Alana’s face lit up. She clapped her hands and bounced on her little bare feet. The tan shag carpeting was probably soft in between her toes. “I want chicken nuggets!” she exclaimed.
I was surprised when she ran to me, throwing herself onto my lap, though she had to climb up after the initial “throw”, gripping my shirt and pulling it taut as she ascended.
Once she was on my lap, she turned around and laid back so she was on my chest and her head came to the bottom of my chin. I sat there for a moment a little bit stunned. I turned my eyes only to look at Savannah.
“She does this to all the guys you bring over?” I asked jokingly.
Savannah gave me a dry look, narrowing her eyes and pinching her lips together. “Exactly how many guys do you think I’ve brought over here to meet my daughter, Mr. Murphy?” she demanded, putting one hand on her hip.
I lifted my eyebrows, swiping my hand on Alana’s forehead and through her soft blond hair. “Are you comfortable, little miss? You like that?” I straightened out one of her natural curls in front of her eyes and then let it go. She and I both giggled when it bounced back into a cute little swirl of soft hair strands.
“You didn’t answer my question, Jackson.”
I looked up at Savannah again. "Contrary to popular belief, I haven’t been lurking around keeping tabs on you. Much, Miss Gilson.” I put a hard edge to my voice but fearing I would scare the little girl if I made myself sound too aggressive, I softened it with a chuckle at the end.
It was a self-deprecating comment but one that a three-year-old would never understand. “I have never noticed any men coming and going from your house. I have always assumed if you were dating, you weren’t bringing them home. If I was ever really thinking about it to begin with. I can assure you, however, I wasn’t really taking much notice. No offense.”
“But now you are noticing, right? I haven’t had a man over here besides you and Marcus in... well, ever. No, I haven’t dated since Roger. Not that I wouldn’t. I just... I have to be a lot more cautious now.” She looked directly at Alana, smiling lovingly.
The girl wiggled off my lap and scooted onto the couch beside me. She sat there, bouncing against the back cushion like a personal sideways trampoline.
I turned my eyes back to Savannah, nodding. It seemed important to her that I understood she wasn’t dating anyone else. Was that her underlying motive for what she was saying? That she wanted to remind me she was not attached to anyone, especially not Roger. Or maybe it was wishful thinking on my part.
“I’m noticing,” I said, adjusting myself on the couch now that Alana had scooted off. “You are single. Very single. Spinster single even.” I grinned wide as she leaned to pick up a small couch cushion which she threw at me. I dodged but the pillow still bounced off my shoulder.
I reacted like it had the force of something much harder, rolling in slow motion toward Alana, whose eyes grew so wide I could barely make the slow-motion “noooo” sound without laughing.
I was almost on top of the little girl when she put her hands up to stop me. I’d been waiting for her to do that. I had no intention of coming down on her with any of my weight, much less all of it. She wagged one finger in front of my face as I stared at her, blinking innocently.
“No, no, Mr. Jackson. You are too big. You will squish me!”
I nodded complacently, grabbed the cushion that had bounced to the other side of Alana and tossed it to Savannah when I sat back. She caught it neatly and set it where it had originally been, speaking in a lighthearted tone.
“My answer to your question, sir, is she acts like this with anyone who offers to make her chicken nuggets and fries. We have an air fryer for both and it’s really easy to use. So if you want to make them, you can but unfortunately, you can’t claim superhero abilities for having done so.”
I laughed hard. “I love the way you talk, Sav.”
I looked down at Alana, who had turned around to face the window, watching the drizzle coming down.
“So you want nuggets and fries? Are you sure that’s what you want?”
Alana rolled her eyes and gave me the side-eye.
I threw up my hands. “All right, all right. I’m going. I got the hint.” I pushed off the couch to my feet.
An idea formed in my head as I walked through the foyer to the kitchen door. It was like a light bulb went on in my head right when I walked through the doorway.
I pulled my phone out of my back pocket. I was about to dial when I thought it might be a good idea to pass the idea to Savannah since she was the one most affected by it.
I turned to go back to the living room but saw Savannah and Alana pass the open doorway. I heard Savannah tell Alana to stay in her room and play while she made dinner with me.
I set my phone on the island in the middle of the kitchen and turned to her fridge. I opened the door and looked through it mindlessly, not really seeing what was there. I was listening for Savannah’s voice.
I heard her come into the room though she didn’t say anything to greet me. I turned to look at her. She was calm and relaxed, smiling back at me.
“I have an idea I want to pass by you,” I said, putting frozen nuggets and fries from their respective bags into the air fryer. “How would you feel about staying away from the house for the weekend? Going on a little mini-vacation? I know a great place you can go to. Have you ever been interested in seeing a real working farm? Alana could see the animals, and you could take a break from all this.”
Her eyes lit up. “That actually sounds... amazing.”
