Now I stepped into the fray. “You know what, Syd? I don’t like that attitude. You might have been able to walk all over us on the plane, but that was only because we were just getting our sea legs. Now that Jake and I know how you operate, we’re not going to let you take advantage of us anymore.Gotit?”
Sydney glanced between the two of us, no doubt trying to determine how much control she could relinquish without selling her soul. Finally she folded her arms in front of her and said, “I’msorry.”
It wasn’t exactly a sincere apology, but it was the most she’d offered since I’d been around her all week, so I was inclined to take it. I gave her a quick hug. “Now, go brushyourhair.”
Riley looked up at Kyle, his face scrunched in confusion. “Sea legs? Were we onaboat?”
Kyle just shrugged his shoulders as if he too were baffled by the analogy. Yeah, maybe he hadn’t been the best choice inbabysitters.
Riley didn’t makeit past the third song before he slid to the floor and fell asleep on my foot. No joke – I looked down, and he was out. Too bad sleep wasn’t that easy for the rest of us. I had to get him back to the bus, and I knew instinctively Sydney would not go willingly. My stomach did a little ‘punch in the gut’ number at just the thought of the confrontation that was sure to follow. In fact, by the time it was over, Riley would probably be wide awake again and bouncing off the walls for the rest of thenight.
For the umpteenth time that day, I felt wholly unqualified to be calling myself their caregiver. As evidenced by the flight this afternoon, I was no mother. I could barely be called an acceptable babysitter. Sydney and Riley deserved better; but unfortunately they weren’t going to get it because when you draw the short end of the stick in life, you just had to learn tomakedo.
Stop procrastinating.It was time to deliver the news. My hands broke out in a sweat and I swallowed the lump in my throat. It was best just to get this over with. I looked to Syd and opened my mouth to speak, but something in her demeanor stopped me. It wasn’t how engrossed she was in the concert, or the way she was watching Jake’s every move with unblinking fascination. No, it was that peculiar little smile on her face. Wait a minute. I knew that look. That wasn’t just pride in her uncle. Oh, no. Like millions of girls the world over, little Sydney Caldwell had a crush… on myhusband.
Ten. She was ten years old. And when I say ten, I’m talking she just turned that number. A few months ago, she was still in the single digits! This was not good. Why hadn’t I seen this before? Had I just not been paying attention, or was it a recent thing? I was going to have to tread lightly here. The last thing I wanted to do was squash her spirit, because if there was one thing I was certain of, it was that my niece couldn’t take any moreheartbreak.
“Casey?” Syd interrupted my mini panic attack by pulling on my hand. She looked up at me with tired brown eyes, and like I had been many times since the death of her mother and father, I was struck by the change in this little girl. She used to sparkle all the time, but now it seemed as if a filter had been put in place to dull andsubdueher.
“Yeah,sweetie?”
“Riley needs to sleep.” She pointed down tomyfeet.
“Ya think?” I grinned. The kid was now sprawled out on the floor, the noise-canceling earpieces doing their jobbeautifully.
“I know you’re enjoying theshow,but…”
She shook her head. “I wanttogo.”
“Youdo?”
Tears pooled in her eyes. Syd frowned and wiped them away with hersleeve.
“Are you okay?” I asked, hugging her to me. “What’swrong?”
Then came the downward flow as she broke into sobs. I stood there unprepared and helpless. What had I been thinking, bringing her here? She clearly wasn’t ready to leave the safety of her grandparents. Holding her to me tightly, I grabbed my phone and dialed. He answered on tworings.
“Kyle, Ineedyou.”
Kyle gently placedRiley in the bunk bed as I extracted theearplugs.
“You sure that’s a good idea?” Kyle whispered, glancing over at Sydney, who was still sniffling and blowing her nose. “The earplugs seem likekeepers.”
“Honestly, I don’t know. I’m not doing a good job with these kids. I think I made a mistake bringing them here,” I said, tucking Riley in and covering him with ablanket.
“You’re doing fine. Can I give you asuggestion?”
“Please.”
“Don’t dwell on her tears. Don’t even mention them. Some people prefer to suffer alone. Sydney strikes me as oneofthem.”
“But she’s so young. Shouldn’t I try to get her to talk to me? Find out why she’scrying?”
“You already know why. Her parents are dead. Nothing you say or do is going tochangethat.”
“Are you suggesting I just ignore italtogether?”
“No. Let her know she can come to you, but don’t push her. She’s proud. Crying pisses her off. If you highlight it or make a big deal out of it, you’ll only alienatehermore.”
