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“My God!” Demyen exclaims with feigned insulted shock. “Are you doing our crossword puzzle without me?”
Willow giggles and points to her chair, so he carries her over and sets her down in it. “I’m showing Mommy how far we got! Right, Mommy?”
I don’t know how it flew past my notice: the words already figured out in half of the crossword puzzle in the center of the box. There’s also tic-tac-toe and a maze we were just now working our way through. But as I squint closer at the crossword puzzle, I realize that the penciled letters are definitely not Willow’s beginner-level handwriting.
They’re Demyen’s.
He settles into the chair next to Willow, who wiggles happily in her seat and flashes me an excited grin. “Alright, what do we have today? Three Down. What does it say?”
“Oh, she can’t—” I start to softly say, but Demyen lifts a finger where his arm is resting on the back of her chair.
Willow pulls the box closer. “I… seen-gah?—”
“Sing,” Demyen corrects. “But very close. Good job! Keep going.”
“Sing.” Willow proudly nods once and continues. “I sing… to… the… moon… and… I… look… lick-ee?”
“Like.”
“Like! Your…?”
“You got it. Keep going.” He gently rubs her back for a second to encourage her.
“Your fr… frrrr…”
Demyen squints dramatically at the box. “That’s a tough one. Need help?”
“Can I sound it out?”
“That’s usually what we’d do, isn’t it? But I’m thinking this time, it might be one of those tricky bastards.”
“Demyen!” I gasp, then laugh. “Language!”
Willow smiles up at me. “It’s okay, Mommy. I know I’m not allowed to say bad words. Only grownups can.”
Oh, dear Lord… what sort of bad words has she learned “not to say”?I smile and rub her back just like Demyen did, though I shoot him awhat the heck?!look, to which he responds with a not-so-apologetic shrug.
“Frrr… free… free-in-duh?”
Demyen beams proudly at her and leans back in his chair. “Really,reallyclose! Great job,dochen'ka.”
Willow slumps with a sigh. “I didn’t get it.”
“Hey. Hey, now.” He tucks a finger under her chin and gently tilts her face up to look at him. “What do we say about hits and misses?”
Willow sighs. “Even if it’s just a graze, it’s still a hit.”
He arches a brow. “And…?”
“And even if I miss, I still get more shots.”
Demyen lightly ruffles her hair and grins. “That’s my girl. Now, do you want to know what the word is? Or do you want another shot at it?”
I can’t believe it. My baby is learning Hitman Phonics. I… I don’t know how to process this.
Willow crinkles her nose in thought. Then gives an affirming nod. “I think I need help this time.”
“Good job asking for help. I’m proud of you.” When he raises his hand for a high five, she smacks it hard and they go into some sort of secret handshake I’m definitely not in the know on. “The word is ‘friend’.”
