“I can do your hair in return.”
“Daddy needs his hair dyed pink,” Lavender announces.
“Today?” Cricket asks.
“Today,” Lav says.
“I’m helping Mabel finish the mother-in-law house today since we have guests coming next weekend,” I tell my daughter.
“That’s okay. Cricket and me have to find the hair dye.” Lav slides off the stool. “I’m ready. Torture me, please.”
Cricket covers a snort of laughter with a cough. “Torture you?”
“That’s what we call hair brushing time,” I tell her.
“When I was little, I hated having my hair brushed, so my parents cut it super short,” Cricket says.
Lav makes a face. “My hair shoots laser beams to help kill the dragons. I can’t cut it short or the laser beams won’t work.”
Cricket nods. “We all have priorities.”
My priority is finishing the mother-in-law house as fast as I can and finding a reason for Lav to stay at the main house while I get Cricket back here to pick up where we left off last night.
That’s what I can dotoday.
That’s what I’llenjoytoday.
“My priatitties are slaying dragons,” Lav says.
Priatitties.
I store that one away to write down later in the Lav Pronunciation Hall of Fame.
“You’re lucky you have family that supports you in your purpose this young in life,” Cricket says.
Lav nods. “I know. Don’t do anything fun without me.” She turns and dashes toward the bedrooms.
“Eggs?” Cricket says to me. “I cooked breakfast for Lav and me without burning or glittering anything today, so I think I can scramble up some eggs again.”
“I wantsomethingfor breakfast.” I take two steps toward her while she bites her lip and smiles at me, but Lav rushes back into the kitchen with her hairbrush like she never left.
Dammit.
Soon.
Sometime.
Eventually.
Eventually, I’ll have an hour alone with Cricket again.
Her cheeks have turned a soft, rosy color, and she turns back to the eggs on the counter beside the skillet. “Scrambled?” she asks me.
“Obviously.”
The look she shoots me—she knows.
She knows I mean she scrambles my brains.
