Page 66 of Laws of Love
“This is so cool!” Yasmine exclaimed, and Aiva couldn’t help but smile at the child’s excitement. “Which room is mine?”
“You can choose whatever room you want, Yas,” Knox stated.
She skipped off with her Princess Tiana backpack to look at a bedroom. “I’ll take this one. Ms. Aiva, do you want the one beside me?”
“Sure, sweetie. We can unpack together,” Aiva answered with a smile.
“I guess that means I’m over here,” Knox stated, gesturing to the room on the other side of the suite.
“This is the girl’s side, and that’s the boy’s side,” Yasmine announced.
Aiva turned her attention to Knox. “I’ll help Yasmine unpack, and then we can start day one of fun.”
“You sure you don’t mind?” Knox asked.
“Not at all,” Aiva responded.
Knox carried Yasmine’s suitcase into her chosen room and placed it inside the door before he grabbed Aiva’s and put it inside the other room.
“Come on. Let’s get unpacked, and then we’ll get your dad to take us to lunch,” Aiva stated as she and Yasmine walked into her bedroom.
As they unpacked, Yasmine told her everything she wanted to see and the souvenirs she wanted to buy. Her excitement was palpable, and Aiva felt it wash over her. She’d been toDisney Worldonce when she was younger, so it would be a lie if she said she wasn’t a little excited. She’d been glad when she realized she didn’t have anything she couldn’t push off or work on remotely at night during the week of the trip. That way, she could attend.
“It’s your turn now, Ms. Aiva,” Yasmine stated after they took her toiletry bag into the bathroom. She took Aiva’s hand and pulled her from the room to where Aiva would be staying. “What are you most excited about?”
Aiva unzipped her suitcase. “Seeing the characters. I thought we could take pictures with as many of them as possible and pictures of us having fun and make a vacation scrapbook when it’s over. What do you think, Yasmine?”
“That sounds like so much fun, and Ms. Aiva, you can call me Yas. I’m only ever called Yasmine when I’m in trouble.”
Aiva smiled at her. “Then I’m sure you don’t hear it often.”
“No, just sometimes.”
Aiva put her clothes away in the dresser, placed a few of the items she brought on hangers, and hung them in the closet. She stored her suitcase in the closet, and she and Yasmine returned to the living room, where Knox sat on the couch.
“Did you get everything all squared away?” he asked.
“We did. There’s a bathroom between our rooms, and I put Yas’ bath items in there.”
“Daddy, can we have lunch now? I’m hungry.”
“Sure, Yas. There are some themed restaurants. Let’s go to one of those.”
Aiva adjusted her cross-body, and the three left the hotel suite. Yasmine slid her hand into Aiva’s as they stepped onto the elevator. Knox told Yasmine she could push the button for the first floor, and she smiled brightly.
Aiva always found herself smiling when her younger siblings fell into childish wonder at that age. It was always a reminder of how small things could brighten someone’s day and that no one was more pure in excitement than a child. It was contagious, to say the least.
When the doors opened on the first floor, Yasmine asked Knox to pick her up since she’d been walking all day, to which he chuckled before doing so. He then took Aiva’s hand in his free one, and they walked to the front desk.
They were staying at the resort, so they had plenty to do when they weren’t taking in the park. The concierge service was a fountain of information. They got a few suggestions and a map with the locations circled. Each was within walking distance. They decided on the closest one and headed in that direction.
“What an adorable family,” a lady dressed as the fairy godmother stated when they entered the restaurant.
“Thank you!” Yasmine responded with a smile before Aiva or Knox could respond.
“Just the three of you?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Aiva responded, and they were led to a round booth.
