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“Can I see?”
Kane glanced around me to Jax, who was sitting on one of the couches with Bonnie, talking softly with her. Kane nodded and opened his hands. Inside was a well-worn Batman action figure, and I raised my brow, surprised.
“Did Dad say why you can’t bring it on holiday with you?” I asked softly.
Kane sighed dramatically. “Dad says I’m already taking too many Batman toys and that this one is small and will get lost. But I’m small, andIwon’t get lost.”
I couldn’t help but laugh and placed my hand over Kane’s to cover the toy. “Well… I can’t make any promises, but if you’re already taking a lot of Batman toys, surely one more can’t hurt, right?”
Kane’s eyes went wide. “Really?”
“No promises,” I repeated, “but there might be space in my case. You like Batman then?”
Kane nodded quickly and beamed at me. “He’s my favorite,” he declared, “because he helps people, an’ that’s what my dad does.”
“Oh, so your dad might be Batman?”
“Maybe, but it’s a secret.” Kane pressed a small finger to his lips. “Secret.”
“Of course.” I nodded seriously, then I glanced over to Ava, who was still furiously scribbling at the desk. This close, I could see that she was coloring what looked like a gigantic worm, although it was difficult to tell with all the bright colors.
“Hi Ava, what are you drawing?”
“It’s a snail,” Ava declared sweetly. I studied the drawing again, and the urge to correct her rose up. I refrained.
“Are you sure?”
Ava lifted her head and fixed me with a stare, scrunching her nose. “It’s going to turn into a snail,” she said firmly, “so I’m making it look pretty so the shell will be pretty.”
“Ah,” I nodded. “I see.” Ava returned to her drawing, and I glanced around the room as uncertainty took me. I needed anything that could shake off my nerves, break the ice, and give me a chance to show Jax that I was capable.
I caught sight of the perfect thing on the top shelf of the bookshelf, and I wandered closer.
“So, does anyone here like board games?” I asked casually.
“Me!” yelled Kane from where he was dive-bombing Batman off the windowsill.
“Me too!” Ava declared. “But Uncle Jax says only for special occasions.”
“Oh really?” I glanced over to Jax, who was watching me over the top of Bonnie’s curls. “Well, I think Uncle Jax is just scared of losing because he knows you would beat him.” Laughter rose up from the children as I grasped the box off the top shelf and turned to him.
“What do you say, Uncle Jax? Are you scared to be beaten at Twister?”
“Oh,” Jax laughed and stood. “I’m a Twister pro. Prepare to bedecimated.”
Within ten minutes, we had moved the furniture to clear space for the mat, and Bonnie had taken charge of the spinner since she was still too shy to play. My heart raced, but it wasn’t from nerves this time. Instead, it was from the strain of keeping my left hand on yellow and my right leg on blue while Ava giggled underneath me at how easy her Twist was.
“Kane,” Bonnie declared from her perch on the couch. “Left leg to green!”
Kane twisted down near my legs, groaned dramatically, and began stretching his short leg across the mat. “I can’t,” he grumbled, “I can’t reach!”
“Come on, Kane,” I cheered him on from my upside-down position. “You’re so close to beating Uncle Jax!”
Jax was just as precariously balanced as I was, even more so since parts of Ava and Kane were underneath him, and he shot me a teasing, withering glance.
“You’ve started a war,” Jax chuckled. “I have a reputation to uphold.”
“Oh sure,” I groaned, “reputation forlosermaybe.”
