Page 159 of Bone’s Choice

Taco came walking out of the hallway with a bag of chips in his hand.

He stopped when he saw Ma, then his eyes moved to Hazel. “Hey, Hazel.”

“Hey, Taco.”

He held up the bag. “No jam.”

Hazel burst out laughing.

I frowned.

Ma looked between them. “What am I missing?”

“Nothing,” Taco said.

“Everything,” Hazel said at the same time.

Taco pointed at her. “Don’t.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything.”

“Good.”

Ma narrowed her eyes. “I’ll get it out of one of you eventually.”

“No, you won’t,” Taco said.

Ma smiled.

Taco’s face fell. “Fuck.”

“Language,” she said.

Taco stared at her. “You raised him.” He pointed at me.

Ma shrugged. “I tried my best.”

Hazel laughed harder.

“Can we go back to why you’re here?” I asked.

“I already told you.”

“To clean.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

Ma ignored me. “Munch!” she shouted.

There was a thump somewhere down the hall. A second later, Munch appeared. “What?”

He saw Ma and his whole posture changed. “Hey, Pink.”

“Hello, sweetheart. Where are the cleaning supplies?”

He pointed toward the back. “Utility closet.”