Mari & Ilna: What can I say? I'm enjoying this adventure every bit as much as I was on day one. Maybe more.
REAL Worlders-thanks for all the enthusiastic support. You guys are the best.
Count on Me (1/1)
"This is a nice surprise." Catherine smiled as she entered the reception area outside her office and found an unexpected visitor chatting to her assistant, Jen. "I didn't expect to see you today."
"Your husband's in court all day and I just finished up the paperwork on the Katano bust," Danny explained. "I have a few hours to kill so I thought I'd stop by and see if you have time to grab some lunch."
Catherine checked her watch. "We have an event at 1:30 with the Little League World Series Champs but I think we have time before that if we stay here and eat downstairs."
Danny nodded. "Fine by me."
Ten minutes later they were settled at a table in the back of the crowded capitol building cafeteria, Danny with a hamburger and fries, Catherine with a chef's salad.
"Something on your mind?" Catherine asked after she watched her friend spend a full minute arranging and rearranging the pickles on his burger.
He sighed heavily. "We picked out a car for Grace last night."
"She told me." Catherine smiled at the memory of the string of excited, emoji filled texts she'd received from Grace the previous evening. "She's very excited."
"You're telling me." Danny popped a french fry into his mouth. "I heard her get out of bed at least five times last night and go to the kitchen. I'm not sure if she was really hungry or just too excited to sleep."
"Probably the latter," Catherine squeezed some raspberry vinaigrette dressing onto her salad. "When do you pick it up?"
"This afternoon." Danny tucked his napkin into his collar. He'd learned the hard way that the capitol cafeteria burgers were very juicy. "I'm sure one of the first places she'll want to go is your house to show you and Steve."
Catherine smiled. "We can't wait to see it."
Danny stared into the small puddle of ketchup on his plate and Catherine couldn't help but think his current mood was about something more than just Grace getting her first car.
"What's really on your mind?" she asked. "I know this is a big change for you, but you've said yourself that Grace is a good driver and a responsible kid. She's gonna be fine. She has a great head on her shoulders."
"I know." Danny nodded. "It's just that … we were getting ready to leave for school this morning and Grace looked at me and said, 'Just think, Danno, this is the last time you'll ever need to give me a ride to school.' and it hit me like a ton of bricks."
"What did?" Catherine asked.
Danny looked despondent. "My little girl doesn't need me anymore."
"That is not even a little bit true," Catherine scoffed.
Danny picked up another fry. "I used to get up every morning and make her breakfast and we'd laugh about my misshapen pancakes or how I always set off the smoke alarm when I tried to cook bacon but now," he stabbed the fry into his ketchup, "She makes her own breakfast or says she'll grab something at school with her friends."
"That's natural for a girl her age," Catherine said reassuringly.
"Now that she has her own car she'll probably end up at some fast food place every morning with ten other kids." Danny's voice raised slightly and he began to wave his arms. "Do you know how bad a steady diet of that stuff is for you? She could end up getting sick, her grades could drop, she may even hurt herself at cheerleading because she's not eating right. If she breaks both her legs that could end up pushing back her graduation year."
Oh my," Catherine chuckled. "That escalated quickly."
"I used to know if she was eating too much fast food because she had to come to me for money if she wanted to buy it." Danny was clearly wound up and Catherine knew from experience the best thing to do was let him burn himself out. "But not anymore. No. Now she has money saved from her job this summer. My baby girl … the one who spent hours on her times tables and dividing large numbers … has a bank account now. A bank account!"
"She had to do that because Ko Olina only pays by direct deposit," Catherine reminded him. "Besides, she told me both your name and Rachel's are also on the account and she gave you both full access to her online banking, so you can make sure she's not overspending."
"I know." Danny raked his hands through his hair. "But still … the other day we stopped for ice cream and she pulled out her debit card to pay and I thought someone was gonna have to give me CPR. My little girl is more and more grown up every day."
"Maybe you should have a talk with my dad," Catherine suggested.
Danny's face softened. "I already did. He told me these next few years will be both brutal and amazing on the dad emotion front. He suggested I buckle up."
Catherine patted his hand supportively. "You'll get through it."
"Last week she came out of her bedroom in the morning and I asked … I just asked … if she was sure orange and purple went together and she laughed at me … I mean full on laughed at me … and told me I have no sense of fashion."
"Hard to believe," Catherine teased.
"What?" Danny asked incredulously. "I have good fashion sense. Look at this suit. Everything matches. My tie has the same color blue as the stripe in my shirt."
Catherine took a sip of water. "Matching a shirt with a tie is a lot less complicated than navigating the choppy waters of what's in and what's out when it comes to teen fashion."
"Maybe," Danny conceded, "but all I know is she used to love it when I helped her pick out her clothes. Or helped her do her hair. Do you know how long it's been since I did a french braid? Years!"
"You can braid my hair if it makes you feel better," Catherine offered with an amused smile. "I wouldn't want to stifle your inner hairdresser."
"You're starting to sound more and more like Steve," Danny said.
"Or he's starting to sound like more like me," Catherine smirked.
"Yeah … well …" Danny grumbled, "Neither one of you is as funny as you think."
"Seriously," Catherine reached across the table and squeezed his forearm, "I know this is tough. But Grace is a good kid. She's gonna do amazing things."
"I know she is, and I want that for her more than anything." The look in Danny's eyes made Catherine's heart ache a little. "But right now, I'm struggling with how to stay relevant as her world keeps expanding."
"Danny," she said, then waited until he looked in her eyes to continue. "When the new Christopher Robin movie came out a few weeks ago who did Grace want to see it with first?"
"Me." Danny smiled at the memory of how they shared a tub of popcorn with a box of Milk Duds added in.
"When she wasn't sure how she would be able to juggle all her school activities this year and wondered if she should drop something who did she talk that out with?"
Danny nodded. "Me."
"And when Boris wanted to give her more responsibility this summer and she wasn't sure she was ready who did she come to for advice?"
His features relaxed. "Me."
Catherine speared a grape tomato with her fork. "She may not count on you for little things like cooking or picking out her clothes or driving her around anymore, but she still loves spending time with you and she still counts on you for the things that really matter."
"I know you're right," Danny said, "I was just feeling a little … I mean this being our last drive to school together … it just hit me harder than I expected.
Catherine nodded. "That's understandable. Listen, Grace is gonna do so many amazing things in the coming years but she'll also hit roadblocks and make mistakes and get her feelings hurt and be disappointed and when she does one of the things that will get her through is knowing you'll always be there to talk things out with her, give her advice, point her in the right direction and most importantly, love and support her unconditionally. I can tell you from personal experience that is everything."
"You're an amazing woman, Catherine Rollins." Danny grinned.
Catherine blushed slightly. "Thanks. You can return the favor in a few years when Angie goes to kindergarten and they have to peel me off the door of the bus on the first day."
"I'll be there for you," Danny promised with a grin. "You can count on me."
THE END
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