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“That’s right, Toby Wesley. It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Molly. You ran so fast last time I wasn’t able to say hi. You can call me Gwen. My name is Guinevere, but my friends call me Gwen.” She held out her hand and Molly looked at it for a long time before shaking it.
“Do you want some cotton candy?” she asked her.
“No,” I said quickly and Gwen looked up at me. “Too much sugar isn’t good for her right now.”
“Oh, well too much sugar isn’t good for me either,” she replied, walking over to the trash can and throwing it away before coming back to Molly.
Molly’s eyes stared all over her face, and for a split second it looked like she was trying to tell her something in some secret girl code beyond my knowledge.
“Molly, you guys wait here for a second. I will be right back okay? No running off.” She held her hands out as if that would hold us in place. “If Eli tries to run, kick him.”
Molly giggled and nodded.
“Don’t teach violence!” I yelled after her as she ran to wherever it was she was going. She stuck her tongue out like a child, almost tripping over a stroller, much to a nanny’s dismay. Molly giggled as the older woman waved her finger at her and Guinevere apologized, running off farther.
“Molly, when you grow up, try to be just a tad more graceful than Guinevere, okay?”
She looked up to me, tilting her head to the side. “Isn’t she your friend?”
“Huh?”
“She said her friends call her Gwen. You don’t call her Gwen.”
She was a sharp little one…and the way she looked at me waiting for an explanation, I knew I couldn’t lie to her.
“We are friends, but I like calling her Guinevere more than Gwen,” I replied.
“Why?”
Molly, I don’t know. “Because Guinevere is a pretty name.”
“I like it too! I will call her Gu…in…ev…ere.” She struggled on it for a minute.
“Guinevere,” I said slowly again for her.
“Guin…evere,” she repeated, and I nodded.
“I’m back,” Gwen yelled, running back to us with all her might. When she reached us she almost jumped on me, rising up in order to put a hat over my head. Shocked at how close she was to me, I froze as she concentrated on tucking all my hair inside it. It was only when she backed up that I was able to think straight again.
“Looks good,” she said as she whipped her head down, packing as much of her hair as she could into a messy bun. She took a silk scarf and wrapped it around her head.
“Better?” she asked Molly, and it for the first time I realized how she must have felt being stuck in a wheelchair with a scarf over her head.
Molly nodded, but didn’t say anything.
“Ms. Molly, will you take a picture with me?” she asked her, taking the camera off her neck.
“Yes. Dr. Eli, come on.” Molly smiled.
“Yeah, Dr. Eli.” Guinevere pulled me around the wheelchair with her.
“I’ll take it, my arm is longer.” I took the camera from her hand and both of our hands lingered too long on each other’s.
I couldn’t help but stare at her, and without thinking I reached over to brush back a strand of hair that had escaped from the scarf.
“Thanks,” she whispered, looking away from me and patting down the side of her hair to make sure I had gotten it all.
“Okay.” I looked toward the camera, my face next to Molly’s. “One. Two. Three.”
