Friday, January 14

5:15 pm
Bedroom

Getting ready for my Big Date.

Picking Steph up at 6:00, taking her to dinner and the theater.  Going to see Million Dollar Quartet, which is supposed to be fantastic.  One of the best shows on Broadway, with all due respect to Mr. Bryan, ha ha.  I'm really looking forward to it, not just because of the show but because I get to spend some one-on-one time with my only daughter.  That opportunity doesn't come along too often anymore.

When Steph and I planned this over Christmas I asked Cate if she wanted to come along.  She immediately said "No" which kinda hurt my feelings at first. Then I realized it was her hint that maybe Steph wanted time alone with Daddy.  Sometimes my wife has to smack me in the head with a frying pan to wake me up, ha ha.  Anyway, as much as I love to go out with Cate, I'm glad she's not going tonight.  Tonight it's just me and my Baby Girl.

Tomorrow night will be for Cate.  She has no idea what trickery I'm up to.  She just knows we're going to dinner  but we have to leave early.  I told her we're going somewhere out in Jersey and I want to surprise her.  Well, she'll be surprised when "someplace in Jersey" is Teterboro Airport, ha ha.

I realized this morning there was one little flaw in my plan -- we're staying overnight so we're gonna need to take clothes and shit with us.  And I can't tell Cate that, so she can't pack.  I toyed with the idea of making this the Big Grand Romantic Gesture and just whisking her away and buying her new clothes there, but don't think that will go over well.  She'll need her toiletries and makeup and stuff, and I don't want to spend all our time shopping.  We don't need much, but we do need something.  As much as I'd love to spend the weekend naked, we're gonna have to venture out into society at some point.

And I have to pack too.  How am I gonna explain that to Cate, that I'm packing a bag when I'm not scheduled to go anywhere until the end of next week?

Finally I admitted I need help, so I groveled to Dorothea.  I told her what I have up my sleeve, hoping she wouldn't be pissed at me imposing on her Saturday.  Thank God my ex-wife and I are on good terms.  She agreed to help me by getting Cate out of the house for a couple hours tomorrow morning.  D called Cate this afternoon and asked if she could help out with that Winter Carnival thing at Jake and Romeo's school.  Of course Cate said yes, so she's spending tomorrow morning face-painting or serving cookies or making balloon animals or some shit, trying to keep some modicum of control over the absolute chaos that will be a grade school carnival.

Sucker.  Ha ha.

Meanwhile, I'll be back home packing our bags and stowing them away in the trunk of the car so I can whisk Cate away to a weekend of bliss.  And she'll need it after a morning with the Chuckleheads and Friends.

She's probably gonna want to kick my ass when she finds out I put Dorothea up to that.  But I think I can soothe the savage beast, ha ha.

I love it when a plan comes together.