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“Yeah! Are we going to sing it?”
“We sure are, kiddo.”
We hurry through the crowds, heading straight for Natalie’s room. Alex is just as eager as I am to get there and at times, he runs ahead, dragging me along.
When we enter the room Natalie and Sandy are talking quietly. Nat gives me a hard look.
“Unforgivable, Ashley.” She shakes her head. “Don’t use the kid against her!”
“I’m not!” My eyes prick with tears. “I wouldn’t! I love the little guy.”
I look down into his face and he beams up at me, squeezing my hand. Like most kids, he’s smart enough to know what’s going on without following the entire conversation.
“Okay, Alex!” I grin at him, bending down to hold his hands. “Let’s do it! A one and a two and three and four.”
I clap hard and start to sing. To the tune of ‘twinkle twinkle’ we belt out a little round all about how Ashley loves Jess. Alex helped me compose it and find the words, although we did fight a little over the melody.
I can’t help it, I dance around a bit. So does Alex. We groove into the second verse, singing about how Ashley cares for Jess and wants to be with her.
I see Natalie tapping her foot to the music and grinning. She approves, I think. Sandy just looks suspicious.
Alex is beaming and his cheeks are red. He looks a bit confused that he can’t see Jess, but I gesture to the couch.
“Jess is hiding.” I whisper to him. “It’s a special game. When she’s convinced how much we care, she’ll come out!”
Alex doubles his efforts and so do I. This isn’t the type of ‘romantic’ I’m used to. I’d probably laugh at someone who tried it on me. I’ve never met a kid I could click with, though. I’d probably do anything that Alex told me to, I’m so head over heels for him.
I’m totally out of options now. I’ve tried baring my heart, giving her my soul. She didn’t believe me. Maybe she never will.
But getting Alex help me declare my love for her has to be a sign of care and commitment, doesn’t it? I’m so nervous I could shiver into a small puddle. God, I hope, I pray, that Jess can see how much I care.
Twenty-Eight
Jess
I’m shocked listening to the song. This is not something you could do on the fly. They have clearly been rehearsing this for awhile.
I can’t just dismiss it. I can’t conceive of someone who would be so rotten and selfish that they would rope a little kid into this. From what I know of Ashley, she wouldn’t have the attention span even if she did have the malicious intent.
As they finish singing, I start unfolding myself from under the side table. The first thing I see as I tentatively raise my head is Natalie with tears streaming down her cheeks. Sandy is still scowling but he’s having trouble maintaining it.
The sight of Ashley and Alex cavorting like they are right in the middle of a kid’s TV show is enough to crack anyone. I see Alex’s little face
shining with excitement and its more than the song that touches me.
For them to have rehearsed this, they had to be spending time together. I knew Ashley was taking him out a bit, but I had no idea they were interacting like this. I thought she was just being kind to him for my sake.
It never occurred to me that they might have a bond. Clearly, they do. Its right there in Alex’s face as he beams up at Ashley.
I stand up slowly, holding on to the couch. Alex sees me and comes running over, flinging his little arms around my waist.
“Yay! You came out! That must mean you believe Auntie Ashley!”
He’s so cheery and excited I don’t want to ruin his mood, but I have to shake my head.
“What do you mean?” I’m also stunned by his casual use of Auntie Ashley.
“She said if we sang the song right, you’d come out! You came out, so you must believe that Auntie Ashley loves you! You’ll be together forever!”
