Bailey grinned. “That child has been waiting for her Aunt Charley time, and she is not impressed by your priorities.”
As if her little ears had heard their entire conversation, Sienna lifted one hand and made a tiny beckoning motion that somehow managed to look bossy.
Charley pressed a hand to her chest. “Wow. Okay. I’m being summoned.”
Alex laughed harder.
“Go,” Bailey said. “Before her horns start sprouting from her head.”
Still smiling, Charley pushed off the small table they were sitting at and headed back toward the table with Alex, Bailey, and Jessica beside her.
As soon as Sienna saw her moving, her whole face lit up, her earlier impatience vanishing in an instant.
About an hour later, Charley pushed her empty plate aside and sat back in her chair.
She watched from across the table as Sienna stuffed half a chicken tender into her mouth like somebody might try to snatch the rest off her plate. The little girl didn’t even slow down, just kept chewing with the fierce determination of someone on a mission.
She had so much food in her mouth that her little cheeks were puffed out. It made Charley laugh, and that was exactly what she needed after the long day.
With the grand opening finally behind her, she was happily content with the people around the table, especially the man sitting next to her.
However, the night was just getting started. Charley should’ve known better than to ask Sienna a question in public because Sienna didn’t just answer the question. She performed answers like full volume, full commitment, complete with sound effects and hand gestures that could probably qualify as an interpretive dance.
“Hey Sienna, how was your camping trip with your mom, dad, and your grandparents?”
Sienna’s head snapped toward her like she had been waiting her whole life for someone to ask. Long forgotten were those chicken tenders she had just been stuffing into her mouth moments ago.
Charley also didn’t miss how Irish’s hand froze with his fork halfway to his mouth, or the way Bailey’s eyes widened in immediate panic.
And just from the gleam in that little girl’s eyes, and her parents’ reactions, Charley knew she had basically just lit a fuse and handed a six-year-old the match.
Of course, the others at the table noticed as well. And judging from mom and dad’s reactions, Charley had a feeling that she should have ordered some popcorn before this discussion.
“IT WAS AWESOME!” Sienna announced so loudly that half the restaurant had turned to look at their table.
“Sienna, honey, inside voice,” Bailey said, with a look on her face as if she was pleading with her daughter not to say whatever it was she was about to.
“Iamusing my inside voice,” Sienna insisted, then immediately raised it another notch as she planted both of her hands on the table and leaned in. “The best part was when Grandma and Pop Pop took me out to get ice cream.”
“Oh, for fucks sake,” Irish mumbled, but Charley ignored him.
“You got to have ice cream?” Charley asked, and Sienna nodded.
“Yep. But wait until you hear what happened when we got back to the camper.”
Charley leaned in, acting as if she was on the edge of her seat.
“What happened?”
“When we got back to the camper, mommy was fighting a big bear!”
Charley, of course, could not resist. “Your mommy was fighting a big bear inside the camper?” she asked before taking a quick glance at Bailey, only to find that her face was as red as a stop sign.
Sienna nodded so hard that her pigtails were bouncing. “Yes! And the camper was rocking like this.” She then grabbed the edge of the table and shook her whole upper body, making the silverware rattle. “Like, WHOO—WHOO—WHOO! And mommy was screaming at the bear, and I think daddy was helping too, but I only heard him grunt a little.” She pinched her fingers close together to demonstrate a little.
Irish dropped his fork onto the plate with a clink and stared at the ceiling like he was trying to mentally request an emergency extraction. Bailey’s eyes were squeezed shut, trying to use her napkin as a shield. Ace and Ray’s shoulders were shaking. Both Alex and Jessica made a noise that sounded like a cough covering up a laugh. And Pierce had his hand over his mouth.
Charley, however, was enjoying this way too much. She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. “Then what happened?” Charley asked.
