CHAPTER 6
Diana
“One second, Brianna,” I say. I get up and look at my phone.
One missed call from Joshua.
I hit redial and he picks up before it even rings.
“Where are you?”
“Hi Joshua.”
“Is everything okay? What happened?”
“Sorry. I was going to call you earlier, but I didn’t want to interrupt your meeting. We’re over at my place.”
“Is Brianna okay?”
“She’s more than okay. Right Brianna?”
“You mean Princess Brianna?” she says, and I know Joshua can hear it.
“I’ll be right over.”
I run downstairs. Joshua is already at the door, just as I open it.
“What happened? Where’s Brianna?”
“She’s upstairs in my room.”
Joshua runs up the stairs, taking two at a time. At first I feel like I’ve let him down, but I know everything will be okay once he gets the full story.
What I like the most is how concerned he is about Brianna. Besides my dad I don’t know anyone who’s that concerned about my welfare. Brianna definitely experienced tragedy, but if I had to pick someone to step up to the plate and try and do everything they can for that little girl it would definitely be Joshua.
It melts my heart how committed he is to her. I think with a little help in areas Joshua might not be familiar with, Brianna could be on her way to moving forward with her life. I wouldn’t ever expect her to move on…you only have one mom and dad, but with a little yen to balance out the yang, I think she could come to see her future can be bright.
And just as much as I think Brianna needs that help, it’s Joshua that needs the help first so that it can carry thorough to Brianna. I’m not saying I’m the one that has to be there to provide the feminine touch, and someone Brianna can talk to about girl issues, but I’m also not saying that it couldn’t be me. At least for now. If that’s what Brianna and Joshua want.
I grab some chocolate chip cookies and milk from the kitchen and set them on a serving tray. I make my way up the stairs and see the most precious sight. Joshua is combing Brianna’s hair with a Hello Kitty brush.
“Can I offer you a seat?” I ask.
Joshua looks down at the tiny chairs and smiled.
“Can we stack about three of those?”
I laugh so hard I almost drop the serving tray.
“I can get you a bigger—“
“It’s okay,” he says. “I want to fit in. I’ll make it work.”
“Are you sure?”
“I won’t put any weight on it. It will be a good leg workout. I’ll see how long I can hold a squat position.”
I smile at his commitment to joining our little party.
“And then we made cookies,” Brianna says. “And then we came upstairs and I put on makeup and a princess crown, and Diana made me a princess.”
“You already were a princess, honey,” I say. “And don’t forget that it’s called a tiara. Remember? It’s your alter ego. Brianna Tiara.”
“Right, and from now on I’m Brianna Tiara, Joshua.”
“Okay, Brianna Tiara. Is that all the time or just during playtime?”
“Bill St. Pierre says the world is a stage, so it’s always playtime.”
“Bill St. Pierre?” Joshua says.
I cup one hand to the side of my mouth and whisper loudly. “William Shakespeare was a little much to remember and pronounce, so we kind of gave him a nickname too.”
“I see,” Joshua says. He shakes his head side-to-side, but can’t contain his laughter. He laughs a good three or four seconds with his head facing the carpet before looking back up at me. “Is there anything you two didn’t do tonight?”
“Well, there is one thing that needs some work.”
“Which is?”
“I asked her who the prince would be who came in and rescued her from the dragon.”
“And?” Josh asks as his face shows his anticipation for the answer.
“She said, and I quote, boys are icky. She said she doesn’t need any boy to save her from the dragon. She can do it herself.”
“Atta girl!” Joshua says.
Joshua has show me so much commitment to Brianna already, but nothing speaks louder than knowing this big strong man is in her corner, for life, cheering her on and showing her she can do it. She can be anything she wants to be and do anything she sets her mind to, and even some things she might not think she can. And it’s all because she has the love, support, and positive encouragement from Joshua. He’s going to build her self-esteem and ensure she feels good about herself for as long into he future as I can imagine. What an amazing man for a little girl to have in her life.
It’s so beautiful it makes me want to have him in my life too.
My emotions are running wild right now. I’m so attracted to Joshua that I just want to jump into his arms and feel the same kind of security.
I laugh a little bit.
“What’s so funny?”
Truth be told I imagined jumping into Joshua’s arms as he hovered over that tiny chair. I’m sure if he caught me it would send us both tumbling to the ground, and I’m sure we’d both be rolling on the floor laughing. Not ROTFL the expression, but the real thing. The thing we really want. To feel those magical life moments, and as much as I know that would be the case I have to restrain myself, for now at least.
“You’re not going to tell me?” Joshua asks.
“Sorry. I was just thinking about…boys being icky.”
“They are. She’s not dating until she’s married.”
I laugh again.
“You don’t think boys are icky?” Joshua jokes.
“Well…not all boys.”
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“Um…well…that was direct.”
“Sorry. I thought it went with the conversation. And I was just wondering…”
Wondering what? Wondering if I had a boyfriend? Wondering about us? Wondering about the global import tariffs on Japanese Matcha Tea?
“Yeah, I wonder sometimes too.” What am I saying?
“About?”
“Stuff.”
“Me too. It’s normal,” he says. Clearly our conversation isn’t normal, and I like it. We’re like two teenagers at a high school dance playing a cat-and-mouse game trying to figure out what the other thinks without revealing what we think first.
I grab one of the chairs and swing it around, sitting down next to Brianna. Josh is just inches from me, and I can feel the heat from his body. I can smell his scent. It’s musky. Part cologne and part natural. A mix that couldn’t be duplicated in a million years.
I feel the tension in the room, and as much as I want to break it in a way that’s not really appropriate with Brianna right there, I’m just about to.
But I can’t. I have to contain myself.
“Let me help you,” I say. I grab a handful of Brianna’s hair and comb it out straight, but I’ve moved too fast causing her tiara to fall back.
I reach for it, and just as I grab it I feel Joshua’s hand over the top of mine.
His hand feels almost twice as big as mine, but mine must be taking up the same amount of space as his right now because it’s trembling so much.
“Are you okay?” Joshua asks.
“Yeah, I just…didn’t want the tiara to drop.”
“We caught it. Together,” he says, with his hand still resting over the top of mine.
He hasn’t moved it an inch, but my shaking has slowed down quite a bit, as the tension has moved from my hand to my chest. I can feel my heart pounding inside my chest. He’s got me and he’s got me good.
Brianna is faced away from both of us, as she plays with two dolls, one in each hand. His gaze moves from my eyes to my lips, and I feel the butterflies flutter and my lady bits do things they shouldn’t right now.
I want him to kiss me, just as much as I know he wants to.
We just both know it’s so wrong…so, so, wrong.
Brianna’s right here. We’ve got our hands touching her hair for Pete’s sake.
And if that wasn’t enough he’s my neighbor, a lot older, and my dad’s best friend.
And right now I don’t even care about that.
All I see is an amazing man that I want unlike any man, or thing, I’ve ever wanted so much in my entire life.
Him. He’s the one. They say you know when it’s the one. He is the one.
His head moves an inch towards mine. My eyes start to close. The last things I see are his lips.
Boing!
The door swings open and hits the door stop that’s attached to one of those cylinder Slinky type things.
“Joshua.”
“Dave.”
“What…what are you doing in here?”
“Dad, I can explain.” Oh no. I already sound guilty.
“Diana was watching Brianna. She brought her over here instead of watching her at my house.”
“Oh. Right. That was tonight. But…why are you here now? In her room?”
“There are only board games at Joshua’s house, dad. I wanted to do girl things with Brianna.”
“But that doesn’t answer my question.”
“I brought Brianna over here without telling him. When he got home he couldn’t find us and got worried. He called and I told him we were over here. He came running over and wanted to check up on Brianna, to make sure she was okay.”
“I didn’t hear him come in…and it looks like everyone is more than okay right now. I think babysitting time is finished.”
“Okay.”
“Sorry, Dave. It was my fault.”
“You came in the front?”
“Right through the front.”
“Hmmm,” my dad says. “I must have been in the bathroom…or maybe out back feeding the dog.”
“Yeah, we missed each other somehow.”
“Beer downstairs before you go, Joshua?”
“Sure.”
“Good. We need to talk.”