The mattress feels like I’m being punched in the back by a thousand fists. This is going to be a long night.
Just as I’m about to snap off the light, my new phone rings. I recognize the number. It’s from my mother’s house. “Hello?”
“Pane,” Natalie whimpers. “You’re not here. When are you coming home?”
I sigh. “It might be a while, kiddo.”
“But what about my bedtime book?”
I pinch the corners of my eyes. “I’ll have to grab a new one for you tomorrow. I don’t have anything tonight.”
“But how will I sleep?”
“What about a story? One that I make up.”
“I don’t know.”
Her voice makes me grin. “You’ll like it.”
“I’d better.”
Time to put my money where my mouth is. It takes about half a second before I’m spitting out, “Once upon a time, there was a princess named ... Sunbeam, and she smelled like wildflowers.”
I pause to gauge whether she likes the beginning, and when she prods me with, “Go on,” I continue.
“And this princess was the biggest pain in the neck you’ve ever met. In fact, it was her nickname—Princess Pain-in-the-Neck.”
The earth underneath me rumbles as if it doesn’t like me calling Rowe a pain in the neck. Too bad. It’ll just have to get used to it.
Through the phone’s speaker, Natalie giggles. “Tell me more about this princess.”
