Page 17 of Yours To Hold
“Can we make them tomorrow?”
I take my own bite. Damn. These really are good. “Maybe. Or maybe I’ll teach you to make something else.”
The rest of the day is spent doing anything Willow wants.
Reading. Playing outside. Convincing her that coloring is better than painting. Before I know it, most of the day has passed.
“Why don’t we take Daisy for a walk? I think your dad will be home soon.”
“Okay. Daisy!” Willow shouts for her, but she’s only snoozing on the couch. “It’s walk time.”
Daisy is beside herself with excitement as she leaps off the couch. Willow gets her leash and clips it on. Clearly this is a routine that they do all the time.
“Make sure you hold my hand, okay?”
“I know.” Willow rolls her eyes at me. “Daddy tells me I have to stay on the inside of the sidewalk.”
“Okay. Get your coat then.”
Willow slips into her hot-pink coat and we’re out the door. A breeze has picked up, bringing a chill with it. Linking my hand with Willow’s, Daisy steers us down the sidewalk. For being so excited, she’s good on her leash.
“Are you coming back tomorrow?” Willow asks.
“Of course I am.”
“Are we going to do more fun things? I like not being in school.”
“You don’t like school?”
“I do, but I like playing at home. I think Daisy gets sad when I’m not home. Daddy too.”
“Your dad has fun going to work. He likes seeing Peter and Nash.”
“I wish I had a brother or sister to play with.”
“I didn’t have a brother or sister growing up.”
“You didn’t?”
“Just me. But you’re lucky and have a lot of friends to play with you.”
“I do have a lot of friends.” Willow goes into a long-winded explanation of all her friends at school, and why some are meany-heads—her words—and who the best freeze tag people are.
Crossing the street at the end of the road, the neighborhood opens up to a wide field that stretches all the way to the Tetons in the distance.
It’s beautiful.
“Look!” I point to the field of dandelions. The fuzzy white blooms are blowing in the wind, spreading their seeds everywhere. “Have you ever made a wish on dandelions?”
Willow shakes her head.
“Here.” I hand her the fluffiest one I can find. Daisy is dutifully sitting next to her, watching her. “Now, make a wish inside your head and blow.”
Closing her eyes, Willow takes a deep breath and blows.
“Hurry! Open them!”
She watches as all the seeds get carried off into the wind. “It’s taking my wish!”
