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This gave Robin an idea, and she sat up in such a rush that bubbly water splashed over the sides of the tub. “Abby?” she called, unclogging the drain and standing, wrapping herself in a towel. “Sweetie, come here!”
The sound of Abby’s feet shuffling into the room made Robin pause her efforts in toweling off. Was she…trudging?Is that what that was? Gone were the days of her little miss skipping everywhere she went, she supposed. But still, she would have thought her cheerful tone would have caused a little more pep in Abby’s step.
“Yeah, Mom?” Abby asked as she rounded the corner into Robin’s bathroom.
Robin took in her crossed arms and sullen expression as she leaned one shoulder on the doorframe. “Are you okay?”
Abby shrugged. “I’m fine. What’s up?”
“Well, I was just thinking that even though I’m too exhausted for gingerbread houses, maybe we can have an impromptu spa night instead!” Robin tried to let her enthusiasm ink back into her tone, but it was a struggle when Abby’s face didn’t light up at the prospect. “Wouldn’t that be fun?”
Abby shrugged again. “I guess.”
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Robin mirrored her daughter’s pose and leaned a hip against the bathroom counter. “I don’t believe you.”
This time, Abby’s nonverbal response was to simply pull her lips into a tight line.
“Well, maybe you’re tired too. Long day at school?”
“The longest.”
“Okay. So, let’s do the spa night.” Robin pushed off the counter and grabbed her fluffy robe, wrapping it around her body before pulling her towel from beneath it. “Go on, get yours on, and let’s do this. I’ll go slice the cucumber.”
“Cucumber too?”
Robin rolled her eyes with a mock groan of exasperation. “What would a spa night be without cucumbers?”
Abby’s lips twitched, but she turned away before Robin could see if she’d managed to induce a smile. She wasn’t sure what had made Abby’s day so long, but as she grabbed her spa supplies from under the sink and swiped her favorite nourishing face mask from her medicine cabinet, she vowed to find out. Once they were sufficiently relaxed and rejuvenated, of course.
* * *
An hour later,they sat side by side on the couch with freshly done manicures and pedicures, and Robin still had no idea what was wrong with the girl she thought was years away from being a sullen teenager.
“This is nice, right?” Robin asked. She wished she didn’t have cucumber slices over her eyes so she could look over at Abby without making one of them slide down into the creamy face mask on her cheeks.
“Super nice.”
“Are you ready to tell me what happened at school?”
Silence.
Robin sighed. “Abby, come on. I know something must have happened. Tell me, sweetie. I’m your mom. You can tell me anything.”
“It’s just—”
The ringing of Robin’s phone on the couch between them was so ill-timed that Robin almost picked it up and threw it instead of answering it. But since her eyes were currently out of commission thanks to the cucumber slices, and she didn’t want to risk breaking her television, she groped along the couch cushion until she felt it vibrating against her fingertips.
She slid her thumb over the area where she thought was the spot to answer it, then brought it to her ear, careful not to smudge the screen with her cheek. “Hello?”
“Don’t freak out,” Jack said, “but I think a couple of aliens are camped out in your living room.”
“Ha-ha. Very funny,” Robin deadpanned. Then she frowned. “Wait, should I be freaked out that you can see us right now? What kind of creepy stalker are you?”
“The kind who lives next door, came home from work, and happened to glance in your window on the way up to his door.”
