Page 60 of Blame It On the Lattes

“Umm, that’s not cartoons. That’s the news,” Sam commented. “What’s with the box?”

“Oh. Haha,” Cassidy said, her voice going higher. “Silly me. I must’ve bumped the buttons and changed the channel on accident.”

“You’re being weird,” Sam replied as he walked past, the sound of his footsteps getting closer to where I was hiding in the box.

“No way. I’m just being me,” Cassidy nearly sang. She was about to lose it, and I was about to run out of air in this damn box.

“So, what’s with the box? Do you need me to take it to Mom’s for tomorrow?”

“Nope. That’s actually for you. You can open it now.”

“For me? How do you know? I don’t see a name tag.”

“It’s from Avery. Open it,” Cassidy pressed.

“Yeah, open it,” Kennedy said, her mood already sounding happier.

“Shouldn’t I wait for Avery to get back before I open it?”

“No. You should open it now while she’s not here.”

“Why? That doesn’t make any sense. If it’s from Avery, it’s only fair that I wait until she’s here to open it.”

“She doesn’t want to be here when you open it.”

“Why not?”

“Ummm,” Cassidy said nervously, and I could tell she was trying to pull something out of her ass at this point. We didn’t have enough time to plan or think this through before committing to it. “She’s mad at you.”

My eyes bulged in the darkness of the box. I was going to kick her hard when I got out.

“What? Why is she mad at me?” Sam questioned, the hurt evident in his voice.

“You, of all people, should know why,” Cassidy scoffed. “Now just open the damn gift.”

“You said a bad word, Aunt Cassidy,” Kennedy scolded.

“Sorry, sweetie. I’ll give you two pieces of fudge to make up for it.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. My kid was going to end up with cavities from all the sugar she was giving her these past few days.

“Hurry and open it,” Cassidy pushed. “Avery will be back any minute now, and I promised her I would have you open it before she got here.”

“Fine. But if she’s mad about this, I’m blaming you,” Sam warned as he pulled the piece of tape and started lifting the top flaps of the box.

I had planned to jump up and surprise him, but sitting in an awkward position had made my foot go to sleep.

“Surprise,” I said awkwardly, holding up my sign for him to read.

“Avery?” he asked, looking past the sign I was using to hide my flushed face. “What are you doing in there?”

“Well, I was going to jump up and surprise you, but my foot fell asleep,” I explained, realizing that my sign was backward so he couldn’t see it.

“Okay, but why are you in a box to begin with?”

“I... umm....” I looked nervously at Cassidy, who was sitting on the couch, grinning wildly beside Kennedy.

“She’s your gift, you dumbass,” Cassidy blurted out.

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