Page 43 of Annika's Aurora

“Okay.” Her tiny voice made Annika’s heart squeeze in sympathy.

“I read about these guys in a book once. There were three of them. Their names were Ickle-me, Pickle-me, and Tickle-me-too. Aren’t those silly names?”

“Those were their names?” she asked in disbelief.

Annika nodded. “Wanna know what they did together?” Rachel nodded, and Annika recited the Shel Silverstein poem.

“They went for a ride in a flying shoe?” Rachel laughed. “I wish I had one of those.”

“Me too. It would be fun to fly in a shoe, don’t you think?”

Rachel wrinkled up her nose. “Unless it was a stinky shoe.”

Annika laughed, wrinkling up her own nose. “You’re right. I hadn’t thought of that. We’ll just have to find a brand-new shoe to fly off in. One that hasn’t had feet in it to stink it up,” she reasoned, tweaking the girl’s nose. She giggled, and Annika’s heart felt lighter.

Jolene pointed behind Rachel. “Look, Rachel. Your grandparents are here.” An older couple was walking toward them, obvious worry etched into their faces.

Rachel jumped up and ran to them. “Look, Nona. Look what Annika did with my hair! Isn’t it pretty?”

“It’s lovely,” the grandmother replied.

Rachel’s grandfather scooped her up into his arms. “Who is this pretty young lady? Can this possibly be my little Rachel-bean?” Rachel giggled and squeezed her grandfather around the neck. The trio walked over to Jolene. “Thank you for calling us.”

“Of course,” Jolene replied, as Rachel squirmed to be let down.

She grabbed her Nona’s hand, dragging her to the jukebox while talking excitedly about the songs they chose.

The grandfather sighed sadly. “We’ve tried everything we can think of to get Rob to stop drinking. Carlie’s death hit him pretty hard. But he can’t continue to neglect his daughter. I filed papers yesterday to get temporary custody of Rachel.”

“That’s probably for the best,” said Jolene in sympathy.

“She doesn’t need to watch her father implode,” Natalie remarked. “That’s something no child would ever be able to recover from.”

“Thanks for distracting her from Rob. You’re right; she doesn’t need to see him implode.”

Jolene pulled Annika to her side. “That was all Annika’s doing. She shoved right past Rob before any of us even noticed Rachel standing there.”

He held out his hand to Annika, who took it in hers. “Thank you.”

“She’s a very sweet girl. I’m very sorry for your loss.” He nodded.

“Ready to go, Poppa?” Rachel ran to Annika and threw herself into her arms. “Thank you, Annika. I love my hair! I hope I can see you again sometime,” she said hopefully. “And maybe you could tell me more stories like Ickle-me, Pickle-me, and … I’ve forgotten the last one.”

“Tickle-me-too,” Annika said, tickling the girl under her chin, eliciting those sweet giggles only children are capable of. “Next time I see you, I’ll bring the book. We can read it together.”

“Yay!”

“Merry Christmas!” she called after handing the girl off to her grandfather with sudden tears in her eyes. Johanna came to stand beside her and linked her arm with Annika’s.

“You have a heart of gold, Sweetie.” Johanna beamed at her.

“Are you sure you’re not an elementary school teacher?” Natalie asked.

Annika laughed. “Nah. I just like books. She looked so sad I thought the poem might cheer her up.”

Logan put an arm around her shoulder. “You’ll soon learn that Annika is an unlimited fount of literary quotes. She’s got a quote for every occasion.”

“‘There’s not a word yet, for old friends who’ve just met,’” Annika quoted.

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