“What about Ramen when we sleep here?”
“Dillon will take care of him,” I explained. “Eventually, he can come stay, too.”
“He’ll be friends with Beef Jerky,” Lyric said and climbed off the bed. “Mama, did you see the cage?”
Nova nodded and followed Lyric out to the corner cage. I stayed with Skylar, who was watching the lava lamps.
“I can get one of them for your room.”
“This room?”
“Your room at your house.”
Skylar looked around. “Are we moving here?”
“Not all the time. Sometimes, I’ll be at your house.”
“What about school?”
“We’ll stay here on the weekends. But for today, we’ll only hang out until dinner time. Your mom is worried you’ll be scared to stay overnight.”
Skylar shrugged. “I’m not scared. The boogeyman can’t come here.”
Smiling, I followed Skylar out to the family room. For the next forty minutes, the girls explored the condo. They liked my pumpkin patch photos and the pool table. Eventually, we headed upstairs to my bedroom.
“Should I get one of those safety gates for the condo?” I asked Nova as I held Skylar’s hand.
Nova flashed me a tight smile. “That might work, but they’re old enough to be told not to come upstairs alone.”
“Why?” Skylar asked. “Is it dangerous?”
“You’ll be up high,” I said as we reached the loft. “You could fall and get hurt.”
The girls frowned in unison. They didn’t like anything that might cause pain. I’d been the same way as a kid. Meanwhile, Goldie would push situations until she was crying and bleeding.
The girls noticed the lava lamps on my dresser. After taking a picture of them, entranced by the dancing colorful blobs, I sent it to my mom.
Yarrow responded immediately, “I want to meet them again.”
“Soon.”
“Now.”
“In a few weeks.”
Refusing to budge, Yarrow texted, “On Monday.”
“Next weekend.”
“How about Wednesday?”
“I think next weekend would be best.”
Yarrow didn’t respond for a while, and I worried she was on her way to Little Memphis.
“My mom might show up,” I warned Nova. “She’s gone silent.”
Nova frowned at my phone. “Is that bad?”
