comfort.
Delilah said Mrs.Peacock was funny, liked to sing songs and gave big, squishy hugs.From the deep lines bracketing the older woman’s eyes and mouth, he suspected she smiled a lot.As far as singing songs and big hugs, he’d take Delilah’s word for it.
“Come on in.”Mrs.Peacock waved him in.“We always start with circle time.Today, you’ll get to be Delilah’s show-and-tell.”
“That’ll be a first.”He chuckled.“Where should I put these?”He held out the cupcakes.
After the cupcakes were stored away for midmorning snack, Mrs.Peacock managed to get each and every student onto the brightly colored carpet at the front of the room for sharing time.To Braden, it looked a lot like herding cats.As soon as one kid was seated, another was crawling across the floor, picking on another student, or—as was the case with one little boy roaring like a lion in the corner—making noise until Mrs.Peacock coaxed him onto the mat next to her.
Braden leaned against the cabinets along the back wall and watched his little girl.
She looked a mess.Looking at her now, he was surprised Mrs.Peacock hadn’t said something to him.Her attempts to braid her hair had turned into one giant tangled ponytail.No matter how many times he offered to help, she insisted on doing it herself.And since she didn’t seem the least bit bothered by how her handiwork turned out, he didn’t have the heart to argue with her.
Then there were the knee socks.
Preparing his little girl for her first harsh winter was more challenging than he’d anticipated.
For one thing, Delilah hated socks.She said they made her feet sweat and itch and she couldn’t move her toes.Since the first four years of her life had been spent mostly barefoot or in flip-flops, it made sense.Phoebe’s rented studio was part of an old apartment complex that had seen better days.The location, however, had been pretty idyllic—perched along the dunes of Florida’s Jensen Beach.His daughter had never known the need for thick socks, boots or coats, nor had she experienced cold weather.And Montana cold was a different kind of cold.
Cold that required socks.Delilah had been adamantly against all socks until she’d spied the rack of colorful knee socks.Then, she’d squealed with glee and fallen deeply in love with the knitted foot coverings.Now two whole drawers of her chest of drawers was nothing but knee socks.While he did his best to keep matching pairs, Delilah’s selection process seemed to be more haphazard.
“Delilah.I believe you have something extra special to share with us today?”Mrs.Peacock asked.
When Delilah got excited, she did this whole-body crinkle thing that always made him chuckle.She crinkled up her nose, her shoulders, even drew her hands up to her chest—like she was about to burst with excitement.“I do, I do.It’s my birthday!”The words sort of erupted from her.
“It is?”the red-haired girl asked.
A chorus of “Happy birthdays” followed.All the while, Delilah sat beaming.
“Is that why your dad is here?”a little boy asked.
“Uh-huh.”Delilah waved at him.“Right, Daddy?”
“Yes, ma’am.”He nodded.“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
He hadn’t thought it was possible for his little girl to smile any bigger, but she was now—and his heart was flooded with happiness.
“Where’s your mommy?”the red-haired girl asked.“Is she coming?”
“No.”Delilah shook her head, her smile instantly dimming.
Braden wanted nothing more than to scoop her up and hug her close.He didn’t want anything to ruin Delilah’s birthday.He wanted her to smile and laugh and giggle all day long.But there was no forgetting the truth.Phoebe Billings was gone.His little girl had lost her mother to cancer, and there was nothing he could do or say to fix that.
“My mama lives in Swissaland with my other daddy.”This from another little girl.“She calls on my birthday.”
A boy with a buzzed haircut sat forward.“My gramma makes my cake.”
“My daddy can’t come this year ’cuz he’s in jail.”The boy who said this shrugged like it was no big deal.
“How about we sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Delilah?”Mrs.Peacock cut in quickly.“First, we need a party hat.”She puta pom-pom topped party hat on Delilah’s head.“Perfect.Are we all ready?”
Once the “singing” was over, Mrs.Peacock went over their sight words for the week, had them repeat the words, then gave them a thumbs-up.“Excellent.”About that time, the overhead speaker crackled and the disembodied voice of the elementary school principal began the school announcements.When Delilah’s name was included in the birthday announcements, she crinkled up in excitement all over again.
The rest of the morning went pretty smoothly and, before he knew it, it was snack time.As the birthday girl, Delilah would get to pass out her cupcakes.
“Daddy.”Delilah’s gaze bounced from the cupcakes to his face.“These are wrong.”
