Summer Love

Chapter 7

All through the morning, Sadie sat quietly in her car seat, digging through the activity books that had been packed for her, but Blake and Miranda both knew she was so quiet because she was still embarrassed. After being potty trained, she had wet the bed a few times, but never in the car, in front of both parents.

Miranda took her turn driving while Blake snoozed away in the passenger seat. As she drove, she kept trying to start a conversation with her daughter, but she could tell Sadie was a little humiliated, so she wracked her brain to try and work out how to help her. When noon came and went, Miranda needed a break form driving and they all needed to use the bathroom, so Miranda pulled off the highway and followed the signs to the rest stop.

When Miranda pulled up, they had a look round and saw a diner, a McDonalds, a gas station and a playground on a field behind the food outlets. Since they had eaten McDonalds for breakfast, Miranda ordered everyone to the diner. Blake climbed out of the passenger seat with a yawn, feeling awake and refreshed after a long morning nap. When Sadie was helped down, she ran around to grab Blake's hand and he smiled down at her, seeing that she was a little dejected.

"Let's get some lunch Babe." He said casually and Sadie let out a little smile and crossed the street with him, followed quickly by Miranda.

Blake led everyone over to a booth and he kept Sadie next to him while his wife sat across the table.

"Daddy?" Sadie asked quietly as they scanned the menus. She couldn't read yet, so she was truing to dictate what she ate by mouth. Blake looked at her expectantly and she pouted out her lips the way Miranda had shown her. "Can I get a milkshake? Please?"

Blake tried to contain his laughter and looked at his wife with raised eyebrows, he would recognise those pouted lips anywhere. Miranda shrugged and smiled to herself, not looking up from the menu and Blake sighed.

"Sure Baby."

Sadie smiled to herself and picked out the strawberry one from the pictures on Blake's menu. When they had ordered, they all took turns using the bathroom and smiled in relief when their food arrived, everyone hungry after eating breakfast so early.

Sadie grinned real big when she got her milkshake and Blake made her slow down and take bites of her grilled cheese in between. Miranda and Blake looked through Miranda's phone as they ate, trying to work out the map and see how far they were. They figured they would be at the beach before dinner, so they figured they should get Sadie to play for a while before they left, knowing she would have to work off her built up energy.

When they had finished, the waiter took their plates and Blake picked Sadie up to put her on his shoulders. When they had payed and wondered outside, Miranda led them over to the small playground that had been set up and laughed when sadie's eyes opened real wide.

Blake put her down and was about to help her out of her cardigan when she shrugged it off and took off running for the jungle gym.

"10 minutes!" Miranda called after her, but she figured Sadie was too enthralled by the opportunity to play that she wasn't listening.

Blake headed over to the bench and frowned when he saw Miranda hesitate a few feet away, pretending to watch Sadie to avoid the awkwardness. They weren't arguing, but they hadn't really been themselves either. Blake gave her a little smile and used his head to beckon for her to sit down. Miranda hesitated for a second, before she took one last glance at Sadie and trudged over, planting her bottom right next to his and feeling a little relief when her Husband's strong arm draped over her shoulder. They just sat in silence for a few minutes, before Blake broke the silence and spoke up, watching Sadie as she ran over the drawbridge and went down the slide.