Page 2 of Yours To Hold
Turning the corner into the kitchen, I find the floor covered with water.
“What the hell?”
“I told you we could swim!'” Willow is bouncing up and down in the living room. It’s not a huge pool of water, but enough to be a major annoyance in my day.
Wading through the puddle, I open the sink cabinet and find a steady leak. God damn it. I just had this thing replaced.
“Willow. Kitchen floors aren’t made for swimming.”
“But we had fun!”
“Is Daisy wet?”
The dog in question comes running into the kitchen. My golden retriever is anything but golden.
“Willow.” I take a deep inhale in, trying to infuse every part of me with patience this morning.
This is not how I wanted to start my day.
“Yeah, Daddy?”
“Why is Daisy blue?”
“Because my hands were wet and I had to wipe them off when I was done painting.” Willow looks so innocent, like this isn’t a big deal at all.
“Then why is your dress blue?”
“Because I gave Daisy a hug.”
Deep breath, Mason. She’s seven.
Finding the water valve, I shut it off, watching the water slow before coming to a stop. It’s going to cost me a pretty penny to get someone out here to fix it today.
“Okay. Willow, how wet is your dress?”
“Not that wet.” I know she’s saying that so she can keep wearing it.
“Why don’t we go give Daisy a bath and then get you into some dry clothes.”
Willow pops her bottom lip out at me in a frown. I know I won’t like what she has to say next. And it usually means I’ll cave.
“But I wanted to wear my princess outfit today.”
“Don’t you have another one?”
“You washed it yesterday because I played outside in it and got it muddy.”
“Right.” Picking her up so she doesn’t get more water everywhere, I carry her into the laundry room.
The ranch house I bought a few years ago is small, but it’s the perfect size for the two of us. Willow has her own space on one side of the house, and I have my room on the other. The living room isn’t huge, but I don’t care. Neither does Willow. It’s so packed full of pink and glitter that I’m glad it’s condensed to a smaller space.
If it were any bigger, it’d explode with Willow’s personality.
Girl is all about glitter and painting anything she can find right now.
“Damn it.”
The laundry I did yesterday is still sitting in the washing machine.
