Page 17 of Stick Play

“I heard them and got them all rounded up and quiet so you could get some sleep.” He steals a fast glance at the clock on the microwave. “You’re not late, are you?”

“Nope. I have time for pancakes too.” His phone pings, and he pulls it from his back pocket and quickly reads a message. I note that he doesn’t message back as I reach into the batter, and dab Zoe’s nose.

“Mommy,” she bellows, and then I do the same to Camryn and Tate.

“Gina,” Camryn shrieks as Tate laughs. Camryn grabs the paper towel and wipes her little brother’s nose first. The two of them are so cute together. Camryn is seven and Tate is only two, and she’s like a mother to him. Would Zoe be like that if I had another child? Wait, where the heck did that thought come from?

“Don’t even think about it,” Ash says, pulling my attention back. He holds his big hands up, palms out.

I laugh and grab for the milk in the fridge. “Mommy,” Zoe begins, her voice questioning.

“What’s up, buttercup?”

“Camryn and Tate have a daddy. How come I don’t have a daddy?”

6

Ash

Well, at least there’s nothing awkward about that question…

“I…uh…” Gina stumbles, her brow punching together as she searches for an answer.

Zoe continues to stir. “Camryn told me she used to only have a daddy, but then he married Brighton and now she has a mommy too. Do you have to get married for me to have a daddy?”

I can practically hear Gina’s brain spinning when she sputters, “I…uh…”

“What is getting married?” Tate asks.

“I told you,” Camryn pipes in. “It’s when a boy puts a ring on a girl’s finger, and then they sleep in the same bed, and they kiss.”

She slaps her hands to her face as she draws that one word out. Tate crinkles up his nose. “I don’t want to kiss a girl.”

All right then…Time to shut this down.

I grab the pan I found under the cupboard earlier. “Okay, who’s ready to cook their pancake first?”

“Me, me, me,” they all shout in unison.

Gina briefly closes her eyes and when they open again, she gives me a grateful look. I guess she hadn’t prepared herself for Zoe’s question. I don’t know anything about kids, but I do remember asking my father why I didn’t have a mother. I’m sure Gina asked her grandparents a few questions of her own as well.

“How about we go youngest to oldest? Tate, you’re up first.”

I hold on to him as I slide his chair around to the counter, setting him a good distance away from the stove. “Do you kiss girls?” he asks me and scrunches up his face like he just ate something sour. “I don’t want to do that.”

Oh yeah, buddy. That’ll change one day.

“I’m not married,” is all I say. “Gina, do you still have strawberries in the fridge?”

She heads to the fridge. “Strawberries, yes.”

“Zoe,” Camryn says and grabs her wooden spoon. “Stop stirring.”

“But I have lumps.”

“You want lumps.” Camryn looks into Zoe’s bowl. “Right there. They’re wish lumps.”

Zoe checks out the lumps. “Wish lumps? What are wish lumps?”

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