I put our plates in the dishwasher. “I had something bad happen to it and I lost part of it. Now I have this cool new leg, and I have others in my closet. I’ll show you sometime.”
“I lost two teef.”
“Did the tooth fairy come?”
“What’s a toof fairy?”
Everson needed to get his shit done before his little sister completely wrecked me.
“If you put your tooth under your pillow at night, then the tooth fairy takes it when you’re asleep and leaves money for you. I’m sure the next time you lose a tooth the tooth fairy willcome.”
The kid had me promising things I couldn’t guarantee, but I just couldn’t stop myself. Major diarrhea mouth. I wanted to see her smile, that and I didn’t want to cry anymore. Despite the missing leg and boyfriend-died part of my life, I had it good.
The best parents ever!
Four siblings.
A gaggle of nieces and nephews.
Friends.
A job.
Money.
Independence.
The man of my dreams in. The. Same. City!
Among Shayna’s few clothes, a toothbrush with gnarled bristles, several broken crayons, and a Matchbox car that looked like it had been run over by an actual car, there was a photo of a woman kissing a younger Shayna on the cheek. I picked up the photo.
“Mama and Shay.”
“This is your mama?” I narrowed my eyes, looking at Shayna and then back at the photo.
She nodded.
“Your mama was beautiful.”
Andwhite.
Andskinny…with nothing to hold on to.
“Mama love Shay.”
I smiled, handing the picture to her. “Yes, I’m sure your mama loved you very much.”
Shayna would be a heartbreaker, with her perfect, light mocha skin, and long curls that bounced with every move shemade. But those eyes… they held a lifetime, and they made me want to give her back every ounce of innocence I could give. Tooth fairies. Santa Claus. The Easter Bunny.
We played with Trzy, giggling at the never-ending fun she had with a laser pointer for almost an hour before there was a knock at the door.
“Oh!” I looked at Shayna with wide eyes. “I bet that’s Everson.”
She grinned and I knew everything would be OK for her.
“Hey!” I greeted Everson.
“Yeah, hey, how’s it going?”
