birthday.
“Is this a bribe?” I ask. “So that I’m not mad about having to move?”
Max smiles and thinks about it.
Then he nods. “Sort of…. but it’s also an I-love-you present…an ‘I’m glad that you are going to be my daughter’ present…and ‘I’m glad that we are all going to be living together’ present.”
I think about it. “But I already have a dad…. you are going to be my stepdad.”
Max nods again. “I know. But I want you to know that I feel like you are my daughter….. and that no matter how many children your mom and I have…. you will always be my first daughter…. and that doesn’t mean that I need to have you love me more than Philip, your real dad.”
I don’t say anything.
He continues. “I know that you are very angry at your father right now….. but he is your dad and he does love you.…I just want you to know that you don’t haveto choose between us….. that we can both be important to you.”
I can feel tears in my eyes. “You are very important to me.”
Max smiles. “Good. Now open your present.
I rip the package open.
I, Amber Brown, am not good at opening packages slowly.
I open the box lid.
There’s a ceramic plaque that reads A MBER B ROWN’S R OOM.
I smile at Max.
“Your mom and I went to one of those ceramic-painting places and we made this for you. I did the printing. Your mom did the painting.”
I look at the plaque. There are pictures of things that are important to me. The pig alarm clock that Aunt Pam gave me…cartoon pictures of me, Mom and Max…also a rainbow and crayons.
“I love this.” I smile again.
We are stopped at a traffic light, and Max looks at me. “We’ve decided to paint a set of plates for the new house.”
“You and Mom?” I ask.
He nods. “And you too. Once we get settled, we’ll do it. I’m not very good at this, but it’s something your mom really wants to do….. and”—he grins—“you know when your mom really wants to do something…”
I finish his sentence. “She gets it done.”
We both grin.
The light changes, and we continue on to the school.
When I get there, Max parks, gets out of the car and opens my door for me.
He makes a big deal of my getting out of the car, sort of like I’m a queen or a princess.
I leave the present in the car.
I don’t want it to break at school.
We hug each other good-bye.
“See you after school,” he says. “With any luck, we’ll find a wonderful house that we all like.”
I cross my fingers.
We hug again.
“Bye,” we say, and then I skip up over to the playground.
One of the playground aides says, “That was very nice of your dad to open the door for you and to treat you like such a lady.”
I open my mouth to explain that Max is not my dad…. that he’s not even my stepdad yet…. and then I close my mouth and just nod.
I wonder what it’s going to be like at Parents’ Night.
Chapter
Thirteen
Dear Justin
,
I know that my mom and your mom have been talking on the phone a lot lately.
How do you like having a new baby sister? I think it’s funny that Danny asked if they could take it back to the store and exchange it for a baby brother…or even better, a GI Joe action figure. (Someday, I will probably want to talk with you about baby brothers and sisters, but not yet….. Now I want to talk to you about moving.)
I know that our moms talk on the phone a lot…. and that your mom knows what’s happening here.
Because you had to move away, I have to ask your advice. (I can’t ask Kelly and Brandi…. because they don’t want me to move away….. and they will pick the house in town.)
Please let me know what you think. (I know that you don’t like to talk a lot about feelings, but please do this for me!!!! Please, oh, please.)
I know that it was hard for you to move away, that you didn’t want to talk about it….. but was it hard for you when you got to Alabama? Did you miss being here? Do you still sometimes miss being
“Is this a bribe?” I ask. “So that I’m not mad about having to move?”
Max smiles and thinks about it.
Then he nods. “Sort of…. but it’s also an I-love-you present…an ‘I’m glad that you are going to be my daughter’ present…and ‘I’m glad that we are all going to be living together’ present.”
I think about it. “But I already have a dad…. you are going to be my stepdad.”
Max nods again. “I know. But I want you to know that I feel like you are my daughter….. and that no matter how many children your mom and I have…. you will always be my first daughter…. and that doesn’t mean that I need to have you love me more than Philip, your real dad.”
I don’t say anything.
He continues. “I know that you are very angry at your father right now….. but he is your dad and he does love you.…I just want you to know that you don’t haveto choose between us….. that we can both be important to you.”
I can feel tears in my eyes. “You are very important to me.”
Max smiles. “Good. Now open your present.
I rip the package open.
I, Amber Brown, am not good at opening packages slowly.
I open the box lid.
There’s a ceramic plaque that reads A MBER B ROWN’S R OOM.
I smile at Max.
“Your mom and I went to one of those ceramic-painting places and we made this for you. I did the printing. Your mom did the painting.”
I look at the plaque. There are pictures of things that are important to me. The pig alarm clock that Aunt Pam gave me…cartoon pictures of me, Mom and Max…also a rainbow and crayons.
“I love this.” I smile again.
We are stopped at a traffic light, and Max looks at me. “We’ve decided to paint a set of plates for the new house.”
“You and Mom?” I ask.
He nods. “And you too. Once we get settled, we’ll do it. I’m not very good at this, but it’s something your mom really wants to do….. and”—he grins—“you know when your mom really wants to do something…”
I finish his sentence. “She gets it done.”
We both grin.
The light changes, and we continue on to the school.
When I get there, Max parks, gets out of the car and opens my door for me.
He makes a big deal of my getting out of the car, sort of like I’m a queen or a princess.
I leave the present in the car.
I don’t want it to break at school.
We hug each other good-bye.
“See you after school,” he says. “With any luck, we’ll find a wonderful house that we all like.”
I cross my fingers.
We hug again.
“Bye,” we say, and then I skip up over to the playground.
One of the playground aides says, “That was very nice of your dad to open the door for you and to treat you like such a lady.”
I open my mouth to explain that Max is not my dad…. that he’s not even my stepdad yet…. and then I close my mouth and just nod.
I wonder what it’s going to be like at Parents’ Night.
Chapter
Thirteen
Dear Justin
,
I know that my mom and your mom have been talking on the phone a lot lately.
How do you like having a new baby sister? I think it’s funny that Danny asked if they could take it back to the store and exchange it for a baby brother…or even better, a GI Joe action figure. (Someday, I will probably want to talk with you about baby brothers and sisters, but not yet….. Now I want to talk to you about moving.)
I know that our moms talk on the phone a lot…. and that your mom knows what’s happening here.
Because you had to move away, I have to ask your advice. (I can’t ask Kelly and Brandi…. because they don’t want me to move away….. and they will pick the house in town.)
Please let me know what you think. (I know that you don’t like to talk a lot about feelings, but please do this for me!!!! Please, oh, please.)
I know that it was hard for you to move away, that you didn’t want to talk about it….. but was it hard for you when you got to Alabama? Did you miss being here? Do you still sometimes miss being
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