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I smile at his thoughtfulness. This way Malia will feel safer, since for all intents and purposes we are strangers to her in as much as Lulu and Nicholas are familiar to her.
“Thank you, but we have an apartment not too far from here. Nikki hates sleeping in foreign places,” Lulu answers, patting her husband’s thigh. “But we’re going to stay in the city for another week to make sure everything is fine.”
“Why don’t we go shopping tomorrow?” I suddenly suggest. “We can all go and spend the day together.”
“Shopping?” Malia repeats, her eyes sparkling. Well, she didn’t inheritthatfrom me.
“She loves shopping,” Lulu adds under her breath.
“Then it’s set.” I smile. “Why don’t you guys come with us? I’m sure Malia would appreciate your presence.”
Lucero and Nicholas share a look after which she shakes her head.
“I think you two need some alone time with her. You don’t mind that, do you, Malia?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “I want shopping with Mommy and Daddy,” she says categorically, and just hearing her call us Mommy and Daddy fills me with unspeakable joy.
“Then that’s what we’ll do, baby.” I smile as I pat her head affectionately.
I note the sadness on Lulu’s face as she gazes at Malia, but it’s to be expected since she raised her since birth. The fact that she’s not even trying to insert herself into Malia’s life in any way just reinforces how wrong I was about her. She’s always been selfless in a way I could never understand, but this makes me have a new respect for her.
Since Lulu and Nicholas are staying in the city for another short while, we make plans to meet the following day for dinner at their place. We chat for a while longer after which they turn to leave.
Surprisingly, Malia doesn’t seem fazed by it. If anything, she’s waving vigorously at them, telling them goodbye as if she’d lived with us all along.
“Are you tired, baby?” I ask her when we’re finally alone.
Both Raf and I are a little awkward at first, but Malia isn’t. For some reason, she’s absolutely comfortable with this. I wonder if it’s because Lulu’s always told her about us, or because she’s so young she doesn’t realize what’s happening.
“A little,” she yawns.
“Did you eat? Do you want to eat something before bed?” Raf hurries to open the fridge and see what’s inside. We didn’t get to stock it when we got back so it’s a little… empty.
“No.” She shakes her head. “I want to sleep.”
“Okay. Let’s sleep then.”
I turn to grab her luggage and unpack it. Raf does the same. We collide at the same time, and I reel backwards.
“Easy,” he murmurs.
Malia, on the other hand, giggles from the side.
“Can I have a suit like that, too?” She points to our pajamas.
“Of course. We’ll buy you one tomorrow.”
“Yay!” she exclaims, coming around to watch us unpack her things.
She shows us what she usually sleeps in and I set about helping her change.
“Raf,” I whisper, grabbing his attention.
He moves closer, his eyebrows raised.
“She needs to shower, no?”
“I’d assume so,” he answers pensively.
