Page 1 of The Forever Play

CHAPTER 1

SIENNA

“Say hi to Grammy, Zoey.” I point at my phone screen while my parents wave, their smiles wide and dopey as they try to interact with their granddaughter from miles away.

I miss them.

I want to tell them, but I can’t because convincing them to go on this cruise took so much effort. I can’t go making them feel bad about finally putting themselves first for once.

They left a month ago and get back in February. Six months cruising the globe. It’s pretty epic… and some days I wish I had accepted their offer and gone with them. But I could tell they really needed a break, and the adult-only cruise was the one they wanted the most. They would have compromised for me, but they’ve been doing that so much over the last few years, and I can’t ask them to do it anymore.

So, here I am, with my butt on the couch in the small university town of Nolan and my two-year-old crawlingall over my lap while my parents lounge on the upper deck, drinking mimosas and giggling at Zoey’s antics.

“Gamee, look!” Zoey shouts, pulling a face that cracks my parents up.

My dad sticks out his tongue and crosses his eyes, making Zoey giggle.

“Me! Me!” she shouts, sticking her fingers in her mouth and stretching her lips wide while growling like a monster and drooling like a bulldog.

Gross.

No one ever warned me how much fluid came out of baby humans.

I swipe my finger under her chin, catching the worst of her saliva and wiping it on her already stained shirt. Seriously. The washing never ends, and now that I’m not living with my parents anymore, I’mreallynoticing it. I had no idea how much they’d been doing for me in the background. Moving in with my old family friend, Russell, has been a huge adjustment. This solo mom life is freaking hard.

“Zoey Moey Pa-Poey, my sweet girl, what are you going to do with Mommy today?” my dad asks.

Zoey shrugs, then starts picking her nose.

I gently pull her hand away from her face and brush her messy curls back while I smile at the screen. “We’re thinking maybe the park? It’s a nice, sunny day.”

“Pak!” Zoey raises her hands in the air and squeals. “Les go!”

I wince against the high-pitched sound and grin at her. “We’re just gonna finish talking to Grammy and Papa first, okay?”

“Go now?” Zoey gives me her puppy dog eyes.

I bop her nose with my finger. “Soon.”

“Now.” Her eyebrows dip together, and I laugh at her.

“Soon.”

Her lip starts to pull into that cute little pout of hers—manipulation number three. “Now.”

I give her a pointed look. “Soon.”

“You can get going if you want, sweetie,” Mom assures me, but I’m not letting my two-year-old dictate the schedule.

“She’s okay.” I move my head so I can see around Zoey’s curls and smile at my parents. “We’ll finish up our call and then get ready.”

“Now, Mommy! Now!” Zoey starts to kick her legs, so I lift her off my lap and am about to tell her she can sit and play on the floor until I’m ready, but then Russell breezes in, pushing up his Henley shirt sleeves in that habitual way of his.

“Snacks! Snacks in the kitchen for anyone who needs an energy boost before going to the park!” He’s announcing it to the room as if it’s filled with people.

Zoey’s hand shoots into the air. “Me! Me snacks!”

“Come and get your snacks in the kitchen.”

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