Page 142 of 1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Forty-Seven

Skye

“I can stay here on my own. I’ll be fine.” Violet taps her lip with the end of her pencil, but it almost goes up her nose.

“Honey, you’re only sixteen.”

“Legally you can leave me home on my own at fourteen,” she argues.

“Grandma and Grandpa Hall would love for you to stay with them for the weekend.” I haven’t broached the subject with them, but they love having Violet over.

“Oh, hell no. I have tutoring all day Saturday and there’s no way I’m spending Sunday playing Uno. I love Grandma and Grandpa, but they only watch bad sitcoms with laugh tracks. There has to be another option. What about Miller?”

“His grandparents are going to check in on him.”

“But he gets to stay on his own?” She crosses her arms.

“He’s seventeen, and he has hockey practice on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.”

“So why can’t I stay over there? He’s mostly an adult. That house is enormous. It’s not like they don’t have the room.”

I purse my lips. “I don’t know if that’s the best idea.”

“Why the heck not? I’m super responsible. He and I get along just fine.”

“He’s a teenage boy.”

“So?”

“What if he invites his friends over?” It’s a legitimate worry, considering my first introduction to Miller and his friend. Although that friend is in Toronto, getting ready for his first prohockey season, so he won’t be around to help Miller make bad choices.

“I have pepper spray. And I’ve taken self-defense lessons. I know to aim for the balls and then the throat and eyes. Please don’t make me stay with Grandma and Grandpa. Their house smells like cooked cabbage and farts.”

She’s not wrong. It’s not like my parents are all that old. I was barely in my twenties when I had Violet and they had me in their early twenties, but my dad loves sauerkraut, so the house always smells like bad gas. “Let me talk to Sidney.”

Violet throws her arms around me. “Yay! Thank you. I’m responsible. And if anything goes sideways, I can always defect to Grandma and Grandpa’s.”

“I haven’t said yes yet.”

“Right. Of course. I’ll hold my gratitude until after you’ve talked to your boyfriend.”

* * * *

“No parties,” Sidney says sternly.

“No parties.” Miller gives his dad the thumbs up.

“No parties.” Violet pushes her glasses up her nose.

“There’s a three-friend limit. And under no circumstances are you to invite Cliff over.”

“I know, Dad. He’s still grounded anyway and probably will be until he graduates.” Miller tucks his thumbs in his pockets and rocks back on his heels.

“There’s money in the junk drawer if you need to order food. I picked up half a dozen pizzas and two of them are lactose free for you, Violet.” Sidney smiles at my daughter.

“Thanks, Sid.”

“And we packed ramen in your overnight bag,” I remind her.

“I remember, thanks, Mom.” She glances between us. “If you forget to tell us something, you can always text. Or call us relentlessly and leave messages. We won’t set the house on fire.”

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