Tillie glances over at me and smiles before looking back down at her daughter.
“Okay,” Tillie says, chuckling. She turns to me. “So, we’re actually here for a reason. Not just to see Henry.”
“Wait! Letmetell her, ‘kay?” Layla’s practically bouncing with excitement, then walks around my desk and hands me an envelope.
“What’s this?” I ask.
“You gotta open it and see, silly.”
“Okay… Should I open it now?”
“Yep!”
“Nothing’s gonna jump out at me, right? No spiders? No clowns?”
“Delaney! A clown can’t fit in there. A spider could, but I don’t touch spiders ‘cause they give me the heebie jeebies.”
I can’t help but laugh. I’m pretty sure there’s no one alive who could be around this kid and not feel joy.
“Okay. I’m gonna trust you on this.”
I glance up at Tillie and catch her watching us with an amused expression, then I open the envelope and pull out an invitation.
‘You’re invited,’it reads on the front.
Inside, there’s a message written in what I assume is Layla’s handwriting:
Please come to my laydees nite at my house on Saturday.
Your friend,
Layla Aron.
I stare down at the card for a few seconds and swallow past the lump in my throat. I can’t remember the last time someone invited me somewhere. It’s probably been years, maybe even before this sweet child was born.
I force myself to turn my focus back to the moment at hand.
“Oh, wow. You’re inviting me to ladies’ night?”
Layla nods fervently, her eyes shining bright.
“We’re gonna eat snacks and do nails, and I’m gonna have grape juice. Mommy and Georgie—she’s my Uncle Heath’sbestie, and she’s a girl even though her name is Georgie—they’ll haveadultgrape juice. Oh, and Ruthie and Sally and all the grown-up ladies will be there. Then we might play Go Fish or Old Maid and have a good time.With no boys.”
“Well, that sounds delightful.” I glance at Tillie.
“But don’t feel pressured.” Tillie raises a hand. “Iknow. That’s rich coming from me after I let my six-year-old bombard you.”
“What doesbombardmean, Mommy?”
“Don’t worry about it, Ladybug. But remember, I told you—this is late notice, so it’s okay if Delaney already has plans and can’t come, right?”
“Yeah… but I’ll be sad.” Layla looks at me with wide eyes. “You don’t want me to be sad, do you, Delaney?”
She tries to wink at me, but her little eye just twitches. I have to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing.
“I would never want you to be sad. What time is it at?” I ask.
“Six o’clock,” Tillie answers.
