Natasha stepped directly into her line of sight. “Are you using my child as a dude magnet?”
“How could you think so little of me?”
“How could I think somuchof you, you mean. If you’re using my child as a dude magnet, I was going to compliment you.”
“Actually, I discovered that kids don’t really provide a very romantic ambiance.”
“You don’t say,” Natasha said dryly. She resettled the train of her Elsa dress. “Luckily, it didn’t appear that you two need any help in the romance department. Sam was looking at you like he was a puma and you were dinner.”
“He was?”
“Have you kissed that man again?”
Genevieve paused.
“When?” Natasha demanded. “When did you kiss him?”
“Yesterday. This time he kissed me.”
Natasha crowed. “I’m jealous! You’re having first kisses and all I’m having is PMS.”
Owen abandoned his chair. Natasha took his hand, Genevieve straightened the area Owen left behind, and they made their way to the cakewalk. Millie and Wyatt were already there, moving in a circle over masking-tape numbers as “Monster Mash” played.
Genevieve took out her phone and snapped photos of her niece and nephew.
Sam was coming over later.
“Honey girl.” Dad approached wearing a hideous beige scarf Natasha had knitted for him over his button-down shirt. No doubt, the long brown dog ears perched on his head had been Mom’s idea and he’d good-naturedly gone along.
Mom had on dog ears, too. Hers were lighter brown, shorter, and bent over at the top.
Genevieve hugged them, but when they stepped apart, she couldn’t quite meet their eyes. They’d lied to her and Natasha about when they’d met. Why would they lie about that?
“Doing okay?” Mom asked her.
“Yes. I think the kids are having a great time.”
“Good, good. You look adorable, sweetie.”
“Thanks!”
Mom intertwined her fingers with Genevieve’s and heaved a sentimental sigh. “Halloween night. What a moment to treasure.”
“It really is.”
“Millie and Owen won’t stay little for long, sadly. They’ll grow so fast.” She squeezed Genevieve’s hand as they watched Millie circling. “The best years of my life were the years when I had you and Natasha at home with me. When you were small and I had you all to myself, we’d play and cuddle all day.”
“They did the mash,” the song’s chorus sang. “They did the monster mash.”
“I blinked,” Mom went on, “and you and Natasha were adults. In the place where my babies had been, only precious memories remained.”
Tears were piling onto Mom’s lower lashes.
Uh-oh. “Mom,” Genevieve said.
“I’m thankful, of course, that you and your sister have turned out wonderfully. Because you have. You’re my life’s best work.”
Sam is coming over later.
