Page 50 of This Heart
“All done, darling girl?”
I took the plate from Aurora as she took Winnie out of her seat. “She is sticky as all get out!”
“Let me take her so you don’t get syrup all over yourself.”
“Nonsense, I’ll clean her up. I don’t have to be at the bookstore for another hour. Lou is opening for me this morning.”
I nodded, even though Aurora’s back was faced to me. “I’ll clean up. Her clothes for today are laid out on the bed.”
“Sounds good!” Aurora called out as she headed out of the kitchen, Winnie talked her ear off about a new Perry the Moose stuffed animal she got, but that she liked her other Perry better. I frowned, not remembering any new toys or stuffed animals I’d gotten for her.
After I cleaned up, I headed upstairs. I could hear Winnie and Aurora laughing, warming my entire body. What I wouldn’t give to listen to that every morning.
I stopped and leaned against the doorframe, watching them search through Winnie’s toy box. Aurora was taking toys and making silly sounds, which caused the laughter.
“Sounds like you two are having fun.”
Aurora glanced over to me. “Have you seen Perry the Moose? The one I got Winnie a couple of years ago?”
“It should be on her bed.”
Shaking her head, Aurora stood. “Winnie said it’s gone.”
Winnie walked up to me and handed me another Moose. “Perwey’s fwiend.”
I bent down on my haunches and took the stuffed moose Winnie held out for me. “Where did this come from?”
“Ms. Kim,” Winnie said. Then she pouted. “Couldn’t find Perwey, so she bought him a fwiend.”
I stood. “Winnie always has Perry with her. If he’s not tucked into bed, he’s with her.”
“I’ve looked all over the room, Liam. He isn’t anywhere.”
Pulling out my phone, I hit Kim’s number.
“Well, hello there! It’s your day off! Were you missing me?”
Her question surprised me, and I was at a loss for words for a moment. “Um, no. Sorry to bother you on your day off, Kim. Aurora and I are trying to find Perry the Moose. Do you know where it is?”
She cleared her throat. “Aurora is there?”
Taken aback again, I replied, “Yes, she is. We can’t find Perry anywhere.”
“Perry the Moose went missing last week.”
“How? He’s either in bed sleeping or Winnie has him. Did you take Winnie anywhere that she might have dropped him?”
“No, she carries that moose everywhere with her. He just disappeared one day, and she was throwing a fit, so I bought her a new one.”
I ignored the urge to lash out when she said Winnie threw a fit. She was two, I knew she could easily do that, but I had never witnessed her throwing a fit before. “You didn’t think to tell me that her favorite toy had gone missing?”
Kim let out a nervous laugh. “It’s a stuffed animal, Liam. A moose is a moose. Trust me when I say she will get used to the new one. It’s Perry’s friend.”
“That’s what she said, but I still don’t understand why you didn’t tell me. It’s not your place to decide whether a stuffed animal is simply a stuffed animal.”
I moved out of Winnie’s room and down the hall so Aurora couldn’t hear me. “Also, why are you not letting Aurora visit with Winnie?”
“I’m sorry?”
