- Taylor -
"Emilie Faye, will you get your butt down here, please?" I cross my arms and frown as I stand at the bottom of the stairs. Emilie has been incredibly difficult this morning. She woke up grumpy and ever since she's been difficult; refusing to get dressed or eat her breakfast. "Baby, come on. We need to go." I walk upstairs and find her sitting on her bed.
"I don't wanna go to school, mommy. I wanna stay with you and go see Karlie." I sigh as I kneel down in front of her, "you'll see Karlie tonight, baby. She's coming to your ballet lesson, remember?" I give her a soft smile and she nods, "but if you don't go to school then you can't go to ballet." She knows my rules and I know she won't pass up getting to see Kar. "It's your choice, Em. If you don't go to school then you can't see Karlie." That's all it takes to get her to jump up and grab her backpack and I shake my head. "Come on then." I sigh and hold my hand out and lead the little girl out of the house.
Thirty minutes later, I've dropped Emilie off and I'm on my way over to Karlie's to spend the morning with her before she has to go to work. We haven't seen each other in a couple of days and I hate it, I don't like when she's not around, particularly because Emilie is significantly more difficult when she doesn't get to see her and that makes my life a hundred times harder than it already is.
I pull into Karlie's driveway and grab my stuff from the empty seat beside me before walking quickly up the gravel drive and ringing her doorbell. I'm surprised when I hear a dog barking on the other side and almost through instinct I back away, putting as much space between myself and the animal until I know I'm safe. "Hey babe." Karlie opens the door with her usual sunshiny grin, but I cautiously eye the dog in her arms instead. "You're not scared of dogs are you?" Karlie smirks as she raises an eyebrow and I cross my arms defensively, "no, I'm just more of a cat person." I furrow my eyebrows as I watch the animal and she laughs and walks closer to me. "Taylor, this is Joe, my dog." Karlie grabs my hand and pulls me closer until I'm face to face with Joe. "What do I do?" I ask, freezing as he starts sniffing me. "Just stroke him and say hello, he's a big softie, he won't hurt you. I promise."
Karlie laughs as I gently try and stroke his fur, but his sudden jerky movements intimidate me. "Okay, that's enough. Come on, I'll put him in the backyard." She laughs, shaking her head as she walks into the house because she can clearly sense how uncomfortable I am and I quickly follow her but stay a few steps behind.
"Thank you." I sigh as she puts the dog out and closes the door behind her. "It's fine, Tay. I know you're not a dog person." She laughs as we stand in her kitchen and she wraps her arms around my waist as she stands in front of me. "How's my girl?" She grins as she slides her hands into the back pockets of my jeans and I sigh, "not very happy. She didn't want to go to school this morning, she wanted to stay home with me and come and see you." I rest my hands on her chest as I stare into her eyes and Karlie pouts, "she's so cute." She laughs and I fiddle with the hem of her shirt, "how did you get her to go?" She asks and I laugh, "I had to tell her that if she didn't go to school then she couldn't go to ballet, and we both know she wasn't going to pass up seeing you." I roll my eyes, when Karlie's around it's like I don't exist to my own daughter.
"She's so excited about tonight, Kar. She boasts to the other kids constantly about you." I laugh, shaking my head at how cute it is. Emilie loves her so much and Karlie loves her just as much. "I can't wait to see her dance, she's really talented for such a young kid. Although, I don't know where she gets that from because her mommy has no rhythm." She plants a kiss on my lips as I swat her arm, "hey! I just like to be original." Karlie rolls her eyes and lets go of me as she laughs.
"Now, how about breakfast?" She opens the fridge as she smirks and I nod. "Sounds perfect."
- Karlie -
