Right With Me - Stacey Lewis Page 0,20

be stealing those books her mom reads before you know it.”

Isaac’s face freezes at the thought and I swear I see him shudder. “Jesus, don’t put that thought in my head. As far as I know, Sophie’s never dating or reading those books. Nope, not happening.”

All of us laugh because we know he’s wrapped around that little girl’s finger. He wouldn’t tell her no if he found her reading one of her mom’s books, he’d probably just buy her some of her own.

Ignoring his brothers, he turns to me and asks what teacher Evie has. “Ms. Lucas.” Just saying her name conjures images of her from today. The way she seemed so nervous around me and the way she understood exactly how I felt knowing I needed to be done with my relationship with Tabitha.

“Ms. Lucas, that’s right. I couldn’t remember her name. Stacey knows it I’m sure, but I’m shit at remembering them. Sophie will be happy they’re in the same class again this year. She loves Evie.”

“Yeah, Evie will be thrilled when she finds out.” My daughter doesn’t have a shy bone in her body but being around a group of new people is still hard for her. Once she gets a conversation started or plays with someone, she’s good, but she struggles to get to that point.

Caleb’s daughters are in the same grade as Ben, so we discuss what they’ll be up to this year for a few minutes before the teachers say they’re ready to begin. Evie’s standing in the same corner of the room she went to when we first walked in, her head and Sophie’s close together and I’m sure they’re plotting something.

Isaac sees it too. “Those two are probably planning world domination. Should we be worried?”

One side of my mouth tips up in a grin. “Two girls plotting together? We should definitely be afraid.”

Before he can say anything else, Meredith steps forward, introducing herself for any parents who haven’t been here before and I look around the room, cursing under my breath when I still don’t see Tabitha. She told Evie she’d be here, but she’s probably too busy with her friends or working on something she could easily put off for an hour or two to see what her daughter’s been working on for the past few months.

Luckily it doesn’t seem like Evie has even noticed. She’s too busy following the stretching routine Meredith and her partner are doing. She’s been in dance since she was four and it shows. She’s so graceful. Her confidence in her dancing is clear for anyone to see and my heart swells with pride. That’s my girl.

The dancers all run through their planned routines, starting with the youngest group. It’s smart to get them out of the way before they get restless. Every time I come watch what Evie’s teachers are doing, I’m blown away by how organized everything is.

Finally, Evie’s group comes into the middle of the room and get into their formation. It almost looks like a diamond, and my daughter’s in the middle with a big grin on her face.

They start to dance and I recognize the song as one from an animated movie that’s practically been on repeat at my place since it came out. Evie loves it, and even Ben has sat down to watch it with her one of the four hundred times it’s been on my television. Now I know why she’s danced around the apartment humming to herself for weeks. The song sounded familiar, but she refused to tell me.

For a group of eight and nine-year-old girls, they do an amazing job moving in sync while Meredith counts out the beats to the music. My ex-wife does a lot that pisses me off, but picking this studio for our daughter was probably the best thing she ever could’ve done for her. Evie loves it here, and she loves Meredith and Jax.

Once her dance is done, Evie runs over with Sophie to stand and watch the older girls dance. I don’t know Josie and Maddie well, but Evie idolizes them. She tells me again when she watches them dance, “Daddy, I want to be as good as Maddie when I grow up.”

Caleb chuckles at her words. “You don’t have too long before you’re her age. Just keep practicing and I bet you’ll be even better than you already are.” Evie beams up at him.

“What about me, Uncle Caleb?” Sophie asks, staring up at him with a big smile on