Page 114 of Fake As Puck
West is natural at this. Better than natural. He’s patient with the lines, enthusiastic about the rides, and completely unfazed when Emma has a complete meltdown because her Mickey ears fell off during the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
“Hey, Em,” he says, crouching down to her level while she’s sobbing in the middle of New Orleans Square. “Want to know a secret?”
She nods, still sniffling.
“Uncle West has magic powers. Watch this.”
He pulls the Mickey ears out of the diaper bag where I’d stashed them after retrieving them from the ride, but he does it with such theatrical flair that Emma gasps like he actually made them appear out of thin air.
She snatches it from his hands, angrily.
“Magic,” West laughs. “All better?”
Emma tries to put it on herself and insists that West not help.
“You’re good at this,” I tell him as we continue walking.
“At what?”
“Kid management. Distraction techniques. The magic ears thing was inspirational.”
West laughs. “I’m a natural.”
“You are.”
“Told you I wanted a big family.”
“You did.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Do you want kids someday?” he asks.
The question catches me off guard, because I’ve been so focused on just surviving my twenties that I haven’t thought much about anything else.
“I don’t know,” I say honestly. “Maybe. If I ever get my life together enough to take care of another human being.”
“You’re great with Charlie and Emma.”
“That’s different. I get to give them back at the end of the day.”
“But you like it. Being with them,” West says.
I nod in agreement. “I do like it.”
We’re standing in line for the Jungle Cruise, and Charlie’s explaining to everyone within hearing distance that her uncle has magic powers and can make Mickey ears appear out of nowhere. Emma’s sharing her churro with a stuffed elephant we bought at the gift shop.
And West is looking at me like I’m something he’s trying to figure out.
“Yeah?” I ask.
“Nothing. Just… this is nice.”
“Nice?” I ask.
“Being here with you. With my nieces. Feeling like...” he trails off
