Rora’s lips purse as she looks at me and back to her cards again. A little giggle escapes her, and she bounces in her seat. “Go fish!”
I let my jaw hang and look at her cards laid on the table, then look at my own before grabbing the very last card onthe table that’s in the deck. “Rora, if this isn’t a six, I’m going to tickle you so much.”
Her giggling nearly makes her fall out of her chair, and again I feign a glare at her. This wouldn’t be the first time she tricked me. Rora is a cheater at cards, but she’s having too much fun to give her any grief.
I grab the last card and flip it, gasping when I see the two. “Cheater!” I yell, making her scream in delight and dump her handful of cards before racing around the living room, her giggling and squealing making my own laughter fester as I give chase.
“You had a six, didn’t you!” I accuse, reaching for her and grabbing her around the waist, lifting her up and fake throwing her down on the couch. She had to weigh around forty pounds, as she was small and easy to throw around.
And very, very ticklish.
I attack her belly lightly with my fingers, and she screams and squeals in delight, her legs kicking and head shaking.
“No! I didn’t!”
“Lies!” I say, moving down to her little feet and grabbing one, tickling it as well. Finally, when I think she needs time to breathe, I let her go, and she slumps on the couch, catching her breath.
There’s a little smile on her face, and for a moment she looks just like her mom. I check my phone and smile at the text waiting for me, another check-in.
Elizabeth is an amazing mom. I can tell she doesn’t go out much based on how much guilt she seems to be feeling, but even when she is out, her heart and head are here with her daughter.
Must not be that great of a date.
I smirk and try not to let that thought thrill me.
“Okay, how about a movie?”
After cleaning up the cards, I settle into the couch with her, and we find her favorite movie, which is no surprise considering her pajamas.Frozenstarts to play, and Rora cuddles into my side.
It’s amazing how much we can get done in an hour. I feel exhausted but content with the night. I feel good to be able to help Elizabeth with her night, even if it makes my heart ache that she is out with some other guy.
The giggling that ensues when the magical snowman says his lines makes my grin widen. Aurora has the best laugh in the world.
“How is he talking?” I ask, pretending I’ve never seen this movie in my life. But the truth is, I love kid movies. They’re entertaining, tragic usually—one parent or another alwaysdies—and they are easy to follow. Perfect for escaping reality.
“It’s magic, silly! Elsa made him from her magic, so he talks,” she answers, giggling at the show.
So far we drew five pictures, ate half a pizza, each had one soda, and played cards. It’s getting closer and closer to eight, but I wasn’t mean enough to stop a movie halfway through to enforce bedtime.
I let my mind wander while the movie plays and wonder what Elizabeth was doing on her date and how it was going. When I asked, she just replied with a simple “fine,” and I left it at that.
This little girl next to me is smart as a whip, telling me all about her school and how she knows the alphabet really well. She tells me of her best friend at school who doesn’t know the alphabet as well, and how she helps her when she gets stuck.
There’s some serious confidence in this little girl, but there is also a lot of kindness that I see shining through.
Elizabeth may worry that she’s not doing enough, but whatever she is doing is working to build an incredible addition to society.
The movie ends, and we head into the bathroom, where she starts brushing her teeth. I adopt a goofy voice andstart counting, making her giggle so hard she has to spit in order to breathe properly. It’s probably not the most productive teeth brushing, but I call it good anyway.
I step into the hall as she closes the bathroom to go potty, and I wander to her room, setting up her bed for her to sleep and turning on the lamp beside her bed. I grab the elephant and set it up on the bed for her, getting it all ready.
“Story time!” she calls, catapulting onto the bed and diving under the covers. She grabs the elephant and talks to it for a moment, making me laugh. “This is Theodore.”
I lift my brows and look at the stuffed animal. “Theodore, huh?”
“Yup! I’ve had him since I was teeny tiny.” She holds her little fingers together, showing me how small she was.
“Wow, so he’s been living with you awhile. Must be serious.”
