Page 33 of Irresistible Second Chance

“So do you guys see your Granny often?” I felt sick just asking the question.

TJ nodded, “On the weekends.”

“Really? That often.” My head started to hurt. I had to remind myself that it was Starr’s life and her choice.

TJ was bouncing up and down on my couch now. “Granny is super sweet. She sleeps a lot, but when she’s awake she gives us candy, and she takes us to the park, and she lets us play with her dog.”

“She has a dog?” I frowned. My mom hated dogs. She never let me have one as a kid and then when she left dad still refused. Now, I was bitter.

“Yep, he’s so cute.”

Johnna made a face, “He’s not cute. He’s big and slobbery and has one blue eye and one brown eye. I think he’s kind of ugly, but he’s super nice, so it’s ok.”

“Yeah, he is super nice, and he loves belly rubs. But he won’t play fetch. Last time he ate my hair bow.”

“But it was no big deal,” Johnna said with a shrug, “T.J. always loses her hair bows anyway.”

I didn’t care if the dog ate things it wasn’t supposed to. I was suddenly jealous, and I wasn’t sure if it was because I wanted a dog or because my mom had gotten one without me. My thoughts made me feel crazy.

“I’m hungry,” TJ said suddenly.

Johnna added, “I’m starving. Can we have pizza?”

“Yes! Pizza! Pizza!” TJ and Johnna started to chant together, the volume of their voices growing louder. Pretty soon they were so loud I could barely hear my own thoughts. I was grateful for that. My thoughts were confusing me lately.

I looked over at the abandoned batter on the counter and said, “Let’s order a pizza while we wait for everything to bake. Sound good?”

They cheered and I instantly felt like the best aunt in the world.

They helped me finish up the desserts and then we put everything in the oven. I called and ordered a pizza, and it arrived just as we were about to pull the treats out of the oven.

As we ate, I didn’t feel very present. The pizza was good, but I found myself in a weird mood. It was a day full of surprises, first Mark and now Mom. I cared less about Mark and more about my sister letting her kids get close to Mom. What if she flaked on them like she did us? What if she broke promises? I looked at my nieces, their mouths and hands covered in grease and pizza sauce and instantly teared up. What if mom broke their hearts?

I felt I was being ridiculous and getting unnecessarily emotional. Of course, the girls noticed, “Auntie Sydney, are you ok? Why do you look so sad?”

I forced a smile. “I’m not sad. The pizza just ummm made me a little bloated.” I felt so stupid.

“What’s bloated?” T.J. asked.

“It’s when your belly sticks out like you’re having a baby. It happens to mom all the time and then she has to run to the bathroom because her belly starts making really funny noises.”

I laughed. My sister was lactose intolerant. And the image of her running to the bathroom was way too funny.

I sat down with the girls and started watching TV. They were singing along to a cartoon when I fell asleep. I was awakened by my niece tugging on my arm. I didn’t even remember falling asleep. The girls really exhausted me. Dad was right, they were a handful. I kind of felt like they were energy vampires. I wouldn’t dare say that out loud though.

“Someone’s knocking on the door,” Johnna was saying.

I sleepily stood up, stretched, and made my way to the door, the girls trailing behind me.

I wasn’t expecting anyone. I looked through the peephole and realized that Chris stood there.

Frowning, I opened the door. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

He smiled when he saw me. That smile of his melted my heart and I smiled back. “Well, I thought we were seeing each other tonight, but it seems you have company.”

He smiled at the girls who looked just as smitten as I did. Chris was such a charmer, everyone instantly liked him. “Girls, this is Chris?” I said stepping away from the door so that he could come in, “Chris this is TJ and Johnna.”

He shook their hands and they giggled.

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