Page 80 of You've Got Hate Mail
Still two because she’s avoided him whenever Ginny’s sister has brought him here. She’s never actually met him herself. Says she doesn’t like to meet her idols.
Won’t be able to avoid it at the wedding though.
“Daddy, come see the dragons,” Lavender calls to me.
“I’m not in my fire-resistant suit,” I call back.
“It’s okay. We de-fired them. Come look!”
I shove my hands in my pockets. “Don’t tell anyone my plans yet,” I say to her. “I don’t know how long it’ll take to find the right place.”
“Yours to tell when you’re ready. I don’t gossip.”
I nod in thanks, then stroll the rest of the way to the gardens, lying to myself that it won’t break my daughter’s heart when I get us set up to move somewherenormal.
Somewhere that I’m not exposing my daughter to what my in-laws callthe worst of the worst of humanity, which was their description of the guests here in the last email I got from them.
We managed to avoid them finding out about Pip’s near-nudist status during the lawsuit—that would’ve added fuel to their case—but if they ever decide to try something again, I’m sure they’ll dig deeper.
Also, the buildings weren’t falling down then either.
But the gardens—yeah.
The gardens are looking good.
Cricket’s cleared out most of the weeds since she started tackling this project, leaving behind anemic plants in need of some TLC, and uncovering a stone pathway that winds through the plants.
The trellis is coming along—I rescued the wood on a solo mission and started work on it in the barn, which is structurally sound.
In need of a new roof soon so it stays that way, but for today, it’s structurally sound.
When it’s time to paint the trellis, Cricket’s already told me she wants to do it.
Pest control company’s working on de-mousing the fermentation building and the barn.
My treat.
So she doesn’t have to climb me again.
So I don’t have to enjoy having her cling to my body again.
“Did the dragons bring any friends?” I ask Lavender as I take in her handiwork in the garden too.
Six new snapdragon plants are now in a small square of mud in one corner of the garden.
“I picked them out.” Lavender proudly points at the wilted yellow-flowered plants. “I picked the dragons.
“You picked the best dragons,” Cricket says.
Because I’m a goddamn adult, I make myself make eye contact with her. “You go to the farmer’s market with her?”
She wrinkles her nose and pulls her head back. “Me? Leave the property? Why would I do that? Dori and Ginny took her.”
“I got to pretend to be Fluffy on a leash,” Lav says. “I walked on all fours and drank water out of a bowl with my tongue and everything.”
I smile and rub her soft hair, warm from the sun. “Did you meow at everyone?”
Difficult as it was to understand her sometimes when she’d only make cat noises, it’s always hard to see her come to the end of a phase.
