“May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks, may your heart be as light as a song, may each day bring you bright, happy hours that stay with you all the year long.”
“We drew shamrocks in Miss Carlisle’s class today,” Micah says.
“You did?” I ask, pretending to be surprised.
“Yup. St. Patrick’s Day is in two weeks, and we have an assembly at school.” That must be the program Lucy mentioned earlier.
“You do? What’s it like?”
“It’s cool. We’re gonna sing songs and wear costumes, and Miss Carlisle said we get to show off our drawings.”
“That sounds fun.”
“You should come.” His voice is quiet, and my gut fills with hope at the possibility, but I don’t want to insert myself any further into their lives without Lucy’s approval.
I know what a big deal this is to her. She’s mentioned not wanting the boys to get attached to temporary people, even though I’m determined to become a permanent fixture in all their lives. “I’d love to, as long as it’s okay with your mom.”
“She’s gonna say yes.”
“How do you know?” I wish I had this kid’s confidence.
“Cuz I heard her talk about you with the moms when we were at Miss Raven’s house.”
Before I can process his words, Levi lets out a long, loud fart.
“I tooted!” he exclaims proudly.
Micah and I laugh at his antics.
“You sure did, pal.”
“Did you know it was going to sound like that?” Levi asks.
“I didn’t know it was going to happen, so no, I didn’t.”Fuck, I love these kids.
“You should guess what it sounds like before I do it.” Levi leans against me in the bed, and I wrap an arm around him.
“Oh no, I have to toot now,” Micah says.
Levi makes a fart sound with his mouth in response.
Micah’s eyes flick to mine. “Hurry, Lucky Charm, it’s coming!”
I decide to go in a different direction than Levi’s rumble sound as I make a trumpet noise with my lips adding a brassy whine at the end.
Micah lifts his leg up and rips one, making a noise that sounds like neither of our guesses.
We all break into a fit of laughter until Levi wrinkles his nose and waves his hands in front of his face.
“It was a stinker,” he cries, falling back onto the bed as he pinches his nose and holds his breath.
The stink hits me seconds later, and I grab my throat, pretending to gag as I cross my eyes and fall back onto the pillows.
Muffled giggles erupt from either side of me as the stench slowly dissipates.
“My fart was better!” Levi says, popping his head up.
“Yeah, but mine was stinkier,” Micah adds.
