Spark Into a Flame

Lin

Pippa and I rarely fought and I hated that we were on thin ice with each other. She'd gotten incredibly anxious lately about the wedding. I understood that for women especially it was a very special day; something they may dream about for years. But to me, as long as I had Pippa, our friends and families there, the rest didn't matter. When we looked back, we wouldn't be thinking about whether the white or yellow tablecloths would have been better, or whether we should serve chicken or beef. It would be the memories of the ceremony and celebrating with the people we loved.

I was somewhat avoiding both Pippa and Joey, which was hard because we were the only three home and it was the weekend. I stayed in my room a lot listening to music and writing some. It was actually quite peaceful, though my mind was far from it.

Saturday night Pippa climbed into bed next to me, quietly opening up the book she was reading. She could tell I was being standoff-ish and she had been giving me space. I hated the heaviness between us and decided I needed to hold out an olive branch. I turned onto my side and rubbed my hand over her belly.

"Listen," I told her. "I know I haven't been that helpful with the wedding stuff, but it's honestly because I completely trust you. Whatever you decide will be perfect."

She glanced at me and gave me a small smile. "Thanks," she said. "But I really do want to know your opinion on some things."

I nodded, my head propped up in my hand. "Ask me about the important stuff. Everything else will work out."

I leaned in to kiss her softly, and the tension began to ease.

"If you really think Joey shouldn't spend time with Elliott at school I'll back you up," she told me. "I just don't want to fight a battle with them that might not be worth fighting."

I scrubbed a hand over my face. "Maybe I'm overprotective because it's my daughter," I admitted. "She's still just a little girl to me. Having her stay over with him at college just doesn't feel right. I mean, I want her to make smart decisions and I think she is, but I also don't want to send the message that it's appropriate when she's only sixteen."

Pippa nodded in understanding. I want her to stay a kid as long as possible. There's plenty of time for grown-up things as a grown up. She turned onto her side and we kissed gently. The cloud between us seemed to have lifted and I was grateful.

____

The next day Joey avoided me. I could overhear her talking to Pippa, trying to get her to agree that I was being unreasonable. It irked me a little, but I let it go because I knew Pippa would back me up.

In the afternoon, Alex and Jack were returned by their grandparents. We invited them to stay for a cup of coffee and they did. The kids played on the floor as we sipped our drinks and chatted. Luckily our relationship was pretty amicable nowadays. They were older so one weekend a month seemed to be a good fit for them. I could tell they were usually exhausted at the end of the kids' visit.

When we reached the bottom of our mugs, Jennifer looked at her husband and said it was about time they headed out. Alex wasn't happy about it. She collapsed her upper body on Jennifer's lap and whined.

"But I don't want you to go!" she complained as Jennifer stroked her back.

"I know," she sympathized. "But we had a fun weekend together didn't we? You need to go back to school and learn some more tomorrow."

"But I don't wanna stay here!" she continued to pout. "I wanna go back with you!"

I caught eye contact with Jennifer for a moment and I could sense that this had come up over the weekend. Now that Alex was older and she understood that she had two families, it was difficult. I stood up and knelt down next to Alex.