Page 59 of Accidental Blind Date

“And closes them and puts them back,” Poppy says.

“Can we not talk about nose blowing at the table?” I ask.

Libby snorts out a laugh and covers her mouth with a napkin. “But that is what I am talking about. At my shop, everyone that comes in loves books. It’s just…nice. No whiny kids ornose blowers or anything else. Well, except for Tom. But that’s seasonal allergies and he uses hankies.”

The girls smile and so do I.

After dinner, the girls want to go back to the book nook for a story before bed. We do it every night so I can’t really say no. I do, however, refill our wine glasses before we make our way down.

“So, the space is kind of tight,” I explain as we walk. “The door anyways. It’s literally an under the stairs storage space. But once you get inside, it’s roomie. But you totally don’t have to go in if you don’t want–”

“I love this,” she cuts me off, crawling inside. Libby sits in the middle of the floor on a paisley-colored pillow, her legs folded neatly to the side since she is wearing a skirt and toenails painted teal and her eyes sparkling as much as the fairy lights. “I really, really love this.”

“Thanks, we decorated it ourselves,” Poppy says.

“With our mom,” Delilah adds, and I feel a dart prick my heart right in the middle. Bullseye, every time.

But Libby’s expression doesn’t change. “She had a very good eye for the fun and lovely things in life I feel,”

“She did,” I say, my throat tighter than I expected it to be. I take a swig of wine and then set it on a small table off to the side next to a flower shaped lamp.

“So, which book are we reading tonight? Because bedtime is fast approaching,” I say.

“I want to do the one about the zoo where all the animals get out of the cages and walk around at night when the zookeepers are sleeping.”

“Our Zoo’s a Circus!” Libby beams as I pull the book off the shelf.

“You know it?” I ask.

She gives me a snarky look and for some reason, in this context, it doesn’t annoy me. Instead, my lips screw into a smile as I wait for what she’s about to say.

“I own a bookstore. That sells children’s books,” she says and a chuckle.

“Yes you do.” But then it hits me. I bought that store. And she won’t own it much longer. And her kids’ corner that people love so much is soon to be no more. I knock the thought out of my brain for the time being and clear my throat, handing her the book. “Then it only makes sense for you to read the book.”

She reaches out but before taking it from me, Libby stops.

“No daddy, I want you to read it!” Poppy whines.

“Yeah, dad, you do read this one the best.”

I shake my head. “Oh, no. I don’t think I can read it better than Miss Libby. She’s a professional.”

“Daddy!”

Libby smiles. “I think you should,” she says and since I am outnumbered, three girls to me, that I have no choice.

And so, I read. I read the way I only read for the girls, in the safety and privacy of our book nook. Everyone, Libby included, is enthralled in the story we have heard a hundred times over. A story of animals pretending to be asleep before sneaking out of their cages with hidden keys they all keep in their habitats. They join in the middle of the zoo, under the stars and conduct a circus. A circus only for them, in their own little world, where the magic is for them and them alone.

After it’s finished, I kiss the girls and tell them it’s time for bed. Both of them insist on hugging Libby, who squeezes them tightly back.

“You should come over for dinner again!” Poppy says. “We are having pigs in a blanket next kid food night.”

“That sounds lovely,” Libby says.

The girls blow kisses, and I blow them back. Delilah’s eyes study me for a moment and then she disappears, and I let out a sigh and a smile.

“They’re something else,” I say, leaning back, taking a sip of wine.