Page 95 of Pied Sniper

“Hi, Victoria! Hi, Poppy!” I said, tickling them under their adorable chins. “Guys, I think we’re caught up. Let’s enjoy some family time while we have it.” With the guys thankfully agreeing to that idea, I took the little girls’ hands and they pulled me towards the kitchen. “Hey, Lily,” I called as we entered. “Poppy’s walking is great.”

“Victoria could already hop, skip and jump at Poppy’s age. Her coordination has always been excellent,” said Serena, my over-achieving, older sister. “And her fine motor skills are also outstanding.”

“Okay,” I said as I hugged Lily.

“She’s driving me nuts,” whispered Lily. “The competition is non-stop. Oh, thank goodness, Delgado arrived.”

“Honey,” cried Serena, throwing her arms around him.

“Maybe I should have sex with Jord on the floor right in front of her just to get one-up on her,” whispered Lily.

“Please don’t,” I said.

“Okay. I guess no one knows how Serena would retaliate to that.”

“Everyone, sit. Dinner is ready,” said Mom, pushing us into our chairs. I ended up opposite Maddox and between my cousin, Tara and Lily. Several cold dishes were already on the table. Someone passed a plate to me and I nearly swooned as a waft of garlic and carmelized onion hit my nostrils.

Then the dish was lifted out of my hands and Lily whispered, “Are you okay? You suddenly looked terrible.”

“Just light-headed, I think,” I replied, calculating the last time I ate. When I noticed Solomon also observing me, I mouthed, “I’m fine,” and he nodded.

“You look happy,” I said to Tara on my right. “How’re things going with Sadiq?”

“He’s the sweetest guy. We went to the movies and dinner last week and we’re going away for a weekend at the end of the month.”

“That’s exciting,” I said, “I’m so happy for you.” And I was. My cousin and Sadiq were great together and I was glad their dating was so successful.

“Did you take Poppy to yoga this week?” I asked Lily on my other side.

“No, she just started her new daycare so I wanted to get her settled in. She loves it so far. Everything is just her size!” giggled Lily.

“That’s great news!”

“They have the sweetest kids’ garden with swing sets and tricycles,” added Jord. “And a lot of police kids go there so their hours are really flexible.”

“Victoria got her first swimming certificate,” Serena announced loudly at the end of the table. “Her teacher said she’s a natural for swim team when she gets a little older. And she also counts really well and already knows addition and subtraction.”

“It’s true,” said Delgado proudly. “She can do simple sums.”

“They’re complicated for a child her age, but she’s already better than children twice her age!” Serena boasted to anyone who was listening, which were most of us since her braying voice carried.

“Butthead,” said Victoria before giggling when Serena’s mouth dropped open.

“I taught her that,” whispered Lily and I had to bite my cheek to keep from laughing.

“Butt butt butthead!” repeated Victoria.

“I think we’ll send her to private school,” said Serena after a moment. “I asked one of the other moms at Mandarin class after she raved about it.”

“You never went to private school,” said Mom. “None of you did.”

“It’s not about me, it’s about Victoria’s individual needs,” said Serena.

“Butthead,” said Victoria.

“Butthead,” yelled all the other kids in raucous joy as Victoria squealed with laughter.

“She needs to live up to her potential,” said Serena, ignoring them even though her nostrils flared indignantly. “I don’t want her to fail simply because I didn’t give her that first push.”

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