Homecoming - Chapter 7 #2
“Yeah, it’s my least favorite.”
“Then why did you give it to your friend?”
Scarlett looked up at me. “So she looks terrible.”
“You want me to look terrible?”
She giggled. “You’re not wearing the dress, Uncle Matt.”
I know that. “Why would you want your friend to look bad though? Shouldn’t she look good at the ball too?”
“No.”
I stared at her.
“I have to look the best so Axel loves me.”
“Scarlett, why do you think that?”
She pressed her lips together.
“Last time Axel was here he said my pigtails were silly. And Sophie didn’t have pigtails. So I think he likes her better now.”
I tried not to smile. I’d seen Scarlett put pigtails in her own hair. And they did look silly. Because she always did them quite lopsided. I wasn’t sure why she didn’t want her mother’s help with her hair. But whenever she did pigtails she insisted on doing them all by herself.
“You know what I think?” I asked.
She shook her head.
“That you don’t have to change a single thing about yourself for a boy to like you, okay? Never.”
She scrunched her mouth to the side. “I still want to wear the blue dress. And you wear the ugly one. Please, Uncle Matt?”
I smiled. How could I say no to her when she said please? “Okay. I’ll wear the ugly dress.” I quickly changed my Barbie into the poofy number.
Scarlett hopped her Barbie over to mine. “You look great in that,” she said to my Barbie.
Wow, she’d already mastered an artful lie. “You don’t think it’s too much?” I asked in a high squeaky voice.
Scarlett giggled. “No. It’s the perfect amount. Wait!” She grabbed a winter hat that didn’t match the dress at all. “This’ll make it better.” She pushed it down on my Barbie’s head.
“Thank you!” I squealed. “You look amazing too.”
Scarlett twirled her Barbie around. “Yes I do. Let’s go to the ball.”
We drove around in a pink convertible. Posed for pictures on a red carpet. Scarlett finally handed me the Ken doll. “You be Axel.”
Score. I shook my head. I wasn’t sure why I was so excited to finally be a man. And then I immediately hated every word I’d just said in my head.
“Wait,” Scarlett said. She stole Ken back and put the other Barbie in my hand. “Bathroom emergency.”
Oh no. I hated when she did this. Why did she never give more notice? “Okay, let’s go.” I started to stand up. I went to grab her but she laughed.
“Not me. I don’t need to poo right now.”
Good to know.
“I need to talk to Sophie in the bathroom.”
“Okay.” I sat back down and we hopped over to an empty spot on the carpet.
“I’m sorry I made you wear that dress, Sophie. You look awful in it.”
“What?” I said in a shrill voice. “I look bad?”
Scarlett smiled. “Terrible. Switch with me. I’ll wear it for you.”
“That’s really sweet,” I said in my normal voice and ruffled Scarlett’s hair.
“Axel should like me even when I look silly. Right, Uncle Matt?”
Scarlett rarely ever listened to me. Hence her opening the front door for me again. But she was actually taking this to heart. “Right, kiddo.”
We swapped dresses. And she even pulled the ugly winter hat over her Barbie’s head. “Ready, Sophie?” she asked.
“Ready!” I shrieked.
We walked back into the ballroom and started dancing again.
I grabbed the Ken doll. “I love your dress and your hat,” I said in a deep voice.
“Axel doesn’t sound like that,” she said with a laugh.
His voice was still a little high-pitched. But he’d grow out of that soon. I glanced at the clock on the wall. I’d been playing with Scarlett for over 30 minutes. What the hell were James and Penny doing up there?
“Dance party!” Scarlett yelled. She tossed her Barbie to the side and started shaking her hips.
Apparently the ball had come to us. I stood up and mimicked her moves.
She laughed as I spun her around in a circle.
We kept dancing for another ten minutes before she plopped back down. She started humming to herself as she made Barbie and Ken dance.
I looked over toward the stairs. It had been a really long time. Surely they were at least under the covers by now, right? “I’m gonna go check on your parents. Stay right there, okay?”
Scarlett nodded.
I went up the stairs. The door to the master bedroom was wide open. Interesting choice. What if Scarlett had wandered up here? She would have been scarred for life.
I put my hand in front of my face, hoping to block them going at it, and peered into the room. “What the hell are you guys doing up here?” I asked.
There was no response.
I lowered my hand. The bed was empty and perfectly made.
I walked into the room and checked in the master bathroom too.
Empty.
Huh. They hadn’t actually left Scarlett alone here, had they? I wandered out of the bedroom and heard Liam cooing from his room.
I hurried down the hallway. If they left their baby alone…my thoughts trailed off as I entered the nursery.
James’ head was resting on the slats of the crib.
His eyes were closed and he was snoring lightly.
Penny’s head was in his lap and she was out cold too.
A children’s book was on the floor beside them.
They must have fallen asleep reading to Liam.
Scarlett had said he hadn’t slept last night. They all must be exhausted.
Liam cooed again and started kicking his little legs. His parents were sleeping, but Liam didn’t seem keen on a nap right now.
I stepped over Penny’s body and leaned over the railing of the crib to lift Liam. He quieted down when I pulled him to my chest. I smiled down at my friends. Of course they hadn’t left Scarlett all alone. They were great parents.
“Let’s give them a break, okay?” I whispered to Liam.
He looked up at me with big watery eyes.
I went back out in the hall and closed the door gently behind me. “Shh,” I whispered to him.
He didn’t respond. Because of course he didn’t. He was a baby.
“Liam is going to play with us for a bit while your parents take a nap.” I set Liam down on the carpet next to us.
“Hi, Liam.” Scarlett leaned over and kissed his little forehead. “You can be Axel now,” she said and gave Liam the Ken doll.
What the hell? Seriously, why did she always make me play a female part? “I can keep being Axel,” I said.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because his hair is plastic. And it’s okay if Liam gets slobber on it. He’s slobbery right now.”
Oh. Well, that was a very practical reason.
Liam put Ken’s head in his mouth and bit it.
Scarlett scrunched up her nose, but didn’t pull the doll away from her brother. “He’s a bad Axel,” she said.
“He’s trying his best.”
Scarlett shrugged. “Dance party?”
“Dance party,” I said with a nod. I pulled the Ken doll out of Liam’s mouth and lifted Liam into my arms. And then all three of us started dancing around the room.