“Gramps!” I opened the last drawer. I scooped up a pen and notebook and shoved them into my bag.
Gramps shuffled into the kitchen. “I’d rather stay home.”
I shook my head. “Not gonna happen. Char said you need to be supervised today.”
“I pressed the wrong button last night. Thought I was getting that new Bourne movie.”
“You can tell that to Char later. Right now I need you to get it in gear or I’m going to be late.”
Gramps frowned and muttered to himself as he moved toward the hall closet. I checked my watch again. I needed to start this project off on the right foot.
“Dolly! Come on, hon. We’ve got to go.”
She clomped down the hall in some sort of footwear that was too heavy to be the plastic princess shoes. As she entered the kitchen, my head felt like it might explode.
“I’m ready, Uncle Alex.” The voice sounded like my adorable niece, but the creature it came from didn’t look anything like the four-year-old I’d sent back to change a few minutes ago.
“What the hell did you do to yourself?” My heart skipped a beat, then another as I took in her makeover. She’d wrapped herself in toilet paper from head to toe. All except for her face, which peeped out from the white shroud.
“What the hell. What the hell.” Why did the damn bird only repeat swear words? That was a question for another day. Right now I needed to get Dolly cleaned up and out the door.
“Now I won’t get dirty.”
“Come on, we’ll unwrap you as we go.” I grabbed her under my arm and swept her out the door behind Gramps, the bird squawking as we slammed the door.
Zina
I checked my watch again. The contractor Alex hired to start work on the penguin habitat had been pacing for the past fifteenminutes. If Alex didn’t show up soon, I’d have to lock up and tell him to reschedule. I had quite a few errands to run before heading to Lacey’s for our meeting. As if the whole idea of creating a wedding around penguins wasn’t ridiculous enough. The least Alex could do was be considerate of my time. It’s not like I was on board with this stupid idea to begin with. Any lingering warm feelings toward him faded the longer I stood there waiting for him to arrive.
I was about to start turning off lights, when a vehicle pulled into the gravel parking lot. Finally. Alex deserved an ass chewing for keeping me waiting this long. I opened my mouth, ready to deliver when he entered the front door.
“Where the hell have you been?” I asked, ready to meet his gaze with a glare of my own.
Instead, a child walked in. Barely three feet tall and wearing some sort of shredded toilet paper gown with thick-soled boots, the girl opened her eyes wide.
Alex appeared behind her. “Language, please.”
I startled. I didn’t like being caught off guard, especially when my mood had gone sour from waiting so long.
The contractor thrust his hand at Alex. “Good to see you again.”
Alex gave me a smug grin as he took Toby’s hand. “Thanks for meeting me out here. I’m sorry I’m late. We had a wardrobe issue.”
“My daughter’s got a mind of her own also, so I completely understand.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, ready to interrupt the moment of male bonding. “Should we check out the back?”
“Let’s do it.” Alex walked ahead of us, leading the way with his hand on his niece’s shoulder. “Dolly and I are eager to put some plans in place, aren’t we?”
The girl nodded. “Uncle Alex says I can pet the penguins when they move in and help feed them.”
I rolled my eyes. Who else would want to feed the penguins? Ido had already turned into a tourist mecca with all the weddings. What kind of unhinged visitors would a penguin habitat bring in? I’d have to talk to Lacey about that. Maybe we could keep it on the down low until we got closer to the wedding.
“Gramps, you want to wait out here or come to the back with us?” Alex asked.
“I’ll wait here.” Morty slumped into a chair and set his chin in his hands.
“Suit yourself.” Alex opened the door to the warehouse. “Shall we?”
