“No. I have my toyth. I’m very thtrong.” He’s a foot away from May when he opens his arms and drops everything in a giant pile. Pieces of toys along with whole action figures scatter in all directions like shrapnel from a bomb. He walks over to his aunt and holds his hands up in expectation.
May puts Melody down and takes Sammy into an embrace. He clings to her like a baby monkey, wrapping his arms around her neck and his legs around her waist, burying his face in her chest.
Her arms wrap around him and squeeze. She closes her eyes and inhales the scent of his hair. “I missed you, Sammers. Nobody gives little boy hugs like you do.”
“My hugth are the betht, aren’t they?”
“They’re not better than mine,” says Melody, frowning at her brother.
May is too sly for their games. “Sammy, you give the best little boy hugs, and Melody, you give the best little girl hugs, and Sophie gives the best big girl hugs.”
Sophie rolls her eyes. “I knew you were going to say that.”
Attempting to head off an argument, I speak up. “Okay, kids, who’s ready to go have some dinner?”
Sammy wriggles out of May’s arms and drops to the floor, running over to grab his Spider-Man and Superman action figures. “I’m ready!” He holds them both out in flying position, Superman head first and Spider-Man butt first. Sammy has told me many times this is how Spider-Man prefers to get around, and I’m not one to argue; I really don’t know him that well.
Melody raises her hand. “Me! I’m ready!”
Sophie rolls her eyes. “Whatever.”
May reaches over and tickles Sophie’s neck, making her giggle a little. I can tell my daughter would rather not be reacting like that, but May knows her sensitive spot.
“What’s up with this whatever stuff?” May asks my oldest. “Since when are we saying whatever to each other?”
“Didn’t you hear?” I ask. “It’s the latest thing with all the big kids. And since Sophie is a big kid, she’s decided it needs to be an integral part of her vocabulary.”
“Well, if she says it when I’m here, she’s going to get it.” May gives her niece a fake stern look.
Sophie gets a sly little smile. “Whatever.”
May lunges at her, and she runs off shrieking to the kitchen.
May looks at me, pausing between the family room and the hallway. “Are we all set? Is there anything special you need me to do?”
I shake my head. “No, I don’t think so. Their dinner’s there on the table, there’s some sorbet for dessert, and you know where to find all their stuff. They’ve already had their baths, and Sophie’s homework is done. All you have to do is have fun.” I try to sell it with a big smile.
May’s not buying it. Her expression softens. “Don’t be nervous, sweetie. You’ve got this. You know what you’re doing, and Lucky is a nice guy.”
I nod. “He is a nice guy. I’m not worried about Lucky at all. Although, honestly, May, he’s a little bit too good-looking, don’t you think?”
“I know,” she says, enthusiastically. “It’s weird, right? It blew me away when I first met him, but I don’t notice it so much anymore. The more you’re around him the less you’ll be distracted by it.”
“I hope so.”
“Hmmm, is there a little somethin’-somethin’ going on there maybe?” she asks in a suggestive tone.
I shake my head vigorously. “No way. Seriously, don’t even go there. I am not interested.”
May uses her coy voice on me next. “That’s good, because I think somebody would be a little bit disappointed if he found out you were interested in Lucky.”
My heart does a little double skip followed by a triple skip. “What are you talking about?” I’m trying so hard to be coy like she is, but I’m not sure it’s working.
“Don’t play. You know exactly who I’m talking about. Dev.”
“Oh. Dev?” I shrug, playing it so cool. “He’s pretty nice. He took me and Sammy to McDonald’s the other day.”
“Oh, believe me, I heard about it.”
I’m seized by the sudden need to know every single detail. I walk over to my sister and grab her arm, breathing my hot breath right in her face. “Tell me!”
She starts to walk toward the kitchen, pulling her arm from my kung fu grip. “Sorry, Sis, but you have to get to work. We can talk about this later.”
I whine at her. “But I want to know nowwww . . .”
She laughs. “Don’t worry; I’ll give you all the dirty details when you come home.”
“But I might not be back until four o’clock in the morning.”
Her teasing voice disappears in an instant. “Don’t wake me up. I don’t want to be up before six.” She goes back to smiling. “But I will have breakfast with you, and we can talk all about it then. And you can tell me about your exciting night working with the handsome Lucky doing undercover ops.”
A dark cloud instantly settles over me. “Don’t say that.”
“Don’t say what?”
“Don’t say undercover ops. This is just a job. I’m the person on the no-risk crew. Lucky and I don’t get involved in all that commando bullshit.”