Page 8 of Thirteen Years
We had settled in nicely and school was going wonderful for her. My job was amazing and I loved all the customers I was cleaning and organizing for so far. This move had seemed to work out for the best.
I laughed, “What? What? What?”
“Lexi wanted me to ask if you could come in and talk to her mom about having a sleepover at her place?!”
“Come in? Isn’t she out here?” I asked, looking around questioningly, skimming the other parents. Nat had been going on and on about Lexi for the last two weeks, instantly finding a sort of soul sister in the girl.
“Ugh. No, Mom! Her mom is the receptionist, Monica!” Nat started pulling on my hand, dragging me inside the building.
“Oh!” I replied, actually pleasantly surprised. I usually didn’t allow sleepovers this early after a move but Monica had set me at ease last week and I knew she was genuine in caring for the other students like they were her own. The vibe I got from the other parents was that she was like a mom at school for all of the kids.
Monica was standing at her desk packing her tote bag and looked up smiling to buzz us into the office.
“Becks!” she exclaimed, “It's so nice to see you again! I’ve heard so much about Nat from Lexi this week and it looks like our girls have become instant best friends!”
“I’ve actually heard a lot about Lexi as well! I was happy to hear who her mom was.” I smiled at Monica.
“Lexi comes and sees me sometimes in the office and Nat has been coming along with her, so I’ve kind of adopted her as a third child! I hope you don’t mind!” Monica laughed.
“Not at all, Nat could use the extra supervision!”
“Mom!” Nat groaned. “God.”
Lexi had broken into giggles as Nat joined her, rolling her eyes at her embarrassment of a mother.
“So what’s this I hear about a sleepover?” I asked.
“Oh. Very low key. Lexi just wanted to celebrate the end of the girl’s first full week of seventh grade and eat Chinese food and watch movies. Nat is the first real girlfriend Lexi has had. She always seems to get along more with boys and would rather be reading her books. I was so hopeful when Nat started coming around. I couldn’t say no.”
My heart melted, looking at my daughter. It looked like she’d found someone who was a little like I was in school and of course instantly gravitated to her. It warmed my soul to know I was raising a good human being.
“I think I’d be okay with that,” I smiled as the two girls squealed with excitement. “Would you mind giving me your address and cell? I can take Nat home to pack a small bag and drop her off around five o’clock?”
“Of course!” Monica jotted down both on a piece of paper. “I hope you all didn’t have plans we’re interrupting?!”
“No. We were probably going to do a lot of the same tonight. It’s just Nat and I so we keep it low key.”
“Well in that case you should come too!”
Monica laughed as my eyes bugged out of my head at her request. I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had asked me to do anything with them. I typically tried to remain standoffish and keep to myself. It had maybe been since my early years of college.
“Not to sleep over of course!” Monica continued, laughing. “We could partake in some of the Chinese and maybe sit on the deck and have a glass of wine? Get to know one another ourselves since it looks like Nat and Lexi have hit it off!”
“Oh, I don’t know…..”
“Oh, Mom! Come on! You don’t have any friends and never do anything!” Nat interjected.
“Thanks for pointing out my social inadequacies, Natasha.” I responded drily, playfully glaring at her. Taking a deep breath I decided to go outside my comfort zone. This was hopefully our forever home and I hadn’t allowed myself any friends since getting engaged. Maybe it was time.
“You know what? I’m in.” I stated firmly.
“Wonderful!” Monica exclaimed as Nat looked at me shocked. “We’ll see you all around five then!”
I shook my head thirty minutes later as my daughter ran around her room in a blur, packing an overnight bag, rambling excitedly about the night and her friends. It eased my tension about wondering if this would be the right spot for us to know she’d already found a friend she felt this close to. As I leaned against the doorway I glanced around at how my daughter had already made this her space. Nat leaned towards making every room she’d ever had her nest and comfort zone and I admired that about her.
“Are you almost ready to go, love?” I asked.
“YES! I’m so excited, Mom! I can’t believe you’re actually coming! You never go anywhere or do anything!” she replied.
