I creep through the dark house in hopes of not waking Fran, but then a light comes on in the kitchen.She stands there with a glass of wine and an expression that screams really? I may be nervous about getting into trouble, but I can’t stop smiling like a loon.
“Come give me a hug,” she says.
“Really? Aren’t you going to yell at me for being so late?”
“No.”
“How much wine have you had?”
She chuckles, but it’s a sober chuckle. She’s not tipsy. “Come here, you little shit. I just want a hug.”
As soon as I’m within reach, she wraps one arm around me, pulling me tightly against her. “I love you, Sugar.”
“Aunt Fran?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“Why don’t you ever call me by my real name? Serenity?”
There’s a long pause. Then she whispers into my hair, “Because that’s the name I’d shared with him. If I ever had a little girl, I was going to name her Serenity.”