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Through her glasses, she shot him a look that told him he was being a doofus. He didn’t mind. He kind of was.
“So how come you like butterflies so much?”
“People think I like them because they’re pretty. And I’m not.”
His heart clenched. “Who says you’re not?”
She ignored that. “I like them for other reasons.”
“Such as?” Still hung up on her matter-of-fact statement about not being pretty, he took another picture, this time of a green and black one with white markings polka-dotting its wings.
“They don’t last long. Some of them only last for a few weeks, but in that short time, they bring so much joy to everyone. They make the whole world around them better. Kind of like you and hockey.”
This kid. He had trouble getting the words out.
“Everyone has the capacity to do that.” His special talent didn’t make him better than anyone else. But he needed to appreciate it more. He was so lucky, and here he was squandering his privilege for what? Looking to fill the void left by his “woe-is-me” Mommy issues?
No, Ruby O’Malley was not invited to this party.
“You bring tons of joy to people, too, Sparkle.”
“My mom.” Said in a moms-have-no-choice tone.
“Sure. Your dad, too. And your aunts. Bandit likes to see you when you stop by.”
“Bandit doesn’t like anyone.”
“Not true. So, he’s one of those ‘keeps it close’ types of dog, but I can tell when he’s a fan of someone. When I was a kid, I had this dog called Loki and he loved everybody. Which was fine and all, but Bandit’s different. You have to earn his trust because he’s been hurt.”
She thought about that for a moment. “What happened to Loki?”
“I lost track of him after I went into care.”
“You must have missed him.”
He took a breath. “I did. But I lived with some families who had great dogs.”
“But they weren’t yours.”
True, and whenever he left, he sometimes missed the dog more than the people.
“You’re a pretty wise chick, kind of like your mom.”
She giggled at the word “chick.”
“So not only do you bring joy to your mom and aunts, you’re also very cool and a bit of a sage. In fact, I would not be enjoying all these butterflies if you hadn’t wanted to do it. None of us would, so that’s on you. You’re the reason all these people are having this great time. You’re the Butterfly Queen.”
A small, secretive smile curved her lips. “I am?”
“Absolutely.”
“Dex?”
“Uh huh?”
“There’s a Malachite on your head.”
He hoped that was a butterfly. “Should we get an ussie? You can share it with your friends.” Take that, Shana Connors.
