I wonder if that fact is going to make her sad, but she gets a sly, devilish grin on her face and whispers, “Yes!”
“Sadie is still down for her nap, so what do you want to do first?”
“Play unicorns! No! Play restaurant! No! Play mermaids! No!” Out of breath, she says, “I don’t know.”
“Who says we have to pick? Why can’t we do all of them?”
Her eyes light up, and she jumps up and down. Grabbing my hand, she tries pulling me off the couch. “Let’s go!”
***
Half an hour later, the living room has been completely transformed into a literal play place. The couch and ottoman are now the structure for a fort. A big blue blanket surrounds the girls’ small ball pit. It’s supposed to be water for the mermaids. A toy kitchen with all the assorted food sits to one side, and a graveyard of naked Barbies lies on the floor.
Even with all of that, Luna has decided she wanted to pretend we were going on an adventure, so we are creeping around the dark living room with flashlights, looking for monsters.
Trying to freak Luna out, I act like I see something in the fort. Sneaking around, I’m about to scare the crap out of her, but the joke’s on me because someone knocks on the door, and I jump about a foot in the air.
“Son of a bitch!” I cry.
Luna nods. “Son of a bitch.”
“Don’t say that,” I tell her as I make my way to the door.
As I swing it open, I see my mother standing on the other side with a very confused look on her face.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Joanna,” she greets. “Why is it so dark?”
“We were on an adventure through the woods.”
“Oh, right. Well, can I come in?”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“On if you’re just here to check up on me.”
Her nose crinkles. “Okay, yes, Dylan did ask me to come make sure you were okay, but I brought a peace offering.” She holds up a brown paper bag. “Cheesecake.”
“Okay, you may enter,” I say, stepping out of the way.
As she comes inside, she says, “Man, you really get into character, huh?”
Before I can say anything, Luna squeals, “Grandma!” Mom quickly hands me the bag in anticipation of the toddler jumping into her arms.
“There’s my girl! Where’s your sister? Did Aunt Jo Jo lose her?”
I roll my eyes. “She’s just napping.”
We work our way into the kitchen where Mom sets Luna on the counter before getting plates out for the cheesecake.
Another knock on the door has me looking at her. “Should I be expecting Dad?”
“Not to my knowledge.”
“Geez, it’s like Grand Central Station in here,” I mumble as I walk to the door.
