Page 111 of Could Have Been Us
He kisses her temple before telling me, “We’ll grab our stuff and come right over.”
I head to Jennie, let her know the plan, and then move the table over. Kinsley has moved closer to Stella, leaving room for me on her other side.
“What exactly are we saying?” I ask Stella and Kinsley.
Kinsley answers first. “The truth. My mother always said it’s the only answer, no matter how hard it is.”
“Your mother was one of the best people I ever knew.”
She looks up at me with watery eyes. “She really was.”
Kinsley goes stiff as Grayson approaches. He does his best not to gawk at her while they all file in.
Stella speaks, but her voice is shaky. “Kinsley, this is my brother, Grayson. My sister-in-law, Jessica, and that little monster down there is Amelia.”
“It’s really great to meet you,” Grayson says first.
Kinsley chews on her lower lip. “You too.”
“I’m Amelia Jane Parkerson!” Melia offers up.
“I’m Kinsley Rose Elkins,” she says back to her.
“Are you new here?”
Kinsley nods. “Yup.”
“Do you like dolls?”
“I used to.”
“I love dolls. They’re fun. You can play with my dolls if you want. I’ll probably get new dolls soon for my birthday. Daddy and Mommy had me make a list for my party. I put a lot of dolls on it.”
Kinsley smiles a real smile this time. “That’s really smart of you.”
“I like to dance too. Do you like dancing? I’m not very good. Mrs. Butler says I’m ex-exhas-ber-ate-eating, whatever that means.”
Stella groans. “You are not that, Melia. You are a great dancer.”
“Thanks, Auntie.” She beams at her.
“I swear, we should run that woman out of town,” Jessica says to Stella.
“Who is that?” Kinsley asks.
Jessica turns her attention to Kinsley. “Mrs. Butler is the owner of the dance studio. She’s been there since I was a kid, and I swear she was a hundred then. She’s mean and made my best friend, Delia, and I cry a lot.”
“That sounds horrible.” Kinsley looks to Stella. “Did you dance?”
Grayson and I burst out in laughter, which earns us a glare from her.
Grayson is the one to explain. “Stella is the worst dancer I’ve ever seen. She has two left feet and a peg leg.”
Stella sticks her tongue out at him. “Don’t listen to him, I was a talent before my time. What they now call contemporary is what I was good at.”
Grayson snorts. “That was called flailing around.”
Kinsley giggles. “I can’t dance either.”
