Always Us

chance encounters

"Alright, baby girl. We're just going to run in here real quick and grab dinner."

Blinking slowly, the world around her stirred back into focus. Then just like that, the car jolted to a stop, and her dad was moving fast. In a matter of seconds, he turned the keys, whipped them into his pocket, and unbuckled his seatbelt. During football season, everything with him was fast. He was here one day, then gone the next.

But today was perfect. She never wanted it to end.

She grabbed onto her Minnie Mouse ears just as the backseat door swung open, and her dad popped up in front of her.

"You good, sleepy head?"

A lazy smile spread across her face and they both laughed, her hiding her face into the side of the seat, him shaking his head. He made quick work of her buckle, unsnapping and sliding straps away until she was free to stretch her dormant muscles. Her body curled around him for the split second it took him to swing her out of the carseat, then he plopped her onto the sidewalk and held out a hand.

"What do you think mommy and your brother want for dinner?" he asked.

Rooted in place, she swiveled her head, taking in this new location. It looked... different. There was less grass and more concrete. More people who looked like her and her daddy. A loud cackle broke out a few cars down, and she startled.

"Maybe, I need to bring you down here more often," her dad mumbled, stretching out a hand. "Lord knows the food's better." He started down the sidewalk. Huffing and puffing, she jogged to keep up. "I used to eat here every day after school when I was your age, baby girl."

"I don't go to big kid school," she panted, yanking his hand back. "Wait for me! I'm little."

He laughed at his slip, shaking his head and scooping her up. "Okay, maybe ten years older than you."

Again, her body molded to his, and she tucked her head into the crook of his neck. With her legs dangling at his waist and her fingers knotted together behind his neck, they fit perfectly together, and it made her wonder why he couldn't be around all the time. She was his baby girl, his everything. He told her every day. She hated that the sun was already disappearing, and that soon it would be dinner time. Bath time. Bed time. And the day would be over. So she tightened her arms and watched the store aisles blur by. 

In the very back, they reached a counter. Tall steel pots simmered with yummy smells, and she perked up to take a peek. It looked different from the food her mom made, but watching the people in front of them walk away with a styrofoam plate loaded with mac n cheese and chicken, she decided she liked different.

She swung her head back to the counter, where her dad started ordering. A family meal, please. Chicken. Yams. Biscuits. Greens. Mashed potatoes and gravy.

"Mac and cheese please!"

He chuckled. "And throw in some mac and cheese."

The lady on the other side of the counter smiled and started heaping food into to-go containers. "Alright, baby. It's been so long since we've seen you around here. You made it big, now you're too good for us."

Her daddy nodded sheepishly. "Life's busy."

"I know, baby. I know." The lady pressed around the round lid, pushing out all the air and securing the mac and cheese's safety. "It's good to see you. And you, too, little lady."

She hid her face back in her daddy's shoulder and caught him slipping a couple $100 bills from his back pocket. Her eyes bulged, and she snapped her head back to the lady handing over her food. Before the lady could ring them up, her daddy tucked the money into her hands. "Have a good night Ms. Rose."

As they made their way back through the small grocery store, she eyed the bag swinging from her dad's hand with a new reverence and thought—this must be the best food on the planet. It sure smelled like it.

"You're going to love this, baby girl. I can already remember sitting outside on the sidewalk, eating with my fingers. I should have gotten some corn— oh."

A lady froze in front of her dad, and for the first time in her life, he seemed at a loss for words. She took a long look at the lady, analyzing this mysterious woman. She was shorter than her mom, her clothes simpler. But she was pretty, she decided.

"It's good to see you," her dad finally mumbled.

"It's been so long."

"Five years."

The lady shifted from one foot to the other. "Wow. I don't know what to say. I didn't expect to run into you here. I didn't think you came around here anymore."

The young girl looked back to her daddy, waiting to see how he would react. The lady's words weren't necessarily warm, but they weren't cold either.

He laughed nervously then tumbled into clipped sentences. "Yeah, well, we were out in Anaheim. A day at Disneyland. I promised my wife we'd bring back dinner."

At her dad's spastic energy, the lady seemed to calm. "Is this your daughter?"

"One of the two," he said, then blurted out. "Well, one of the two kids. The other's a boy. I have a son, but he was sick. So it was just us two today."

"I'm a twin," she chipped in, finally finding space to contribute.

"Wow." The lady's eyes widened, and she looked back at her daddy. "A father of twins."

"Yup," he laughed. "Not one. But two."

"How old?"

"I'm four."

"Oh." Surprised, her eyes widened. "Just like my—"

They all looked down at the abrupt shuffling behind her. A football tumbled to the floor, and a set of hands dove after it. "Sorry mama."

Her dad stood a little taller. "He plays?"

The woman smiled softly. "Corey's trying to convince me to let him into little league, but I think he's too young." She shrugged. "I don't think I'll be able to hold out much longer though. He's in love."

Her daddy nodded in understanding, and Olivia didn't even have a chance to grow annoyed by how obsessed her dad was with football. Because she was too preoccupied with the little boy and his unrelenting stare. She didn't know what to think of him until he raised a shy hand and waved. 

"Hi, I'm Spencer."

_____

I might take a break for a little while, but thought I'd leave you all with this 🥹