kindergarten and Corey had gotten Lisa to agree to let their daughter live with us full time so she
could go to a better school.
Things there were interesting, too. I truly hoped, for Willow’s sake, that Lisa eventually got the
help it seemed she needed. I never knew from one day to the next if she was going to act like I was
her savior for always being willing to help out when she and Corey both had to work or like I was a
perverted deviant who shouldn’t be around children. The latter made for more than a few interesting
exchanges.
“Do we get to set up my new room now?” Willow squealed as she bounded up the stairs, nearly
crashing into me. “You said we were going to paint it this weekend. Do I get to help?”
“Yes, princess, you can help me paint your room.” I stepped aside, letting her pass. “Go see if
your dad needs help cleaning up.”
“And then we can have pizza and ice cream with Auntie Gen?” The only thing that excited Willow
more than getting her own new bedroom was the fact we’d be so close to my sister.
The two of them had grown close over the past few months, with Vivvie offering to babysit when
Corey and I both had to work at the same time. We’d tried staggering our own schedules, but that
hadn’t made sense. Luckily, my sister was even more bull-headed than I could be at times, and she’d
been the one to convince Corey it was no hardship to spend her evenings with Willow.
She’d also been the one to suggest we swap living arrangements. As of yesterday, the paperwork
had been finalized for Corey and me to take over her mortgage, and she was renting the garage
apartment from us. As it turned out, she wasn’t nearly as eager to fix up the house as she’d originally
been.
“Yes, Vivvie is ordering the pizza when I text to let her know we’re on our way home,” I
reminded her.
Willow’s face scrunched up and she propped her fist on her hip. “Don’t call her that. She likes
being Gen, not Vivvie.”
“I’m sorry, you’re right, sweetheart,” I apologized. I was trying to do better about not slipping by
calling my sister the same name I had since she was a baby, but it wasn’t always easy. Lucky for me, I
had the mini tyrant there, always ready to correct me. I patted her on the backside to get her moving.
“Go see if your dad needs help. We don’t want to keep Auntie Gen waiting.”
It was almost another hour before Corey declared the apartment officially ready to turn in the
