Page 66 of Lose You Twice

“So does our dryer,” Daisy says.

Fair.

By the time we get home, Justin is at the kitchen table with a poster board and markers, while Holden is on a chair in the kitchen with a towel, fanning the smoke detector furiously so it doesn’t start going off.

I look toward the stove, finding what appears to be a sad, sad attempt at grilled cheese. My guess would be he got a text and got a little distracted for a few seconds too long.

“I had it under control,” Holden says.

The pan says otherwise.

I set my bag down. “Uh-huh.”

Justin looks up. “Do we have glitter?”

“No.”

“For sure?”

“Justin.”

“What if my project needs visual impact?”

“Your project needed to be started before today.”

He points a green marker at me. “That kind of negativity blocks creativity.”

“Your creativity is about to be blocked by a failing grade.”

Daisy gasps. “Can I use glitter?”

“We do not have glitter.”

Lily appears beside me. “We have glitter.”

I turn slowly. “Where?”

Her eyes go wide, realizing she just gave away something she wasn’t supposed to. I crouch down so that I’m eye level with her.

“Lily, where is the glitter?”

Daisy sighs heavily behind me. “She hid it in the bathroom under where our extra hair things are.”

Lily takes off toward the stairs, and I take off after her, making sure I confiscate the glitter before our entire house turns into a unicorn dreamland for a second time. It’s been weeks, and I am still finding freaking sparkles everywhere.

An hour later, dinner is made, everyone is fed. Holden and I stand side by side at the sink while Justin and the twins are sitting in the living room, watching a documentary on the ocean.

“How was the job?” he asks quietly.

I rinse the burned pan. “Smelly.”

“That all?”

“No. There were also labels.”

He chuckles at that, knowing just how different organization is from my chaos. “Living the dream.”

“Try not to be jealous.”