I awoke to a notification, alerting me the Sage’s had broken their lease and paid the early termination fee. Was my house that bad of an experience they couldn’t wait two more days? Am I a bad landlord? Should I have checked in more often? Whatever the reason, I was relieved to know I could go on vacation without fear of an incident happening.
When Sophia awoke, we searched for the perfect rental together. Guess who went all fancy while I stuck to the practical stuff? I couldn’t believe it either. In my mind, we had way too much to do and would not spend much time in the rental, so splurging didn’t make sense to me. She, however, wanted an experience we would all remember for years to come. We also couldn’t agree on where to stay. I wanted to stay in town this time, and Sophia wanted to stay on the mountain. We searched, and searched, and argued, and searched some more until we found the most perfect rental. It checked boxes for both of us, though it aligned more with Sophia’s vision. At least I won the location battle. We’ll stay in a beautiful two-bedroom home in a neighborhood just outside of town called Wakaba. The search delayed us a few hours, but with lodging booked, we dropped off the dogs with Alessia and packed. Desiree was a little miffed about being away from her furry friends, but soon got over it once she saw the house. We got there around dinner, perfect timing since the kid and I were starving. We tossed our bags inside and went to Senbamachi to find that restaurant Mama took us to. Walking around aimlessly made us all anxious, and I wished I could call her and ask where the restaurant was. But, of course, we got there, eventually.
“I think we actually sat at this table last time,” I said.
“You’ve been here before?” Desiree asked.
“Yep. My mom took me and Auntie Less for our young adult birthdays. I actually met Mommy here.”
Her eyes lit up like a Winterfest tree.
“In the restaurant?!”
Her interest in our story was both comical and cute.
“Not here, but nearby.”
“And then you got married??”
Sophia laughed.
“Not quite, sweetie. Daddy had a lot of growing up to do,” she said, eyeing me.
Desi’s squinted eyes bounced between us both, trying to figure out how to process that statement.
“But Daddy was already a grownup.”
“Yes,” I said, jumping in before Sophia got any petty ideas and aired my laundry in front of this child, “but sometimes….” I didn’t quite know how to explain it to her, so I started again. “Just because you’re a grownup…” This was neither the time nor the place for such a deep conversation. And she’s too young for the complexities of adult relationships, anyway. “I’ll explain it to you when you’re older.”
Sophia left the conversation there, thankfully. This thing she has against me and Yasmine goes deeper than she even realizes, I think. It’s like a switch that turns on whenever anyone nears the subject. She seizes every opportunity to take jabs at me. I get it, but I don’t. Why is this still an issue?
