Dancin on the wind of this merry-go-round

 Was it so wrong to invite Ivy's mother over? Jay had frowned up on it. He said the woman saw Hope enough at the daycare.

"But she needs to see where she lives," Lindy told him.

"Yeah, and she'll probably fuss about it, too." Jay thought it was a bad idea.

"Go hang out with Slater, you don't have to be here," Lindy shrugged about the matter. Wasn't it grilling season? Didn't they need some time to just be bros?

"Fine." So he left it up to her to make it a day with Leila and Hope. She even made a menu of it and hoped it was to her liking.

"Well, I did invite Ivy," Lindy made it a point to tell Leila, but of course, Ivy declined.

"It figures," Leila was pretty mute on the subject of Ivy. 

Lindy didn't want to dwell on the Ivy matter. She'd hate for the whole day to get off to a rotten start. First, they went to the farmer's market together. A great outing to shop with those nearby. And Hope had fun on the swings and playing with other kids at the playground. She even danced to live folk music. Really, Lindy couldn't remember seeing Hope have so much fun and Leila was smiling too. Leila bought Hope a few sundresses and she even found a pair of earrings that were to Lindy's liking, but of course, Lindy told her she didn't have to.

"But I want to," Leila said.

Later, after lunch of pasta and a salad, she told Lindy how she'd always wanted to do things like this with Ivy. "I don't know what I did that was so wrong." She seemed troubled about it. After all, it was Ivy's Dad that had left her. 

"But..but you're happy now, aren't you?" Lindy smiled as if she needed to be reminded she had been with her partner, Dylan a good long while now. That must count for something. Why was she stalling and not taking the plunge to remarry?

"I know Ivy would hate it," Leila told her. "He's so much younger than me..and..and.."

"You can't let her dictate your life," Lindy said. "Just as you can't dictate hers, either."

Leila nodded as if this was true. "I think you should be happy. You've done so much for us and for Ivy too."

Lindy wished she could have said things like this to her own mother. Maybe Leila was more like a mother to her than she would ever know.