Extra Lucys Bestest Day
Lucy was sure that this was the best day of her life.?
She spun in a circle, her pretty pink dress covered all over in glittering sequins and pretty white lace blowing about her with the motion. She beamed at her reflection in the mirror, her own pretty hair- so much like Mama’s- piled high atop her head.
“Oh, Lucy, look at you!” Jade- Auntie Jade, Lucy corrected excitedly to herself- entered the room and clapped her hands in excitement. Her black hair fell past her shoulders in thick ringlets, and she wore a beautiful, emerald dress.
“I think I could be mistaken for a Princess,” Lucy said primly. “Do I really get to keep this dress?”
“Oh, you betcha,” Auntie Jade cooed, looking her over. “Are you excited, kiddo?”
“Yes!” Lucy clapped her hands and jumped up and down, and because she liked so much how her dress danced with the movement, she did it some more, hopping around in a circle and giggling. “I am so, so excited!”
Jade smiled. Her eyes glowed, which was still very strange to Lucy, but she had long decided that this was a very pretty, good thing. This was especially true now that her mama’s eyes did the same thing. She hoped, one day, that her own eyes would glow, but Collin had spent a very long time trying to explain to her why that probably wasn’t going to happen.
Not that she really understood, but it didn’t matter, anyway.
“Well, Lucy-Lu,” Auntie Jade said, popping down on the floor beside her. Lucy giggled and dropped into her lap, letting her carefully tuck away a few loose strands of hair. “Tell me everything you’re excited for.”
“Oh, there’s so much!” Lucy held up a hand and began to count. “I get to wear a pretty dress. It’s pink and white and so poofy!”
“The poofiest!”
“I get to throw flowers everywhere! Mama says I’m not allowed to do that normally, but I get to do it now, and I can’t wait to throw petals at Dylan’s face!”
“Why Dylan, specifically?”
“Because he finished all the cereal yesterday.” Lucy huffed. “It was my favorite one. He forgot that I’m going to have flower petals today, though, so I’m going to save a bunch so I can throw them all in his face.”
Auntie Jade laughed. “Just save like, five for the floor, kiddo!”
“I know, I know. I’m also excited for cake!”
“And how do you know there will be cake?” Auntie Jade tickled her, and Lucy laughed in delight.
“Because Annie told me she saw it!” Lucy dropped her voice. “She wasn’t supposed to, but she saw her mom helping Mama pick out a cake!”
“Oh, I was there for that one,” Auntie Jade muttered. “Help is definitely a strong word there, but uh… sure. We’ll go with the idea that Brittani was ‘helping’.”
“And then there’s going to be dancing!” Lucy clapped her hands to her cheeks. “I’m going to look like a princess, and I’ll be dancing all night long! Aegis promised me he’d dance with me the most.”
Auntie Jade’s smile widened. “You excited to dance with Aegis?”
“Oh, yes! I cannot wait! He’s probably a good dancer.”
For some reason, that made Auntie Jade burst into laughter. “What makes you say that?”
“Because he’s just like Mama said,” Lucy said promptly. “He’s perfect, and that means he’ll be good at it.”
Auntie Jade snorted, but she didn’t disagree. “We’ll see about that. Just make sure you step real good on his toes, so he doesn’t drop you!”
Lucy giggled. “Okay!”
“Anything else you’re looking forward to?”
“Mama said Aegis will get to be here all the time, now.” Lucy leaned back against Jade. “Things have gotten so much nicer. I’m really glad Collin turned into a werewolf.” She looked thoughtful. “Everything’s different now, but in a really good way.”
Auntie Jade’s smile softened. “And why is that, sweetheart?”
“Well, I get an Auntie, now,” Lucy said immediately. She looked up at her, twisting around so she wasn’t looking in the mirror. “You’re my Auntie, now, right?”
“I’m your Auntie forever and ever, Lu.”
Lucy beamed. “I never had an Auntie, before. I always wanted a big family.” She turned back toward the mirror. “Before, it was just us and Mama. But… that wasn’t bad,” she said quickly, afraid she might have said something mean. “Mama was always good to us. But… she was always tired. And… she was alone, except when Mr. Rudy came to visit. She was tired, and I never knew how to make it better.”
“You make the world better just by existing, dearest,” Auntie Jade said, squeezing her around the middle. “Your Mama would say the same.”
Lucy smiled. “Things are so much better now, though. Aegis is so good at helping me with my homework; whenever Mama tried to do math with me, my teachers always said it was wrong.” She scrunched up her nose. “Dylan had to help me with double-checking Mama’s work.”
Auntie Jade burst into laughter again. “That sounds about right.”
“And Miss Ivy is so nice. She always brings me donuts. She says she has to, because it’s… it’s the law that all police officers eat donuts every day.”
Auntie Jade nearly fell over laughing now.
“And every day, Aegis comes over and talks with Collin and Dylan, and he shows Collin how to be a better werewolf.” Lucy wrinkled her nose. “He’s no fun at hide and seek anymore, though. He can find us no matter where we go. He always wins!”
“The nose knows,” her Auntie said, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. “The nose always knows.”
“And even better,” Lucy added, clapping her hands together, “is now, I’ve got a Grandma and a Grandpa!”
Auntie Jade’s dark eyebrows rose, and her eyes seemed to dance. “Oh? You do?”
“Yes! Ms. Leanne said to call her Grandma, now! I’m so happy- I always wanted a Grandma!” Lucy’s eyes became faraway and misty. “I used to watch all the other kids at school, and I was so sad. They had Grandmas and Grandpas, and they always brought toys and candies and treats… and everyone always seemed so happy. So many people to love them…”
“Grandma Leanne definitely loves you, little one,” Jade whispered. “You really like it?”
“Oh, yes!” Lucy clapped her hands. “And now, Mr. Rudy is here all the time! He says he’s de-tired, or something. That makes me happy, though, because when Mama is working, he stays and plays dollies with me! He’s really good at dollies.”
“Oh, yeah? What kinds of dolly games do you play?”
“My favorite’s the one where my one dolly, Susie, goes missing, and all her friends have to try to find her before they run out of time, and Mr. Rudy- he said I could call him Grandpa, actually, if I want to, and I do- Grandpa Rudy usually plays a… a ducktective, and he has to try to find Susie, or no one will ever see her again!”
Auntie Jade nearly choked on her surprise. “Kid, you come up with the craziest stories, and it always catches me off guard.”
“And now, we’re never lonely!” Lucy stood up and spun around in a circle. “Aegis is gonna marry Mama, and we’ll dance, and have cake, and throw a big ol’ party, and everyone’s gonna be there because it’ll be up in the big field!” She stopped, turned to look at Jade- Auntie Jade- and smiled one more time. “I’m really, really glad we came here.”
There was a little mist in Jade’s eyes as she reached forward to squeeze the little six-year-old close and tight. “Me, too, kiddo. Me, too.”