I’d noticed she was always very curious about my phone and always seemed to be relieved when it wasn’t Genesis texting or calling. I loved the moment right before I told her who it was and right after, that moment of her not knowing and then the relief.
“It’s just a reminder about Hannah’s sleepover.”
“Oh.” Her lips twitched in a grin before she redirected her attention to the board game, trying to disguise her reaction. “It’s after the wedding, right?”
Billie tried to pull off not bothered, but I knew her too well. Her entire body relaxed. It might be petty, but I didn’t care, I liked knowing she was jealous.
“Yep,” I confirmed.
This would be the first time the twins had a sleepover, at least under my watch. They said they’d had plenty of sleepovers back home. I felt strange about it, them not being home for the night, but I trusted Maddox and knew he’d call if there were any issues.
Never one to dwell on a subject too long, Joey leapfrogged to the next item on her mental agenda, Birdie’s wedding, which was going to take place sometime in the summer.
“What’s Birdie’s wedding dress gonna look like?” Joey asked, sitting up on her knees.
Billie shrugged, picking up the blue game piece and moving it four squares. “I don’t know. Birdie hasn’t decided yet.”
“Is it gonna be pink?” Joey followed up.
“It could be.” Billie sipped a drink of her LaCroix. “Birdie likes pink, so maybe it will be pink. She’ll want something a little different.”
“Or rainbow?” Joey suggested.
“Maybe,” Billie humored her.
“Is she gonna marry Dylan Hart?” Andi asked, saying his name with the same reverence she did Harry Potter, whom both girls loved.
“That’s the plan.” Billie spoke in a tone that let me know she had very mixed feelings about her soon-to-be brother-in-law.
The twins knew who Dylan Hart was because his band Collective Chaos were guest stars on their favorite TV show,Penelope the Pop Princessabout a girl who discovers she’s a princess of a small country but is already leading a double life as pop royalty, it’s basicallyHannah MontanameetsThe Princess Diaries.
Birdie’s fiancé was the lead singer, but since I moved back to the city, he hadn’t come to visit her despite him not being on tour currently.
I followed his career because I always felt like Bailey and Birdie were little sisters, even though I hadn’t been in touch with them. The guy seemed like a jackass to me, but if he made Birdie happy, that was all that mattered. Billie’s criteria were a lot tougher than mine, rightfully so.
Twenty minutes later the game ended. Joey was the reigning champion of Life, and managed to keep her crown, defeating us all with a five-year-old’s combination of luck and relentless glee. Andi, less invested in victory and more in keeping everything tidy, had already started to clear the game board before I’d finished announcing it was bedtime. I’d noticed that she’d started becoming obsessed with everything being clean to the point where I worried it wasn’t healthy. I was going to bring it up at the twins’ next therapy session.
“I got this, you two go get your pajamas on,” I instructed.
“What about braids?” Joey asked.
“Braids and then pajamas,” Billie compromised.
Billie braided the girls’ hair every night before they went to bed. I had been watching YouTube videos so I could keep it up after she left. I finished cleaning up the game as Billie put on a movie for the girls then sat down and braided first Joey’s hair and then Andi’s. They continued peppering her with matrimony questions, but not her sisters’.
“Do you want to get married?” Joey asked Billie and her hands froze.
Her eyes shot to me. “Oh, um, I don’t know.”
“That’s not a polite question to ask,” I explained.
“Why not?” Joey challenged.
“Because it’s personal.”
“I want to get married,” Joey declared proudly, then, thankfully, spent the rest of the braiding session describing her perfect wedding.
As I watched Billie with the girls, as much as I hated to admit it, I knew it was time for Billie to leave. Both Andi and Joey were getting too attached to her. I kept telling them both that this was temporary, but I wasn’t sure they understood that. As much as I wanted to be a selfish asshole and drag this out for as long as I possibly could, to wring every last drop of time, energy, and just Billie’s presence she’d grace us with, I had to put my girls first.
