Tides and Tidings

Chapter 50

Charlie

I had just finished bringing in the decorations when the pizza guy showed up to deliver our not-so-healthy dinner. From the smells emanating from the box, I could tell Blythe ordered a cheese pizza for her and Wren and a Supreme for me. They claim they’re “pizza purists,” while I like every topping known to man on mine.

I placed the boxes on the kitchen island and got plates out for dinner when Wren came bounding inside.

“Daddy! I drove sooo fast!” She ran through the back door.

“Did you?”

She nodded.

“Do you like your Jeep?”

Wren nodded again and wrapped her arms around my legs. “It’s the best gift ever!”

It was awesome to surprise Wren with the Barbie Jeep. I had never seen her react the way she did before. On no occasion had she been so overwhelmed with emotion that she broke into happy tears.

I had a surprise up my sleeve this evening—for both Wren and Blythe. When I was a kid, my mom would set up pillows and blankets on the floor of the living room and we would watch movies. I haven’t done that for Wren yet, but I figured tonight was my perfect opportunity.

I scooped Wren up and placed her on the counter. “Are you ready to eat now?”

She rubbed her stomach. “I’m starving!”

I lowered my gaze to meet hers. “Do you want some of my pizza?”

Wren shook her head violently, hitting herself in the face with her curls. “No! It’s smelly.”

“You mean delicious.”

“No, Daddy. It’s really smelly.”

When I opened the box, the smell of anchovies and gorgonzola cheese filled my nostrils. Wren gagged and plugged her nose. I turned towards Blythe for reinforcement, but she was leaning against the counter, her hand pinching her nose.

A smile tugged at my lips. “You both are so dramatic.”

“I think we’re having the appropriate reaction here.” Blythe challenged.

“It’s delicious. You don’t know what you’re missin’ out on.” I lifted two slices from the box and onto my plate.

Blythe grabbed pizza for herself and Wren. “Oh, we know what we’re missing out on.” She stuck her tongue out at me.

I turned my attention towards my daughter. “You like trying new foods.” I held up a slice. “Do you want to try a small bite?”

“No, thank you.” Wren turned towards Blythe to validate her decision. She gave a nod of approval. She placed her on the floor.

“More smelly pizza for me then.”

Blythe was trying to hide a smirk. As much as Wren looks like me, she is a carbon copy of Blythe personality-wise. I guess that happens when my kid “wants to be like Birdie.” Those words come out of Wren’s mouth on a few-times-per-week basis. For a single dad who thought he would be forever alone, life had a funny way of changing my mind.

“Do we want to eat while we decorate?” Blythe suggested.

“Yeah!” Wren cheered, running into the living room with her plate of pizza.

We followed suit. Wren threw herself onto the couch and already had the television remote in her hand.

She flicked the television on. “Can we watch my ocean show?”

Wren has always been fascinated by marine life. Ever since Blythe came into the picture, she’s encouraged Wren to explore further. She has truly thought of everything. We watch documentaries, identify shells at the beach, and watch for dolphins. We’ve seen Loggerhead turtle nests hatch. I have never seen my daughter happier than she has been since meeting Blythe.

“I think the next episode is about turtles!” Blythe plopped down next to her and grabbed the remote.

“No way!”

Blythe nodded. “I saw it the other day when we changed shows.”

Wren squealed, and I sat down on her other side.

“What do you know about sea turtles?” I asked, knowing damn well Wren would be able to rattle off a list of fun facts.

“Did you know that sea turtles are herbivores, Daddy?”

How does she even know what an herbivore is at six?

“Wrenny, tell your dad what that means.” Blythe encouraged, a large smile spread across her face.

“It means they only eat plants.” She said matter-of-factly. “The group of eggs is called a clutch.”

I looked at Blythe with wide eyes. She nodded.

“That’s very cool.”

She held her hand up. “I’m not done. They live a long time.”

“How long?”

“A really long time.”

“My last one. Did you know there are seven different species of sea turtles?”

“I had no idea. Thank you for teaching me all that.” I was genuinely amazed by what this kid knew. I sure as hell didn’t teach her, so whatever she and Blythe had been doing was giving her all the knowledge. I might be biased, but we might have the smartest six-year-old ever to grace the planet.

Blythe looked at Wren, beaming with pride. “Awesome job, Wrenny! You’re so smart!”

Wren was clearly very proud of herself.

Blythe turned the show on. “I’m not sure if you need to watch this. I think you could teach this show.”

Wren shook her head. “No, there’s still lots to learn.”

My baby went off to kindergarten and came home a real person.

“Wren, if I lift you, could you put ornaments towards the top of the Christmas tree?”

I know it shouldn’t be funny, but watching Blythe overcome her bouts of perfectionism to allow Wren to put the ornaments where she wanted was hilarious. With each decoration that was placed a foot and a half above the bottom of the tree, Blythe offered a broad smile. It was only after Wren would reach for another ornament that Blythe grimaced.

Wren grabbed another ornament and lifted her arms to signal she needed to be picked up. Blythe accommodated and boosted her up, and Wren could put the ornament towards the top of the tree.

Was having a five-foot-two woman lift my daughter up to decorate the top of the nine-foot-tall tree a smart idea? Probably not, but it was hilarious because a large chunk was still undecorated.

Watching the two of them move around the tree warmed my heart. This is the first year we’ve decorated a tree. I had all the ornaments and decorations ready to go, but then Wren’s mom dipped out, and all my holiday spirit went out the window. This year is the first time I don’t feel like Ebenezer Scrooge.

“Babe, we’re gonna need some help.” Blythe finally capitulated.

I pointed to her. “You supervise, we’ll decorate.”

“Actually, you decorate the tree and I’ll decorate the rest of the house.”

Perfect. Blythe decorating would make the living room even cozier for my surprise.

We divided and conquered like the well-oiled machine we are. Wren and I tackled decorating the top of the tree—and even rearranged the ornaments on the bottom—while Blythe put out snowmen, Santas, and garland.

“Bee, will you come in here for a minute?” I called out, unsure of where she was in the house.

“Coming!” She yelled back. Blythe stopped in the doorway and took in the tree. “Guys, that looks incredible.”

She walked closer to the tree, taking it all in. “This is the most beautiful Christmas tree I’ve ever seen.”

“You helped, Birdie.” Wren was always one to give credit where credit was due. “We have to put the angel on the top of the tree and I wanted you to see it.”

I hoisted Wren on my shoulders while Blythe handed her the angel. “Be very gentle. That was my grandma’s.”

“You have a grandma?”

Blythe swallowed the lump in her throat. “Not anymore. She gave that to me.”

“That was nice of her!”

“Wasn’t it?” I prodded Wren. “She gifted it to Birdie and now we get to use it in our house.”

“Thank you, Birdie’s Grammy, for giving this to us!” She looked up at the ceiling.

Blythe’s eyes welled. “She would have adored you.”

“Me?” Wren asked from my shoulders.

“You.” Blythe smiled widely at her.

I knew the holiday season was always rough for Blythe, but after her grandma passed away earlier this year, I knew this year would be more challenging. My goal was to help her create new, happy memories to try and replace the old.

Wren started to put the angel on the top of the tree, but Blythe had us pause.

“I want to take a picture to remember this.” She reached for her phone on the coffee table and snapped a photo of Wren on my shoulders, placing the angel atop the tree. She looked at the photo. “I think this is the best picture I’ve ever taken.”

Blythe flipped the phone towards me, and all you saw was an outline of Wren and me because the tree’s light created a silhouette. My heart swelled. I was living my best life.