Blake chuckles. “Then I’m in good company.”
“Are you having tea with us?” Lexi asks him, cuddling up to him.
“No. I’m going out soon.”
“Aww.”
Blake ruffles her hair. “Sorry, kiddo.”
“Uncle Blake plays fairy princesses with me,” Lexi says, staring at me.
“I can do that if you like,” I say.
“Uncle Blake dresses up, just like me.”
Ah, this is a test. She wants to know how far I’ll go to get into her good books.
“He wears a dress and a tiara,” Lexi tells me.
“It’s true,” Blake says. “What she’snottelling you is that neither Archie nor Corey would dress up to play with her.”
“I can dress up if you want me to,” I say. “It sounds fun.”
Lexi pinches her lips together. “Maybe.” She slides off the bed. “Do you want to see the garden?”
“Yes, please.”
Blake waves bye to us both and returns his attention to his phone as we leave and shut the door. Lexi bounds back down the stairs, leaving me to follow at a more reserved pace. She opens the patio doors at the back of the kitchen and leads me outside. The garden is long and thin, with a path leading down one side to a shed at the very end. There’s a barbecue on the patio that looks like it hasn’t been used in at least a couple of years and an enclosed trampoline on the grass. Other than the odd dandelion or daisy, there are no flowers in the garden.
“Tea’s ready,” Corey says, joining us. “None of us are big on gardening. We mow the lawn, and that’s about it. Wash your hands, please, Lexi.”
She goes inside and, using a step-stool to make her taller, washes her hands in the kitchen sink. I wash mine after she’s finished and then sit with her at the table as Corey serves the food.
“Fish fingers are my favourite,” Lexi says, adding a huge dollop of tomato sauce to her plate. She grabs a couple of chips with her fingers.
“Use your fork, please, Lexi,” Corey says.
“Why? It’s chips.”
“Would you normally eat chips with your fingers?” I ask.
“Yes,” Lexi says.
“No,” Corey says.
“Uncle Blake lets me.”
Corey rolls his eyes. “I don’t. Please use your fork.”
Lexi does as she’s told.
“I’m sorry it’s basic,” Corey says.
“It smells delicious,” I reply. “You have a lovely house, and Lexi gave me a great tour.”
“We have to move,” Lexi says.
“Oh?”
