I nod. “I still don’t understand why she wants to turn on the oven when it’s a million fucking degrees outside, but yeah, we’ll be there.”
My sister really kept her promise to un-fuck the situation between Mom and I. Sarah and I inherited our mother’s hard-headedness, so I know it took some effort. I’m grateful to her —and to Bunny, actually.
The first time I brought him over to my childhood home for Sunday dinner, I warned him he might be walking into hostile territory. He rose to the occasion, turning on that friendly charm I’m always amazed he can summon so easily. Within twenty minutes, he and Mom were snickering together over my old school pictures. I was equal parts relieved and embarrassed. Maybe a little more relieved.
I realize my mind has wandered a bit when Rosa drifts back over from a display of kids’ fantasy books. She gives the line of people a skeptical once-over. “Comeon, let’s go see Addy,” she says, a whine in her voice. “Do we have to stand in line?”
Sarah grins at that. “I don’t know, honey. It doesn’t seem fair to cut in front of everybody else, does it?”
Rosa frowns and spins on her heel, making a beeline towards the table. “Addy!” she shouts.
My sister shakes her head, a mix of amusement and exasperation on her face. “This kid. I swear.” The two of us follow Rosa through the people milling around and waiting. Bunny looks up in surprise; when he sees Sarah and Rosa, his face breaks into a grin.
“Hey, kiddo —what a surprise!” He comes out from behind the table and gives Rosa a hug, then Sarah. “Thanks for coming.”
“How did you not hear her shriek when she first came in?” I ask him.
“Of course!” Sarah says. “I told you I would.”
“Aww…” Gina notices Rosa, who’s twirling like a ballerina as she shows Bunny her skirt. She gives Olivia a nudge to get her attention. Olivia finishes signing the inside of a book and gets up for introductions.
My sister and I watch Rosa bask in being the center of attention. I elbow Sarah with a chuckle. “She sure didn’t get that love of the limelight fromourside of the family.”
My sister shakes her head. “Hard nope.” After watching the three of them fuss over Rosa for a few minutes, I follow when Sarah makes her way towards a row of bookcases a little further away.
With a sigh, she pinches the bridge of her nose. “I swear, she’s like a little kid one minute and a full-blown teenager the next.Sodramatic. I’m already bracing for when school starts again, since she’s gonna be in middle school now.” She presses her lips together. “She’s started going on about boys —well, one in particular.”
I huff out a laugh. “Is she now? You just let me know when I should come on by to scare him off.”
That makes my sister smile. “Oh, that’s not necessary. Not yet, anyway.” When she snickers, her dark eyes crinkle a little at the corners. “Besides, I like to think I could get the job done on my own.”
I chuckle. “I’m sure you could. But I’denjoyit.”
She snorts. “You would, wouldn’t you? Uh-oh, better drop it,” she says in a lower tone, a dart of her eyes telling me Rosa is approaching.
“Eleven, huh?” I address her as she comes to stand between us.
“Eleven and-a-half,” she corrects me. Sarah rolls her eyes behind her daughter’s back.
I have a two-second mental debate with myself. “So, who’s this boy?”
Sarah raises a palm and drops her forehead into it with a groan. “You’re going to be sorry you asked. Don’t expect me to bail you out in fifteen minutes when you know every detail of this kid’s life, down to what brand of gym socks he wears.”
Rosa eyes me as if she suspects a set-up. “What did Mom tell you?”
I shrug. “Just that there’s a boy. Is he in your class?”
When my niece rolls her eyes, she looksexactlylike her mother. “No. He’s not a loser like all the boys going into sixth grade. He’s going into seventh, so he doesn’t know I exist. But I’m going to change that.”
“An older boy? Oh, he’s already on thin ice.” I make a show of cracking my knuckles.
“Nooo!” When Rosa grabs my forearm, I try to stifle a laugh. Sarah wasn’t wrong when she saiddramatic.
That’s the moment when I realize, to my surprise, that I’m actually having a pretty good time. I’m standing at an angle where I can see Bunny out of the corner of my eye. I don’t really know how these things work, but it seems like he’s getting almost as much attention as Olivia.
When a girl hands him a blank sheet of paper, I watch his pen fly across it in quick, confident strokes. I can’t make out what’s on the paper when he hands it back to her, but she squeals and brings a hand to her mouth. I’m too far away to hear the conversation, but I watch as Bunny circles around from behind the table. He gives her a hug and stands next to her so she can take a selfie of the two of them.
I’ll have to ask him about that when we get out of here. When I glance over, I see Sarah watching me with a little smile on her face. I frown. “What?”
