That Blue Gibson: Another Round

thirteen

"Happy dance day, Daddy!"

Ophelia bounced down the stairs in her frilly purple dress and leaped off the last step into Dave's arms, squealing when he spun her around a few times. Violet and Harper followed in their own dresses and finally Liz in her leggings and Dave's old Mudhoney shirt. 

"Aw, girls... I hate to break it to you, but... we can't go."

The four stopped short to look at him in surprise, but Liz caught the smile in his eyes and smirked. You're an ass, she mouthed at him.

"What? Daddy? Why?" Phee was instantly near tears and tugging softly on Dave's suit jacket.

"They're never going to let a guy like me in with the three prettiest girls the Valley has ever seen!"

Phee squealed in relief while Harper and Violet sighed in annoyance. "You're such a dork, Dad," Violet muttered, but happily held out her arm so he could slip her corsage of violets and orchids on her wrist. 

"Liz just told me her dad snuck her out of one of these father-daughter dances to go to a Motorhead concert," Harper told him when it was her turn for flowers.

"Did she now?" he looked up at his wife as she slinked away into the kitchen. "Well, if your mother wasn't running the door we'd be halfway to The Roxy right now."

Both Violet and Harper laughed while Phee crossed her arms in a huff and stomped her foot. "This is my first dance, Daddy! We're going whether you like it or not!"

"Okay, okay... jeez," he teased and adjusted the little bundle of white roses on her arm. "Let's go get in the car."

"Wait!" Liz yelled from the kitchen, then ran down the hallway waving her phone above her head. "I promised I'd take a hundred pictures for your mom and your grandma!"

Violet and Harper both groaned but posed for several pictures anyway before Dave helped them all into the red and white Falcon. Once the sliding door was latched, he loosened his tie a bit, then caught Liz by her waist to kiss her. 

"Bye," she smiled up at him, trying to ignore the worry in his stare and Harper jokingly sticking her tongue out at them through the window.

"You're gonna be okay, right?" he asked quietly. 

"Yup. Travis will be with us every second. Please don't worry, okay?"

"Too late."

"I mean, don't ruin the girl's night because you're worried," she shoved him away, blowing a kiss to the girls when they waved to her. "I love you, have fun."

He let her go with one last kiss, then climbed into the driver's seat. "Keep your phone on you, please."

"Yes, sir," she smiled and saluted him, then waved until they were out of the driveway.

*

"Daddy's here!" Owen yelled from the foyer and Liz paused to listen to his little combined with the distantly familiar sound of Kyle's footsteps on the hardwood. Just before they appeared in the kitchen, she turned to pull dinner out of the oven and nearly dropped the pan onto the floor.

He was nervously watching her from the arched entrance to the kitchen, holding a large bouquet of flowers and looking... better. "Hey...," he looked perfectly awkward and incredibly uncomfortable, avoiding her stare by glancing around the kitchen and over to where Travis and the boys were wrestling on the couch. 

Liz finally snapped out of her shock when the heat from the baking sheet seared through the oven mitt and burned her hand. "Ow! ... shit," she hissed and set the pan down with a clatter to turn to the sink.