Page 71 of Love Limits

OK. It was like Daddy knew them or something. Can I move the bowl?

Sure.

They tried out a few locations until they had the bowl just where they wanted, then started arranging the chicken around it, pausing to take bites.

The sauce was even yummier when they could have as much as they wanted on each piece and dip the cold carrots in with the warm carrots, too.

Daddy put his own plate down at the end of the island and moved a stool around the corner, since there clearly wasn’t space for both of them on Ash’s side. But that was still nice because he was close enough to touch and it was easier to sign, too.

Can you tell me about this? Daddy asked. What did you make?

Ash told him all about it, but of course the story kept changing because every time the monster hand swooped in to eat a handful, they had to figure it out all over again. The sun was gobbled up, but then blueberry explorers climbed up the rice mountains to look for it.

Also, blueberries were pretty tasty with rice.

And sauce.

And… well, maybe not chicken. It was better after they swallowed the blueberries.

The best part, though, was how Daddy was watching them. He made up a few little stories, but mostly he just smiled. He was even smiling when he had to check his phone a few times and when he started cleaning up the dishes. Each time he came back to the counter, he got the next part of the story.

Ash ate and ate until their belly was fat and happy. Now they had one lonely little piece of each thing left. But they were still friends.

They lined up the rice grain, corn kernel, blueberry, and carrot stick on the chicken train and leaned down to the counter to push it into their mouth.

Daddy raised one eyebrow, but he didn’t tell them no.

I was the tunnel, they explained while they munched everything together. It wasn’t very yummy, but at least the friends were all together.

Daddy came back around the counter with a damp kitchen towel and wiped down their hands and face. Feeling sleepy?

They were, a little, but they weren’t going to admit it. Maybe one game?

One game, Daddy agreed. I think the only ones that will work, though, are Ticket to Ride and Jenga. I have some cards, too, so we could play Go Fish or Crazy Eights.

Ticket to Ride! It has trains. And I can do all the colors.

Perfect. You go get the board set up while I clean up.

Daddy kissed the top of their head, then let them bounce off toward the games.

Trains!

Chapter 15

Zhong

Zhong watched Ash in fascination. They carefully counted out three pink train cars and laid them on the board. When they matched, they wiggled their hands in the air, signing applause.

They weren’t using the faintest hint of strategy, claiming short routes when they noticed them instead of waiting out the longer ones or filling in circuits. Not that it really mattered, though, because their cards were scattered all over the floor, face up, in little piles and they were building with their plastic pieces while they waited for turns.

They were just as excited about each play, though. It was like they were a whole different person. A fascinating, adorable different person.

Even their signing had subtly changed. Instead of the two extended fingers and a thumb that were typically used to sign DRIVE, they extended all their fingers, like they were too young to curl the others up. The word PINK, often the complex letter P touched to the lips, became all four fingers too, and Zhong thought at first that they were saying that the train was sweet.

Zhong kind of thought that by the time kids could count and tell complex stories that their handshapes were better, but what did he know? More importantly, he realized, it didn’t matter. Ash wasn’t trying to be the perfect replica of an exact age.

They were trying to be relaxed and free.