Twelve | Cole
Twelve
Cole
“You’re killing me,” I groaned, letting my head drop as I counted what cash I had left and handed it over to Lyric. “I literally have nothing left to give you.”
“I hate to say I told you so, but...” she teased as her face lit up with happiness. “Two down, one more to go.”
“You can’t take us down,” Ben shot back, holding Chloe closer to him as he used her as leverage against Lyric. “How would you sleep at night knowing you left your poor, tiny, three-year-old niece bankrupt with no money for food or toys?”
He pouted his lip and batted his eyes, which only got more laughter out of Lyric as she watched Chloe try to mimic what Ben was doing.
“Stick your bottom lip out more,” Kara told Chloe, showing her what she meant by doing it herself. “Like this.”
Kara was the first one Lyric had bankrupted, but she handled it like a good sport and had actually stayed to watch everyone else play instead of playing on her phone, which was unusual for her.
“I would probably toss and turn a little bit,” Lyric replied, tilting her head to watch Chloe as she grinned at her. “But, that’s just because I don’t love my pillow. Once I get a new one, I’ll sleep like a baby.”
“Vicious!” Kara exclaimed, her eyes bright with admiration as she studied Lyric. “I think we’re going to get along just fine...”
“Did you already forget that she took all your money?” I asked Kara.
“Eh, it’s okay. Now that she took your money, she and I can go shopping and buy lots of fun girl stuff.”
“It’s like I don’t even know you anymore,” I teased before looking at Ben. “You’ve got to take her down before she becomes unstoppable.”
“I’m on it,” Ben said, the corner of his tongue poking out of the side of his mouth as he concentrated on the board.
Lyric laughed and then rolled the dice, moving past the few properties that Ben had built houses on and landing on a property she owned. The board was absolutely in her favor, and Ben knew it. Lyric had played strategically, just like she had growing up, when she would bankrupt her entire family.
I leaned back on the couch, loving how comfortable it was, as I watched them play.
It was getting late, but no one seemed concerned with the time, so I let it go since it was a Friday night.
Not only that, but it was the end of their spring break, and I wanted them to have as much fun as they could before they went back to school on Monday.
Chloe started squirming next to Ben, so I got up and took her to the bathroom while they finished the game.
When I got back, Ben was leaning against the couch with his eyes closed as Kara teased him about losing to Lyric.
My heart felt fuller than it had in a long time as I watched my family, knowing this was where I was always meant to be.
***********************
The next morning, we all enjoyed the breakfast Lyric made together before heading to the store to pick up a few things we needed.
I knew Lyric had a whole shopping list, but I wanted to do something nice and let the kids grab some stuff, too.
It was hard enough going from house to house; they deserved to have whatever they needed to make this one feel like home.
I pushed the shopping cart with Chloe riding up front while Lyric browsed the aisle beside me. Ben and Kara had gone off on their own, shopping with the money I had given them before we left the house.
“Do you think Kara would like this one?” Lyric asked, holding a bottle of body wash up for me to look at.
“I honestly don’t know. I’ve never paid attention to what she uses.”
“I wish I knew more about what scents and fragrances she enjoys. I gave her one of my cherry almond ones, but I would like to get her a few more.”
“I don’t think she uses bodywash. Come to think of it, I never noticed any in the shower while they’ve been staying with me.”
“She really took an interest in mine when she was helping me organize the bathrooms yesterday. Maybe she had some at her old—”
Lyric pressed her lips together to keep from finishing her sentence, but we both knew what she meant.
I had no idea what Kara might have had at their old house or if Clay let her buy fancy shower stuff. But I could tell that it meant a lot to Lyric, so I quickly thought through everything I could remember about Kara.
“She used to burn this candle every summer,” I said as Lyric continued to scan the different bottles. “It was lemon scented, and she loved it. Every time I went to their house, it would be burning. The house always smelled like lemon or vanilla.”
“That’s good to know. Maybe I’ll get her a few citrus-scented ones since it’s getting warmer.”
“I’m sure she will love them.”
She added a few bottles of bodywash to the cart, then grabbed a bottle of lotion and plopped it beside them. We hadn’t even started the grocery shopping we needed to do, but it was nice not to feel like we had to rush.
“Hey, do you think it would be okay if I invited my friends over next weekend for manis and pedis?” Kara asked as she walked up to the cart and set her stuff down next to Lyric’s.
Lyric’s eyes widened as she glanced from Kara to me, looking for help.
“That would be up to your Aunt Lyric,” I said gently. “Who were you thinking of inviting?”
I knew that Lyric did best with having as much information as possible so she could sit back and analyze it.
“Just Maddie and Laura. Their moms will be out of town for the weekend, so I thought maybe I could have them over to see the new house,” Kara said, answering me before looking at Lyric. “But only if it’s okay with you.”
“Umm,” Lyric replied slowly as she loosened a breath. “I don’t see why not. If Cole is okay with them coming over for a little bit, then that’s fine with me.”
“I’m okay with it,” I said with a nod. “But only for a few hours, Kara. Not an all-day thing and no asking to have them sleep over.”
“Absolutely. I promise, it will just be for a few hours.”
Kara and Lyric started talking about what they would need for the mani and pedis—whatever the hell that was—so I walked off with Chloe to give the girls some space.
“What does Miss Chloe want for her new room?” I asked, smiling back as she grinned at me.
“A baby!”
“A baby? You have a lot of babies.”
“I want a baby!”
“What about a puppy for your baby?”
“No. A baby!”
“Okay, okay,” I said with a laugh as I noticed we were drawing the attention of other shoppers as Chloe got louder. “Let’s go look at the babies.”
Chloe clapped her hands excitedly as I made my way to the toy department. Her room was practically bursting at the seams with stuffed animals and baby dolls, but I wasn’t going to be the one to say no and break her little heart.