I winced but didn’t have the heart to tell her no. So I said, “Well, I’ve been hanging out with your uncles.”
“I have, like,a lotof uncles, Aunt Ellie,” she said with a deep sigh, as though it were truly wearing to keep track of her family members.
Another laugh slipped out of me. It was amazing how talking to children forced a bit of personality back into you. Forced you to be a different version of yourself. “Sully and Theo.”
“Oh.” Some mental calculations on her part. “Are you in Minnesota?”
“I am,” I said. “I’ve seen your grandma, too. I stayed with her for a bit.”
“Does she have any new puppies?”
“Shealwayshas new puppies.”
“True!” Chloe’s voice grew further away for a second before she came back with snacks, if I had to guess. She sounded like she was chomping on something as she pondered aloud, “My mom told me that when I was younger, you dated Uncle Sully. Is that true?”
Inwardly, I sighed.
Outwardly, I tried to keep my voice bright.
“Yeah, Chlo. That’s true.”
“Really?” she squealed. “Maybe since you’re back in Minnesota, you could date him again. That would be, like, really cool.”
“Would it?” I breathed, struggling with what else to say.
“Um,yeah.”
I sucked in a breath before slowly exhaling.
“Well, Chloe?—”
I was well on my way to coming up with a media-trained sort of answer (because yes, fifth graders were surely as terrifying an interviewer as those people who yell things at you along the red carpet), when she cut in.
“It’s just that Mom was telling me how people who are inrelationships are supposed to have things in common, and one of the reasons that she’s no longer with Dad is because they didn’t really agree on things anymore.”
Slightly stunned by this change in topic, but not complaining about it, I said, “Yeah, that’s true, Chlo.”
“And remember when you used to live with us when I was in, like, kindergarten?”
I was not following where we were going with this, but at this point, I was along for the ride. “Sure do.”
“And you made me build LEGOs with you when you babysat me?”
I decided not to inform her that there was nosin LEGO. “I don’t think Imadeyou.”
“You did,” she said matter-of-factly and then immediately backtracked. “Well, you didn’t. But I only did it to be nice. Because you were kind of sad sometimes, and you seemed less sad when we’d do that.”
My lips parted, but no words came out.
“Andanyway, ugh, do you know who else thinks I like LEGOs?”
“Who?” I asked weakly.
“Uncle Sully!” She practically screamed his name—two parts excited and one part exasperated. “He sends me pictures of the things he makes because I thinkhethinks I care?—”
“Ouch, Chloe,” I laughed.
“No, I mean, they’re cool! But I’m justsaying, maybe he should send the pictures to you instead! Because that’s something you guys have in common, right?”
