Recipe for Romance

Chapter 1-3

As they approached her elementary school, Preston gave her some last minute advice. “I want you to smile for your pictures this year, honey,” he said, eyeing the line of cars snaking along the front of the school, looking for a spot where he could pull up to the curb and drop her off. “You hear me?”

In the back seat of his Honda Civic, Abby flipped through a small paperback chapter book she was reading. “Uh-huh. Smile. Got it.”

“Comb your hair before it’s your turn,” Preston reminded her. “Do they still give out combs? They used to when I was your age. I might have one in the glove compartment…”

He leaned over to check and the car swerved dangerously in the same direction. Someone behind him hit their horn. “Daddy!” Abby cried. “I have my comb, alright? It’s in my bookbag, so stop worrying already!”

“Ask your teacher to help you if you need it,” he said. “What’s her name again?”

“Ms. Coffman.” Abby returned to her book, bored with the conversation.

Up ahead, a car pulled away from the sidewalk and he hit the gas, angling for the empty spot. Another horn blared but he ignored it. Pulling up his parking brake, he put his Honda Civic into neutral and half-turned in the driver seat, one hand on the passenger seat headrest so he could get one last look at her. “Well, we’re here. Give me a kiss.”

Abby unbuckled her seat belt and slid forward to plant a kiss on his cheek.

“Have a great day, Abba-dabba-do,” he said, wrinkling his nose at her.

With a giggle, she hugged her book to her chest with both arms and flopped back onto the seat. “You, too, Mr. Magoo!”

“Big smile for the camera today,” he told her. “I want to see all those teeth.”

Abby mugged for him, flashing a wide grin that did a pretty good job of showing off most of her entire mouth—he could even see the hole in the back where one of her molars had fallen out a few weeks earlier, and the new tooth hadn’t fully grown in yet.

Preston laughed. “Maybe not so wide. That’s a bit scary.”

“I can do scary!” she cried, and smiled again, even wider, only this time her eyes bugged out, too, and her cheeks went taut, and the muscles in her neck stood out like cords.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” Preston cautioned. A few more seconds and he was afraid she’d rupture something. “Come on, sweet pea. You’re going to be late to class.”

Abby bounced on the back seat. “I’m going to fly there! I have wings!”

“Tell me again why a My Little Pony jacket has wings?” Preston asked. “I mean, it’s a pony, right? They don’t—”

“It’s a pegasus,” Abby cried. “Pegasus have wings. Look it up, Daddy. It’s a fact.”

“Got it.” He tapped the back of the passenger seat to get her moving. “Alright, you might not care about being late, but I do, and if I don’t leave right now, I’m not going to get to work on time.”

Abby snapped off a quick salute. “Okay!” Sliding to the edge of the seat, she opened the back door and gave him one last toothy grin. “Later, gator!”

“In a while, crocodile,” he called after her.

With a bright laugh, she slipped out into the sunny morning and slammed the door behind her. Preston lingered at the curb long enough to watch her disappear into the flow of kids heading into the building, then put the car into gear, released the brake, and relinquished his spot at the curb.

A glance at the dashboard clock made him hit the accelerator once he was out of the school zone. He really was going to be late.