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"Really?"
"Yeah, doll face. Those are the rules."
She sniffles into my chest. "He's off tomorrow night and asked if I wanted to go to the movies. I told him you'd want to meet him first, and he's okay with that."
"And his diet?"
"He's strictly vegetarian. Bella's going to get a kick out of it when I tell her he prefers herbivores." She giggles and pulls away, wiping her leaky eyes. "Ben was a vegan before his change."
"Ben?"
Angela nods. "The vampire who works at Stanley's Pizzeria. The one who joked about the extra garlic pizza."
"I remember. I take it you haven't talked to Bella about him yet."
"No. I love her and all, but you're my dad."
I feel pride when she says that because it means a lot. After Bella and I agreed she could play more of a maternal role in the girls' lives, I worried I would get cast aside. Seems as though I had nothing to worry about.
"I'm sure she's heard all of this and is chomping at the bit to hear all about Ben, so go ahead inside. I'm almost done here, and Bella's agreed to take the night off, so we're ordering Chinese." I toss the rag in her face, and she swats it away with a laugh. "Tell Ben to come around six. I'll be off work by then."
"Okay!"
I stop her before she can go inside. "You robbed me just so you know."
"Robbed you of what?"
"You are my easy child. You were supposed to bring home a nice human so I could clean my guns and grill him on his intentions."
Angela laughs. "You don't have any guns."
"He didn't have to know that. Still."
"I love you, Dad. Never change."
How do I tell my daughter I'm changing? That I'm thinking about approaching Bella in a romantic sense? That I haven't been able to get the vampire out of my head since she showed up on our doorstep.
Maybe the Cullens are meant to fall for vampires. I don't know. I still think I'm losing it daily.
"Love you, too."