“Come on in, guys,” Neena shouts toward the kitchen.
Clara’s eyes widen when she glances at me with uncertainty, but when she looks toward the kitchen and sees Ally and Vanessa walk out, her face lights up. Like a Christmas tree lights up. I did good, I think to myself. And almost pat myself on the back. In a flash the three women are in a circle hugging, jumping up and down as they squeal like children. Neena is laughing as she films while Marcus and I just stand back and watch the craziness. That sound, her laugher, is the epitome of my greatest joy.
Neena looks over to me and mouths, “Thank you, Dad.”
I give her a wink and look back to Clara, feeling pretty damn proud of myself. I knew this would make her day. Seeing Neena so freaking happy is the cherry on the top of the sundae.
“Did you drive?” Clara asks as she pulls away from her friends and wipes the happy tears from her face.
“We flew,” Ally says, annoyed as she cuts a sharp look to Vanessa.
Clara snorts in disbelief. “What?”
“I had to tranquilize her like a wild animal, but she made it,” Ally says, dryly, speaking of Vanessa.
“I’ve never been so scared,” Vanessa confesses, placing a hand to her chest.
Ally rolls her eyes. “If I had heard help me, Jesus one more time on that plane, I would’ve been escorted off in handcuffs.”
Vanessa laughs. “It wasn’t that bad.”
“Yes, it was.”
Clara’s happy expression seems to droop for a moment as she stares at her friends.
“What’s wrong, girl?” Vanessa inquires immediately, in a concerned fashion, as she wraps an arm around Clara’s shoulders.
“I just can’t believe you guys are here,” she murmurs. “And you flew, Vanessa. I can’t believe it. Thank you, guys.”
Ally and Vanessa smile from ear to ear and hug Clara. When they pull away again, Ally says, “Thank Paul. He arranged all of this. Paid for our tickets, too.”
Clara spins around and meets my stare. I give her a little shrug. “I wanted to do something nice for you. You need some me time.”
She grins and moves toward me in a hurry until she’s in my arms, hugging me. “Thank you for this. Thank you so, so much for this.”
“Well there’s more,” I tell her, waggling my brows.
“There is?”
“You and your besties are heading out for a day at the beach tomorrow. I booked a room and everything.”
Clara immediately shrinks away from me. “An overnight trip?”
“Yes,” I tell her. “I know you are worried about leaving Neena, but I’m here. I will take good care of her.”
Clara shakes her head. “No, I can’t do an overnight trip. It’s really sweet of you, Paul, but I can’t.”
“Yes you can, Mom,” Neena cuts in. “Besides, I’d like some father-daughter time with Dad.”
Clara pinches her lips together, not liking the idea of leaving Neena at all. “We’ll talk about it later.”
Mei-ling joins us and we grill out and have an amazing dinner. Vanessa and Ally tell embarrassing stories about Clara and Neena eats up every bit of it. She loves hearing about her mom, before she was a mother. Clara wears a smile the entire evening and seems relaxed for the first time in a long time. I couldn’t be more grateful to Vanessa and Ally for coming. One can never get too much support. These women are practically her family.
After we clean up from dinner and Marcus and Mei-ling head home, Clara gets busy trying to make sleeping arrangements for everyone.
“We’re sleeping down here with Neena,” Ally informs her as she grabs her suitcase and moves it toward the stairs.
“No, we have a guest room,” Clara insists. Looks like I’m sleeping in Clara’s room.
“We’re having a slumber party.” Vanessa grins as she squeezes Neena to her.
“We’re going to do makeovers and paint each other’s nails. A pair of your underwear might end up in the freezer,” Ally laughs.
“Well I can join in, too,” Clara says.
“Not tonight,” Vanessa quickly argues. “Tonight is girl time with Neena. We want you to . . . relax.”
“I think you two could use a good night’s rest,” Ally giggles wildly as she winks a bunch of times, looking like she has Tourette’s. It’s not hard to miss what she’s implying.
Clara cuts her gaze to me and shakes her head as she smirks. Her friend is a nut.
“Subtle,” I chuckle.
I’m not sure if this is hurting Clara’s feelings or not. Her expression is uncertain, but when Neena walks up to her and hugs her with a giant grin on her face, Clara finally smiles. “Okay. But no calling boys,” she jokes. “Or prank calls.”
“Seriously?” Ally groans. “You’re no fun.”
When all the beds are made and everyone is in their pajamas, Clara and I finally head up to her bed to the sound of our daughter giggling as Ally and Vanessa cackle. I follow Clara into her bedroom, and shut the door behind us, locking it.