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He was good at other things, though. Like reaching the peanut butter chocolate Uncle Bashy tried to hide on the top shelf in the kitchen. They snuck those chocolates every night after dinner. And he always caught the spiders in her room and took them outside.
Yeah, Daddy was good at those things.
She was supposed to be asleep already. Daddy and KoKo read her a book and put her to bed and she was supposed to be asleep. But she just couldn’t. Not when she was still so excited from helping Addie and KoKo plan the wedding.
Carefully, she pulled her blankets away and slid from bed. She tiptoed across her room, trying to avoid the toys Daddy had told her to pick up. The door squeaked as she opened it and she froze, her eyes wide as she waited for someone to come tell her to go back to bed. But when no one came, she let out a relieved breath.
She quietly but quickly tiptoed down the long hallway. When she got to the door that lead to Uncle Bashy’s room, she opened it and sprinted up the stairs, pausing at his door, her little chest heaving.
She knocked softly at first, unsure. She didn’t think he’d get mad at her for being awake past her bedtime. Uncle Bashy never got mad at her. She was his little devil.
The door opened and for a moment he looked confused as he stared over her head. Then he looked down and looked even more confused.
“Skye?” He asked, sounding just as unsure as she felt.
“Hi, Uncle Bashy,” she said with a little wave. His lips twisted into a slow grin as he stepped to the side. She ran to the bed and jumped on it, crawling to the top and laying next to Addie.
“Hey, Skye,” Addie laughed as she wrapped her arms around her, tucking her in close. She had a baby in her belly and it was growing so Skye couldn’t get that close to her anymore.
“What are you doing in here, kid?” Uncle Bashy asked as he sat at the other end of the bed. He’d put a shirt on since she came in, covering up all his tattoos. He and Daddy had a lot of them, but she like Uncle Bashy’s more because he let her pick out three of them. Daddy only let her pick one. Sometimes he’d let her color them in with markers, though, and she really liked doing that.
She let out a long, dramatic sigh as she sat up.
“I have to talk to you about Daddy and KoKo,” she said. Addie sat up beside her, glancing at him. They shared a look for a long time without saying anything. Skye just watched them.
“Alright,” he finally said, lowering his eyes to her. “What about them?”
“Well, I think they should be married already,” she said, sounding exasperated. Addie slumped beside her, her breath coming out in a hard breath.
“They’re going to get married soon,” she said.
“Yeah, but not soon enough,” Skye whined. “They aren’t even planning like you are.” She pouted as she glanced at Addie.
“But they’re engaged,” Uncle Bashy said. “They told you what that meant. They’ll get married when they’re ready. What time is it? Shouldn’t you be in bed?” She waved her hand at him like it wasn’t important.
“Yeah, but I’m ready for it now,” Skye said. “Can we plan it for them, Addie?” She turned pleading eyes up to her soon-to-be-aunt. Addie glanced at Uncle Bashy again, her eyes wide.
“Kid, we can’t plan their wedding for them,” he laughed and Skye pouted, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked at him.
He could never resist her when she pouted.
“Oh, no,” he said, shaking his head and wagging his finger at her. “Don’t give me that look, little devil.” She pushed her bottom lip out and made her chin tremble. He groaned as he looked helplessly at Addie. She laughed softly, but Skye made sure to keep her face sad.
“Please,” she said, clapping her hands together as she pleaded. “I just want KoKo to be my mom already!” She hadn’t meant to yell that last part, but she did and they both stared at her for a moment.
“Is that what this is about?” he asked quietly and scooted closer to her. “She’s already your mom in all the ways that matter.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “She doesn’t have my last name and she isn’t married to Daddy.”
“But she’s already called you her daughter,” Addie said. “And you’ve called her Mom before. And she tells you she loves you, and you love her, right?” Skye nodded. “And she loves your daddy, right?” She nodded again. “Then she’s already your mom.” She shook her head.
“She’s not!” She wailed, tears lining her eyes. Uncle Bashy held his arms out wide, his face soft.
“Come here, little devil. There’s no need to cry.” She got to her knees and shuffled closer, launching herself at him. He held her to his chest and rubbed her back in small circles like Daddy did.
“Can’t we just plan it for them?”
“I think Koda wants to plan her own wedding,” Addie said. “And I’m sure your dad wants to help her with that. We can’t take that from them.” Skye squeezed her uncle’s neck a little tighter, closing her eyes tighter.
