“I swear, I don’t know how you manage to get in and out of this thing every day,” she grumbles, struggling to climb in.
My truck isn’t lifted or anything, but it is a big vehicle.
“Practice,” I say, shrugging as I start up the vehicle. “Syrus offered to take my car in to change my tires for me before the first snow hits.”
“Before or after yesterday?” Lexi asks, watching as I pull onto the road.
“Before,” I sigh, my eyes on the road. “That happened after he followed me home and bought me pizza on Friday night.”
“I think he wants to keep you safe, and it’s a very Syrus thing to offer. What did you say?”
“I was grumpy and said I could do it myself,” I mutter.
“Firefly,” Lexi groans.
“What?” I ask. “I can do it myself. He told me that he was offering to take something off my plate, because he knows I’m so busy.”
“Like handling a toddler class single-handedly?” Lexi asks, shaking her head.
“I have you,” I remind her. “I’m a badass bitch, not psychotic.”
“That’s a thin distinction,” she laughs. “Especially for you.”
I manage to just find a spot, and then Lexi and I are sprinting toward the community center. I leave the hoodie in the truck since I’ll definitely run warm today, and wave at the person working the front desk.
“They’re in room four!” Kyra calls out to me.
“On it!” I yell back, jogging to the room.
There’s a roomful of toddlers and their parents waiting for me, and I smile widely as I grab the little microphone to attach to my shirt. Pairing it with my phone, I begin speaking.
“Are we ready for open play?” I ask. I don’t do fake excitement well, but everyone nods anyway. “Remember to watch out for your friends, and to wait for people to move out of the way before you jump, okay?”
Shoes are lined up along the back wall, and I find a playlist that’s approved for kids on my phone. I’ve helped with these classes before thankfully, but rarely am I left to my own devices.
Toeing out of my shoes, I walk the room with Lexi to make sure everyone’s being safe. My microphone is off again, which is a good thing as I watch a kid belly flop into a sea of foam pillows.
This would be fine, but he appears to be semi drowning in the middle of them. Hiding my amusement, I hold out my hand and help haul him out.
“It’s deeper than it looks, huh?” I ask.
“Yes, ma’am,” the tiny voice says before running off.
I find that gym time without one of the staff members is like an invitation for fucking tea time for the moms milling around. They’re talking about all kinds of things, taking a break from parenting.
Even Lexi gives me SOS eyes, and I decide to throw in mani/pedis after lunch. The bar opens at six for a few hours. People will swing by to hang out, play card games, and shoot the shit before heading home. I may as well pamper my sister as a thank you for having to deal with this madness.
Jumping forward as a kid slips off the balance beam, I shove several exercise mats underneath her to break her fall. She lays stunned there as she gazes up at me, and I crouch down beside her.
“That wasn’t fun, huh?” I ask her. Her eyes are wide as she shakes her head and I nod. “Go grab a drink of water and take some deep breaths. You got the wind knocked out of you.”
I don’t know many of the kids' names, but I am impressed as she stands up and shakes herself off. A mom comes running over, and I raise my brow at her.
“That was a big fall, babe. Let’s take a break, okay?” she asks.
I appreciate that she doesn’t freak out, and that she picks her kid up to give her a hug. I don’t think that playing with your kids is natural for everyone.
At the end, I pull out a parachute, more than ready to be done. I call everyone to sit around in a circle, and play a song that tells them what to do. They have fun lifting it up, getting inside, and they’re giggling by the end. I play one more song to help them get the wiggles out, making sure that their parents do it with them.
