Trying to figure a way to make this right, I rumpled Riley’s hair and said, “Dude. It’s probably there. You just didn’t look hardenough.”
Casey flashed me her most hopeful face as if she thought maybe I hadn’t just ruined this boy’s faith in fictional fairies forever. Hell, I might as well just out Santa Claus while I’m at it. The grim shake of my head put an end to her optimism. Not only had I forgotten the Tooth Fairy, but I was also lying out my teeth to a seven-year-oldboy.
“Nope,” Syd said, her disappointment in us evident with every subsequent word she spoke. “We pulled the sheets off. No money. No note. Nonothing. ”
“The Tooth Fairy hates me.” Riley collapsed to the floor,sobbing.
“No. No, sweetheart. She loves you.” The kindness Casey spoke was reserved exclusively for Riley. I got nothing but angry eyes and a scornful mouth miming the word ‘Money.’
“It’s still early,” she explained to him. “Maybe the Tooth Fairy was just delayed. Why don’t we go to the bathroom and get cleaned up? Then we’ll look up her phonenumber,okay?”
Riley looked between us, his sad eyes devoid of trust, but because he had no other choice, he sucked up his snot and followed Casey to thebathroom.
Once the two had disappeared, I felt another scornful gaze burrowing into me. “Really, Rock Star?” Sydney said, planting her hand on her hip. “You can’t spare adollarbill?”
“That’s not the issue. I justforgot.”
“Who forgets the Tooth Fairy? You lose a tooth, you get the money. It’s notdifficult.”
“Yeah, Syd. I get the concept,” I said, grabbing for my wallet and hastily opening it up. Shit! I only had fifties andhundreds.
“Go snag me Casey’s purse from the front room,” I demanded of my niece, sweat now dampening my forehead. Sydney took off in the opposite direction as I searched the drawers for loose change. She came back panting. “I can’tfindit.”
“You can’t find the purse?” I blurted out a little more aggressively than I would haveliked.
“Hey, don’t shoot themessenger.”
“Okay, sorry. Do you have anymoney?”
“I’mten.”
“Right. I’ve got to think.” Then it hit me… Lassen. He’d have change. But just as I was about to run to the front of the bus, I heard Casey call out a warning loud enough for metohear.
“Let’s go see if the Tooth Fairy made ithereyet.”
“Shit!” I whisper-swore.
Sydney’s eyes widened as she slapped her hands over her mouth and started jumping up and down. Damn, she dealt with stress worse than me. Out of options, I grabbed a fifty out of my wallet and slid it under his pillow just as the bathroom door swung open and Riley ran for his bed. Syd squeaked and buried her head in mystomach.
Gripped with anxiety, Casey rushed to my side. “Please tell me you took careofit?”
“Oh, he took care of it, all right,” Sydney said, finding great amusement in our sharedtrials.
We heard Riley gasp and then a sudden whoop of happiness. “No way!” he yelled. “A fifty-dollarbill?”
Casey gaped at me. “You can’t give him fifty dollars, Jake. The going rate for a toothisone.”
“Yeah, well, you could’ve given me a couple more minutes to secure theransom.”
Casey might not have been thrilled by the dollar amount, but one person sure was. Riley was thoroughly delighted by the generosity of the tour bus Tooth Fairy, and he let his happiness soar, shouting to the heavens as he kissed his fifty-dollar bill. “I love you, Tooth Fairy,” he proclaimed. “And I’m sorry I called you adiarrheahead.”
“See?” I said to Casey. “He’s happy. Disasteraverted.”
Syd nodded her head in agreement. “I’m knocking my tooth outtonight.”
* * *
Although I’d provenmy lack of trustworthiness with the Tooth Fairy incident, people kept giving me more chances to screw up. And when I said people, I meant Casey. She seemed to have more faith in me than I was worth. The kids had been with us nearly three weeks, and during that time, Casey had taken on the vast majority of childcare. She’d been wearing thin from daily outings with Sydney and Riley, working her freelance job, and making sure the kids were emotionally secure, all while I continued on with my normalroutine.
