Somewhere in the Book of Life there is a law that states that if the husband goes out with friends, the mother and daughter are required to have a date night. Right? Right.
So that's what Alexis and I did when the husband had plans one night this week. We jumped into the car on a mission to get dinner and do some shopping and to generally have a good night. As we drove down the road, I asked Alexis, "Chinese or Mexican?"
"Mexican!" she yelled with delight. After some negotiation, we settled on a place not terribly far away.
Just as we began to pull into the parking lot, it started.
Drip.
Plop.
Drip.
Plop. Plop. Plop.
The raindrops grew bigger and bolder and louder as they splashed faster and faster and faster. As we drove past the entrance to the restaurant, a steady rain fell from the sky.
"Oh, man! We don't have an umbrella!" Alexis whined from the back seat. It was a true whine, precisely the sort of whine that makes me want to park fourteen miles away and force her walk through the rain just so I can imagine each little raindrop as a tiny form of punishment falling on her sassy little head.
But it was my fault the umbrella wasn't in the car. I had left it in the house a week prior and I really should have remembered to take it back out to the car.
"Do you want me to drop you off at the door so you don't have to walk in the rain?" I offered. The parking lot was nearly empty, so it would be saving her perhaps ten steps. I figured if those ten steps were enough to make the night better for her, I could handle it.
"Yes, please!" she squealed with delight.
Alexis was overjoyed to crawl out of the car right at the curb. She laughed a little as she closed the car door and told me not to get too wet. She ducked under the cover of the overhang above the entrance to the restaurant.
As I pulled into a parking spot, I watched the little person grin as she marveled at the raindrops falling just inches from her face. I imagined that the soundtrack in her head went, "Nanny nanny boo boo! You can't get me!"
With each step I took towards Alexis, I could see her inching forward. And forward. And forward.
And forward a little more.
I paused just a few feet away so I could bask in the moment. Alexis had inched forward just enough to be able to stick her tongue out and catch raindrops. Her eyes were squished shut and her toes were wet and raindrops splashed on her face as she giggled and grinned.
"I thought you didn't want to get wet," I finally said.
She smiled as she grabbed my hand and walked into the restaurant with me.
"I was thirsty!" she replied.
