Me:
Tomorrow doesn’t work for me. Another time?
Claudia:
I’ll look into their availability.
Me:
Thank you.
My eyes catch the calendar, see apples on Monday, and deduce that school begins for both Hildy and Lucy that day. We have a home game against San Jose, and see that tomorrow, Friday, both have doctors’ appointments.
Interesting…
I hear the blow dryer turn off and Lucy call out, “I’m ready to read.” I head down the hall.
She’s climbing onto the bed, pajamas on, hair still a little damp at the ends. She reaches for her pillow, fluffs it once, then looks up at me and tilts her little head in thought.
“Last night,” she says.
Hildy pauses halfway to the light switch. “Last night what?”
Lucy points at me. “You read.”
I nod. “I did.”
“And Hildy was here,” Lucy continues, eyes flicking between us, making sure we’re following.
“Yes,” Hildy says carefully.
“So,” she says, drawing the word out, “that’s how it goes now.”
Hildy and I exchange a look.
“That’s how what goes?” Hildy asks.
Lucy sighs, like adults are exhausting.She’s not wrong.“Bath. Teeth. Hair. Reading.” She taps each finger as she names them. “But reading is both.”
“Both,” I repeat.
Lucy nods. “When you’re home.”
Hildy sits on the edge of the bed. “Is that a rule?”
Lucy considers this and tilts her head to the other side. “Yes.”
“And what if one of us is busy?” Hildy asks gently.
Lucy thinks again, slower this time. “Then it’s different,” she decides. “But when Lenzin is here, it’s like last night.”
I smile before I can stop myself as I settle in next to her, as Hildy reaches for the book on the nightstand. Lucy immediately scoots closer, tucking herself between us like she’s solved a puzzle.
I rest my arm around her as Hildy opens the book.
“This is a good rule,” Lucy says, already yawning.
It isn’t a tradition yet, but it’s close.
