Only themselves in the world, and everything made sense.
CHAPTER 26
QUENTIN
Quentin wrinkled his nose against the stink of nail polish and straightened his tiara. His size had saved him from the tutu his nieces had tried to add to his ensemble, but they’d subbed in the glittery blue Wonder Woman cape currently choking off his air supply. Resourceful little devils.
Fifteen or so Barbie dolls lay scattered on the rug, ignored. Candy Land had been kicked halfway under the couch, colorful cards spread in a wide swath. The twins faced off amid the wreckage of a smashed Duplo ice castle.
“I wanna be Elsa!” Liliana stomped her foot, right onto a LEGO brick. She howled and hopped sideways, making a grab for the doll.
“No, me!” Lauryn hid the princess behind her back.
Teetering on one foot, Liliana pointed at her sister. “You’re always Elsa!”
“Am not!”
“Girls, girls, enough!” Quentin gingerly pinched the end of Elsa’s blonde braid and plucked the doll out of Lauryn’s grasp, careful not to smudge any of his pink nail polish. “Nobody gets to be Elsa tonight except me.”
“But Uncle Q, Ineverget to be Elsa!” Lauryn balled her tiny hands into fists.
“Youalwaysdo!” Lily argued.
Ready to yell, he chose to sing instead. His terrible falsetto filled the room as he sang out the only three words he knew. The girls instantly hushed. Committed now, Quentin tipped his head back and belted out Elsa’s refrain. The bedazzled crown slipped off his head and fell to the carpet.
His nieces dissolved into giggles, rescuing him from further ad-libbing. He sat down cross-legged between them and held up the Barbie. “Now, do you guys wanna hear Elsa sing for real?” He spoke from behind the doll, high pitched, and his squeaky voice sent the girls into another fit of laughter. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He dropped out of the fake voice to save his vocal cords.
Lily ran over and grabbed the movie while he stood up and freed himself from the Velcro clutches of the cape. He clicked on the TV and popped the disc out of its case, slipping it into the player. By the time he turned around, both girls were settled on the sofa, ragged baby blankets over their legs, staring blankly at the screen. Creepy.
He padded off to the kitchen to get another slice of pizza and plopped down on the arm of the couch when he returned.
“Daddy says no food in the living room.” Lily spoke without taking her eyes off the movie.
“And Mommy says no sitting on that part of the sofa,” Lauryn chimed in.
“Well, Mommy and Daddy aren’t paying Uncle Quentin to babysit, so Uncle Quentin is going to do what he likes,” he said, though he slid down off the arm onto a cushion because Vanessa was a force to be reckoned with.
But Hector? Pah. Quentin shoved the greasy pizza into his mouth. Lily narrowed her eyes at him, and he shot her a sloppy grin. His phonechimed from the kitchen, and he leaped to his feet. Wiping pizza grease on his jeans, he tapped in his lock code with a knuckle.
Alisha:
So do you still wanna meet up tomorrow?
Quentin’s cheeks lifted of their own volition. Grinning, he paced out into the living room and back, full of nervous energy. Alisha, here, in Chicago. This was beginning to feel real.
Quentin:
Are you asking me out?
No reply came. To distract himself, he grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and returned to the living room. Lauryn stood up and walked along the cushions to snuggle up against him. Lily climbed over her sister and onto his lap.
Dang, these girls were the sweetest. The familiar yearning for a family of his own resurfaced, but this time it didn’t consume him. If things hadn’t gone wrong with Mercedes, he might’ve become a father last year. For once, he acknowledged that fact without an answering stab of pain. They watched the movie for a few minutes, and then his phone beeped again.
He dragged his numb arm out from under Lauryn and held up his phone.
“Uncle Q, you’re blocking the movie!”
“Sorry!” He pulled the screen closer until it was inches from his face and strained his neck backward to read the text.
