Adult Responsibilities

Chapter 35

"Mommy, Mommy!! I still need to curl my hair and put on my necklace! I don't want to be late!" Lila shrieked, standing in front of the mirror in her grandparents' master bedroom as Kate came out of the bathroom, holding a curling iron in one hand, Lila's special rose gold necklace in the other. She smiled a little at how cute Lila was, how excited. Today was the day of the Father Daughter Dance at Harvard-Westlake, or as Kate had taken to calling it, the "Special Male Friend/Little Girl Dance." Andrew was supposed to pick Lila up in about ten minutes, and while they were not even close to being late, Kate knew Lila wanted to be right on time. Andrew had told Kate he planned to take Lila out for ice cream after the dance, making for pretty much Lila's ideal night, and Kate couldn't wait to hear all about it.

"Alright, Lila, there's no reason to freak out, we have plenty of time. If Andrew comes and you aren't ready, he knows he'll have to wait," Kate said with a grin, and she smiled to herself as she thought of her own nervousness as she got ready for her first date with Andrew. She stood behind Lila, curling her long golden hair into waves, and then she pinned back two front pieces, making a little halo. She carefully clasped Lila's little necklace and the little girl looked at herself in the mirror with a self-satisfied smile.

"You look amazing, sweetie," Kate said kindly, and the little girl grinned. "I know, I really do!" she said excitedly, and Kate couldn't help but laugh at her self-confidence. "You're going to have so much fun Lila," Kate said sweetly. Lila nodded, chewing on her lip. "I hope Andrew isn't nervous because he doesn't know any of my friends' dads. I'm sure it will be OK because he's really nice and fun. But he probably doesn't know many dads at all, huh? I mean, he isn't a dad," Lila said thoughtfully, and Kate shrugged. "True, I guess he might not know any dads, but you know... he'll have one of his best friends with him all night. You'll introduce him around, so I think he'll do just fine," Kate said with a reassuring smile, and Lila nodded. "You're right. I know everyone," she said, and Kate giggled.

Anne knocked on the door of the master bedroom, poking her head in. "Lila, there's a nice gentleman here to pick you up," she said kindly, and Lila squealed. "Yay! Time to go!" she said, bounding out the door with Kate trailing behind her.

"Hey Andrew!" she shrieked as she ran into the living room, and there stood the tall lanky red-head, decked out in the navy blue suit and tie that Lila had suggested he wear. He grinned the minute he laid eyes on the little girl, and she ran up to him as he crouched down to her level, holding out his arms to her and enveloping her in a sweet hug. "Hey Lila! Wow, you look so beautiful! Man, I'm lucky to have such a smart, fun, pretty friend to take me to the dance," he said to her kindly, and Lila flashed him a smug smile. "Thanks for going with me Andrew. I think it's gonna be so fun," she said to him, and he nodded in agreement.

"So I brought you something," he said to her, grabbing a little box that he'd set on the coffee table, and Lila craned her neck to check it out. "Wow, Lila, a corsage! Isn't that gorgeous?" Anne said with a grin, and Lila nodded. "Yes, it's awesome!" she cheered. "But what exactly is a corsage anyway?" she asked, looking from Andrew to her mom with confusion. Kate laughed a little bit. "It's flowers that you can wear on your wrist like a bracelet," Kate explained, and Lila nodded. "That's a very nice gift that your friend might sometimes give you when you go together to a fancy dance," she added, and Lila's eyes lit up. "Wow, thanks Andrew!" she said sweetly, and he grinned down at the little girl.

"Here, Lila Lou, let me put it on your wrist," he offered, grabbing the little corsage of light pink and white flowers and putting the band around the little girl's tiny wrist. She admired herself a bit and then showed her arm to her mom and grandma, and both ladies oooohed and ahhhed.

"Hold out your arm, Lila," Anne instructed. "I need to take a picture for Pops. He's wanting me to text him as many pictures as possible," she said with a grin, and as Lila posed, Andrew smiled, holding out his arms for Kate and enveloping her.