No matter what I tell myself, this short time with her will never be enough.
But it has to be. It's all we have.
I'm so enraptured by her that it takes me a minute to process what I'm hearing. Little feet, running.
A little voice. "Mommy! Mommy!"
Maria calls out, "Paisley no! Don't touch!"
The tyke rushes by me. Without thinking, I scoop her up into my arms. Chocolate is smeared across her mouth … and arms … and shirt.
And now my shirt, which she uses as a napkin.
"Mommy! I wanna touch your beautiful dress!" Paisley calls out.
There's a resounding "NO!" from pretty much everyone inside the theatre.
Maria catches up, breathless. "I'm so sorry."
This little girl, who looks so much like Tabitha, is absolutely adorable, chocolate and all.
"Mummy's in a special dress that we can't touch."
She looks wistfully at the stage. "I want to look like a princess too."
I glance over at Gloria, who's laughing at the spectacle. Gloria runs the children's program, as well as helping Erica out in wardrobe. "Do we have anything that might fit the princess bill for our young princess here?"
"I'll go look."
"I can take her and get her cleaned up. I don't know how she made such a mess in such a short time. It was a fun size Hershey bar. There wasn't even that much chocolate in the package." Maria holds out her arms for Paisley. I hand her over and look down at my shirt.
This is a goner.
I need to change but don't have time to run all the way back to my room. "Gloria, maybe after you help Paisley out, you could find something for me to wear? Or can you run to my room and grab something?"
She laughs. "No problem. You probably shouldn't go near that white dress either, looking the way you do."
Was Paisley playing in a chocolate fountain or something? "I find it hard to believe that a simple choco bar can cause this much damage."
"You should see what she can do with a popsicle." Tabitha calls from the stage. I swear, Erica is standing in front of her, acting as guard. "Sorry."
Grayson, still in his full ringmaster regalia, squats at the edge of the stage. "I think we should run it."
A glance at my watch tells me we're running out of time. "Costumes for the first scene. We start in five."
"Looks like I got here just in time. Goodness, Henderson, what happened to you?"
Oh great. Carson Reuben is here.
As predicted.
"He was attacked by a Hershey bar and lost." Grayson trots over to us, still in his red coat and tails, carrying his top hat.
"More like a four-year-old wielding a Hershey bar," I add dryly.
"Well, look at you," Carson gushes. "Eat your heart out, Hugh Jackman."
Grayson spins, clearly enjoying the attention.
