Page 44 of Safe With You

“You got icing on your nose.”

She froze. “Where?”

“Right side.”

She wiped the side of her nose.

“Other side.”

She wiped it, but still didn’t quite get it.

I grabbed a napkin and leaned across the table. “Hold still.”

“I had it.”

“You absolutely did not.”

She smiled while I cleaned the icing away.

She made it through less than half before announcing she was full and closing the box for later.

We wandered downtown for a while after that, stopping whenever something caught Mila’s attention—which meant nearly every window we passed. By the time we reached the park, she had asked for three bracelets, a dollhouse, and four different pets.

“Who’s cleaning the tank?” I asked.

“You.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because it would be your turtle.”

“But I’m a kid.”

“You’ll still be a kid when it needs cleaning.”

She sighed. “You don’t understand animals.”

“I understand them enough to know I don’t want one living in my house.”

“Our house.”

“Exactly.”

She let that go long enough to count three dogs walking past us before starting again.

“What about a fish?”

“No.”

“A hamster?”

“No.”

“A lizard?”

“Mila.”