Page 99 of Two Guys, a Girl, and a Tripod

“Can Sophie help you with your car seat?” I ask Opal as I set Violet in her seat. She nods. “You rock.”

“DoIrot, Untle B?” asks Violet, staring up at me. Sophie buckles Opal in on the other side of the car.

“You certainly do, beans.”

Despite the massive sugar overload, the girls are pleasant, if talkative, on the way back to their house. Raegan and Brett are renting a home in the southernmost part of Echo Park, just a short drive from the house where the party was held. Brett’s company has given them a potential date to move overseas. I’ll miss the girls like crazy, but such is the nature of my brother-in-law’s job.

“Ok, girls, what does Momma usually do for lunch?” I ask as I press my unique code into the keypad on the door. Brett Kincaid is all about the technology. I think they chose this home specifically for this and some of the other tech features. He’s a smart guy, but I wouldn’t have any of this stuff in my home.

“She lets us eat pizza!” shouts Opal, running inside ahead of me.

“No, she doesn’t.” Violet frowns, following after her sister at a much slower pace. Opal’s stern look–far more impressive given that she’s only six–causes her to change her tune. “I mean, yeah. We eat pizza every day.”

“Nice try, goobers.” I chuckle and close the door behind Sophie. “How about mac n’ cheese? Got any boxes?” I glance at Sophie. “You ok with that?” She grins.

“I love mac n’ cheese.”

“Yay, mat and cheeeeeese!” Violet yells, jumping up and down.

“Do you like pizza?” asks Opal. She comes to a stop by the couch before jumping onto it.

“Lovepizza,” Sophie replies, rolling her eyes backward just a little for emphasis.

“What’s your favorite food?” asks Violet, grabbing Sophie’s hand and dragging her toward the kitchen.

“Hmm, maybe chocolate cake.” She reaches out to take a paper towel from the holder on the counter behind Violet. Then she wets it in the sink and gently wipes some of the cake residue from Violet’s face. “Looks like it might be one of your favorites too.”

“I lite strawberry better.”

“Oh, strawberry’s a good one too.”

“Idon’t like cake. I like ice cream.” Opal pops up from the couch, resting her arms on the back. She’s tall for her age and even though I can’t see, I have a feeling she’s probably only kneeling.

“The chocolate on your shirt would say otherwise.” I nod at the bit of chocolate that clearly isn’t ice cream. It’s a small amount and I’m surprised there isn’t more.

“Well,sometimesI like cake.”

“There we go. Now, you guys grab two boxes of mac while Sophie and I start the water.”

Opal and Violet race to the walk-in pantry, their sneakers squeaking on the hardwood floor. Opal is first, swinging the door open wide. I hear things falling, bags of some kind, and a box or two before she and her sister reappear holding two boxes of the organic stuff my sister buys. I grimace at Sophie who has to hide a smile.

Plating up the pasta, along with some cut up vegetables, Sophie and I take seats with the girls at the kitchen table. While they eat, I can see that both pairs of eyelids are beginning to droop. The sugar is wearing off. Maybe that’s the reason for the morning party–afternoon naps. I’ve got to hand it to those parents. That’s kind of genius. I’ll have to remember that for… Sophie said she likes kids, but I have no idea if she wants any of her own.

It’s stillwaytoo early for that line of thinking.

After about three bites of mac and two pieces of bell pepper, Violet begins to push the food around on her plate. Her head is leaning on her hand, elbow resting on the table.

“You not hungry?” I ask. She shakes her head slowly. “Must’ve been all that cake.”

“Can we play a game?” Opal has already had seconds and cleaned her plate of both helpings.

“Take your dishes to the kitchen.” I stand to grab mine and Sophie’s empty plates, leading the way to the sink. “Then we can play. As long as you don’t fall asleep on me.”

The girls grab their plates and practically run to the kitchen, shouting a string of games like tag, hide and seek, red light, green light, and some I’ve never heard of. The last one is the one that catches though.

“Let’s play Simon Says!” Opal squeals as she sets her plate on the counter by the sink.

“That sound good to you?” I ask Sophie.

---