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“Aww, but I’m hungry.”
“Then have a piece of fruit.”
“This is an f word kind of day, Mama.” The child sighs and folds her arms, pouting out her bottom lip in a way that makes me chuckle even while her mom admonishes her.
“Ade! Don’t say that!”
“I don’t know what I said. I wasn’t listening to myself.”
I laugh loudly and Lumi whips round to glare at me. I force the amusement from my face.
“Please don’t encourage her. She’s already incorrigible enough as it is.”
Unable to keep a straight face, I turn to the boys to give them some privacy and check my cell. Full signal.
“Shall I order some pizza?” I ask.
“Yeah. Just get a selection,” Yas replies.
“Shit. Do you think she’s veggie?” Quilo asks.
“Dunno. I hope not. Order a margarita just in case?”
“Good idea, Yas,” I say, hitting dial. I move into the small but tidy kitchen area and place my order, asking them to put a rush on it. I figure, if the food gets here fast enough, maybe Ade will be allowed a slice before bed.
Done, I move back to the lounge and see that everyone has made themselves at home. Lumi is curled up on the couch, Yas is sitting in one of the armchairs and Quilo is sprawled out on the floor playing with Ade and her animals. There’s a miniature ice rink set up.
“Is that real ice?” I ask, impressed.
“Yeah!” Ade grins at me. “Mama Ma—”
Lumi coughs loudly, cutting off whatever she was going to say. Ade frowns at her and then looks back at me.
“It doesn’t matter if I break this one.”
“What do you mean, Ade, baby?” Lumi asks.
“I dunno. I was really scared when I saw you were hurt, Mama. And I felt like a big burst of something. It was like a ball building inside me and it shot out like lightning,” Ade explains. Worry lines Lumi’s eyes and she grips the edge of the sofa a little too hard.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s okay. It was super easy to get fixed and no one got hurt,” Quilo says, gently reassuring the small girl.
“Mama did,” she says sadly.
“Yeah,” I jump in. “But that was me being a massive oaf and not watching where I was going.”
Ade smiles and goes back to playing polar bears with Quilo.
“No, it doesn’t sound like that,” she admonishes him. “It’s more like this…”
She makes an ear-splitting noise that sounds nothing like any animal I’ve ever heard before, and I wince as I cover my poor ears.
“Ade, remember it’s late and people are sleeping,” Lumi reminds her.
“Sorry.”
“Actually, polar bears sound more like this,” Yas tells her before unleashing a roar that makes the windows rattle. Ade freezes, her face a mask of shock. There’s a beat of silence and just as Yas starts to look horrified at traumatizing the little girl, Ade rolls on the rug, laughing until tears stream down her face.
