"Yeah. Hard work, sitting pretty on that bike?"
She smiles. "I can ride a bike though," she insists.
"Oh, I know you can, but it's nice that we can ride together sometimes too."
The waitress takes our order and when the food arrives, we both dig in. “So, do you have anything on tap for the week?" I ask her. I try to talk to her like she's a person, not a kid, but I'm not sure that's what you're supposed to do.
"I have school," she tells me. "And a play date on Tuesday, remember, with Marie?"
"I remember," I say. "And your grandma's going to babysit on Saturday. Your Auntie Fig told me they've got a big plan for you."
"Really?" she says. "What's the plan?"
"I guess you'll have to ask them tonight at dinner."
She beams back at me, dipping her fry in ketchup. "What's that?" she asks, pointing out the window. "Those are RVs," I say.
"RV?" she asks, confused.
"Yeah. They are recreational vehicles." Her face crunches up even further in confusion. "People live in them. It's like a house on wheels," I tell her as two pass through the narrowest streets of the city. "I wonder where they're headed," I say.
On the back of the first one, there is a painted peace sign. On the side of them both, there are words painted,The Wild Family Band. They're both completely covered in murals. I smile at the rainbows painted on them, the clouds, and the birds. "They're so pretty," Plum says. "Maybe we could paint something like that."
"You want to paint my truck with rainbows and hearts?"
She smiles. "Maybe I could use my sidewalk chalk on it," she says.
I chuckle. "I think you can do chalk art on the driveway."
But then a woman pokes her head out of an RV window, her long blonde hair catching the wind, her skin sun-kissed and a smile wide on her face.
Plum gasps. “She looks like a princess.”
We finish our meal and get back on the bike. Plum is happy—though in need of a nap before we head to my parents’ for dinner. As I peddle us back home, I can't stop thinking about that blonde hanging out the back window of the RV, her hair blowing in the wind, her eyes taking in the town. She was beautiful.
When we get home, I help Plum out of her seat. She rubs her eyes and gives me a sleepy yawn. She’s worn out from the bike ride and lunch and probably crashing from the sugar high she got from that milkshake. "How about you take a rest before we go over to grandma and grandpa's tonight?" I ask her.
She yawns, agreeing to my suggestion. I grab a few books from the shelf and carry them into her bedroom. There, I sit down on her bed and flip one open. "I like this one," she says. "It's a fairy tale. All about falling in love with your Prince Charming."
I smile. "Yeah. You're interested in falling in love?"
She giggles. "I don't know. You're not in love, Daddy. Do you need a princess?"
I chuckle. "Sure," I say, "I don't think anyone would mind finding a princess. Do you?"
She shakes her head. "No. That lady in the window looked like a princess," she says, "like Rapunzel. Her hair was hanging out the window and she was..."
I cut her off by starting at page one.
***
When we walk into my parents' house, I see most of my siblings are already there. Half of them are paired off and married, which to be honest is a bit of a shock.
A year ago, everyone was single, and now Rye is married, Bartlett's married, Lemon's married. Graham is the next oldest sibling and I wonder if he's going to fall in love soon. I chuckle, wondering what kind of girl my brother would fall in love with. Knowing Mac, my younger brother, he'll get hitched next. He's always had a way with women. Charming and easygoing. The football star and a baseball player back in high school. Now, though, he's 21 and he's working for our dad.
"Hey, Reuben," Lemon says, "how are you doing? I thought I saw you riding your bike past my house today, but I wasn't sure since you didn't stop and say hi." She puts her hand on her hip.
Plum runs over to her and wraps her arms around her waist. "Hi, Auntie Lemon. Sorry we didn't stop; we had things to do, important things."