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The little girl nodded solemnly, then glanced at Madelyn. “Are they here?” Aria asked.
Madelyn slipped her cell from her purse. “They’re arriving now.”
Aria raised her hands and cupped them around her mouth. “Eraser club kids, it’s time for operation Win Back the Aunt.”
He was startled when the curtain flew open and Phoebe, Oscar, and Sebastian charged onto the stage.
That curtain was like one of those clown cars.
“Who else is back there?” he asked. “Santa Claus? The Tooth Fairy? The Easter Bunny?”
“No, mate,” Raz said, pocketing his cell phone as he crossed the stage. “It’s the nerd, the hothead, and the beefcake.”
“Why are you guys here?” he asked, looking from Erasmus to Rowen and then to Mitch.
“Your niece,” Mitch replied and shared a fist bump with Aria.
“She’s quite a kid,” Rowen added.
“Aria, what’s going on?”
“We stopped at Whitmore after our plane got here. School was getting out, and I told them I needed reinforcements.”
“Were you right, Aria? Was your uncle a?” Phoebe asked and tapped her little foot twice.
He looked to Rowen. “What’s her word?”
“Butthole,” the nerd whispered back.
“It’s worse than that. I think my uncle was a…” Aria said to the kids and tapped five times.
They gasped.
What was five syllables that had these kids looking like he’d kicked a puppy?
“What did she tap?”
“A douche nozzle butthole,” Phoebe translated, wide-eyed.
“That’s super-duper bad,” Oscar chimed and snapped a photo of him with his Polaroid camera.
Jesus, that thing was bright.
He blinked away the black spots from the powerful flash.
“But don’t worry,” Sebastian remarked, then pressed his hands into a prayer position. “The donkeys know.”
Donkeys?
He stared at the curtain. “Are your donkeys about to come out on stage?”
“No, I’m talking about your journey, boyo,” Sebastian corrected, losing his prim British accent and speaking in his father’s gruffer cadence. “You’ve got to harness your chi and change the trajectory of your energy. And if that doesn’t work, do a handstand until you figure out what to do.”
“Sebastian,” Phoebe huffed, “donkey yoga stuff won’t work for Aria’s uncle. It worked for your dad. Aria’s uncle’s fix-it has to be special and just for him.”
This was going off the rails fast.
“I’m confused,” he said, looking from kid to kid when Phoebe released an exasperated groan.
