Page 24 of Grim

“Any idea when he’ll be coming back?”

“A couple of days? Maybe more.”

“So, what am I supposed to do until then?”

“That, I don’t know.”

“Well, I can’t just sit around here all day.”

He gave me a goofy shrug, then said, “You could take a nap? Or watch TV?”

“I’m not a nap kind of person.” I thought for a moment, then asked, “I could make breakfast?”

“I’d be good with that.”

“I’ll have to see what’s in the cabinets first.”

“Go for it.”

I gave him a nod, then walked over and started opening cabinets again. After a bit of hunting, I was able to find some flour, sugar, and a mixing bowl. I grabbed a frying pan and then, I was ready to roll.

I grabbed some eggs from the refrigerator and started tossing ingredients into the bowl. I’d just started whipping the batter when a sleepy-eyed little girl stumbled into the kitchen. Luna rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she muttered, "Momma?”

“Good morning, sweetie.” I lowered the whisk into the bowl, then went over and lifted her into my arms. “How’s my sweet girl this morning? Did you sleep okay?”

“Um-hmm,” she answered with a nod.

“Are you hungry?”

She nodded once again.

“Good, 'cause I’m making us some pancakes.” I carried her over to the kitchen counter and sat her down on one of the stools next to Skid. She glanced over at him but then nervously turned her attention back to me. Knowing she needed a little reassurance, I smiled and told her, “Skid’s going to eat with us. Is that okay?”

“Um-hmm.”

“Good. How about some juice?”

“Um-hmm.”

“You got it.”

I made her a sippy cup of juice and placed it in front of her, then got back to work on our pancakes. Luna and Skid watched as I poured the batter onto the sizzling skillet. Once they were golden brown, I stacked them on a plate and started on the eggs. Minutes later, we were all sitting at the counter and quietly eating. I couldn’t help but notice that Luna kept glancing over at Skid. Like me, she wasn’t sure what to make of him.

He must’ve noticed that she was unsure of him because he gave her a warm smile and said, “You’re a lucky girl. Your momma is a real good cook.”

She didn’t answer. She just sat there staring at him, so he kept at it.

“Your mom and I were talking about some things we could do today.” Skid glanced over at me as he said, “I was thinking we could watch a movie or something. Do you have a favorite movie?”

“Can-to.”

“Canto?” His brows furrowed. “I’m not sure I’ve heard of that one.”

“It’s Encanto,” I interjected. “It’s a Disney movie.”

“Sounds good to me. We could watch after we eat.”

Luna turned to me with a hopeful expression. “Can we, Momma?”

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