Even though I’ve never spent any time around kids before in my life.Ever.Shifting the brown grocery bag to my other hand, I knock on the door of Presley’s apartment.
“Kade!” the voice on the other side shouts. The door swings open and I gaze down at Poppy. “Hi.”
“Hi, Poppy.”
“Mom said you’d be coming over tonight.”
“I hope that’s okay,” I say, walking inside and shutting the door behind me.
“Yeah. Do you want to color with me?”
I spot her nanny putting books away in her bag. “Give me a minute and then I’m all yours.”
“Okay.”
“Thanks for covering tonight. I have an exam I have to study for.”
“No worries, Becca,” I say. “Anything I need to know?”
“Bed time is at eight and she’s already picked out the books she wants to read, so you should be all set. Her pajamas are on her bed, and Strawberry is tucked in already.”
I smile. “The goose.”
“The goose,” she repeats. “She can’t sleep without it.”
“I’m glad we know where it is then.”
My sister used to have meltdowns if she didn’t have her teddy bear when she was little. I can only imagine it’s the same with Poppy.
“If you need anything, I left my number on the counter.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
I wave her off and shut the door behind her, locking it, before toeing off my boots and heading to the kitchen table where Poppy has papers and markers spread out.
“What are you working on?”
“It’s a picture of me riding Lollipop.”
It’s a small circle on top of a brown oval. “It looks great.”
I lie through my teeth. I mean, that’s what you’re supposed to do for kids, right? I can’t tell one thing from another. But because it’s Poppy, I’ll tell her anything she does is done well.
“Do you want me to add you?”
“Only if there’s room.”
“What color do you want to be?” she asks.
“You pick.”
She looks at me, concentration written all over her face. “You seem like an orange person.”
“Orange? Hmm. I don’t think I’ve ever thought about what color I am.”
“Well, you feed Lollipop carrots and those are orange.”
I smile at her, passing over the correct marker. “That’s sound logic.”
