He opened the door just as I rang the bell. “Brenna. Good morning.”
“Mornin’ Grant. Mariana ready?” Yeah, this was easy. I could handle a few seconds, no problem.
“Almost. She had a last minute wardrobe change. Come in?”
“Naw, it’s nice. I think I’ll enjoy the lake air before we’re stuck inside all day. How, uh, are things?”
He smiled as if he knew what I was doing. “Good. Getting better every day. I think so, anyway.” He shrugged and took a step onto the porch, his fresh from the shower scent, invading my senses. “How have you been?”
“Good,” I sighed. “The salon is busy and that’s good, so I’m good.” It was painfully awkward between us and I hated that, but it was better than the sparks from the festival. “So, about the shopping today?”
“Right.” He produced a credit card and put it in my hand. “She has a full size bed and a nightstand, but I think she’ll need a desk and maybe a dresser?” He sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know, Brenna. Get her what you think she needs and try not to max out the card.”
I laughed. “That’s not what you should tell a woman after you hand her a credit card, but I can work with those limits.” He smiled and I smiled back, feeling the pull of attraction between us. I missed Grant too, but those were dangerous thoughts, so when Mariana rushed onto the porch with a wide smile, I allowed myself to relax. A little.
“I’m ready!”
“Perfect. Let’s get going so we can shop until one of us drops.”
“Okay! Bye Dad!” Mariana ran to the car and hopped in the front seat, capably fastening her seatbelt before she turned to me. “Ready!”
“Have you thought about what you want your room to look like?”
She shrugged. “A little. My old room was really girly with lots of pink and purple everywhere. Mama did it for me and it was nice, but-,”
“But it wasn’t you?”
“Yeah,” she said in a sad voice. “Is that bad?”
“Nope. We’re not miniature versions of our parents, Mariana. We’re allowed to be different.” I wasn’t her mother, just her friend. “Find a way to be yourself and still honor what your mama meant to you. What does she like?”
“Mama is a girly girl. She likes dresses and lace and makeup and all that stuff. But she also likes crowns and I love crowns!”
“Perfect! I can work with that.” We made several stops for bedroom furniture before we got down to the fun part of shopping, the personal stuff. “Okay, we have pillows in all colors and all of’em have tiaras on them. What colors do you want?”
Looking more grown up than a seven year old should, Mariana tapped her chin as she examined her options with the seriousness of someone buying a car. She took her time, choosing a black pillow and a royal blue one. “How’s that?”
“Do you like it?” She nodded. “Then it’s perfect. I’ll bet we can find bedding to match.”
“Really?” I nodded and with the giddiness a child her age should have, Mariana bounced on her toes. “Cool! Mama always said when money was better she would get me a proper bedroom but I didn’t mind.”
“That’s because parents always want the best for their kids. My mama couldn’t afford much but she made us pillowcases and curtains, because the fabric was cheaper, and she was an expert with a sewing machine.”
“Were you poor too?” Her eyes went wide and Mariana smacked a hand over her mouth. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. We weren’t just poor, Mariana. My mama would often say we were so po’ we couldn’t afford the extra ‘or’, that’s how poor we were.” I shrugged it off, along with the memories of being the poor kid at school. “It wasn’t great but my mama did her best and it was us girls against the world.”
She smiled again. “Us too. Me and Mama and Auntie Luna, us against the world.”
“That must be why we like each other so much, we’re tough girls.”
“Tough girls with tiaras,” she said and grabbed the blue bedding dotted with tiaras. “I miss my mama a lot, Brenna.”
“Of course you do, honey. You’ll miss her every day for the rest of your life, but some day you’ll just remember her smile, her off-key singing and the way she the best burnt toast.”
“I won’t forget her?”
“Heck no. You’ll miss her when you fall in love for the first time, when you have a kid of your own,