A shudder worked down my spine and I silently promised I’d poke my eyes out if she didn’t stop alluding to her plans. “Okay. Sounds great!”
She laughed and pulled me in for a hug. “Prude.”
If she only knew. I pressed a kiss to her cheek and then motioned to the kids. “Come on, guys. We’re taking Bessie!”
Arlo climbed out after Birdie, pouting. “Aw, man. I like Big Ham.”
Mom knelt in front of him and held out her fist for him to pound. “My kind of guy. What’s your name, kid? I’m Sunshine.”
“Arlo! I like your name.” He looked back at his sister. “That’s Olive. She’s named after the bad pizza topping.”
Olive shoved her brother and shot a look at Birdie. “No, I’m not.”
“Well, I love your name. It’s perfect for you and this beautiful skin you’ve got. It was nice to meet both of you. Be good to my Freddie and Birdie.”
Olive’s eyes lit up. “You call her Freddie?”
“Yep. Her daddy’s name was Freddy and we named her Winnifred after him. I’ve always called her Freddie Jr. You can call her that, too. I’ll allow it since you’re going to be such good friends with Birdie.”
“How do you know?”
Birdie took Olive’s hand without a second thought. “Grandma just knows things. If she says it’ll happen, it’ll happen. Come on.”
I stared after the kids climbing into the old Volkswagen van and sighed. “They’re definitely going to tell their father I’m the child of a rainbow witch.”
Mom chuckled and hugged me tight. “Just leave Bessie’s keys in the console when you pick up Big Ham. Love you, beautiful girl.”
“I love you, too, Mom.”
The drive to Sawyer’s house was filled with Olive and Birdie gossiping like they’d known each other since the seventies and had decades of life to talk about. Arlo tried to get a word in every so often, but was reminded once by his sister that Birdie’s grandma hadn’t said that he and Birdie would be best friends forever. I’d tried to tell them it didn’t mean that he couldn’t be friends with Birdie, too, but Olive wasn’t convinced.
As much as it wasn’t what I wanted, I couldn’t deny the warmth that came from driving around a can full of laughing kids. Knowing that Birdie was happy and enjoying kids for a change filled me with joy. I often worried that she really thought her peers were Gabe and other people our age.
Arlo shouted when I drove down the long driveway that led to Sawyer’s house. “Uncle Jack is here, too!”
Olive leaned over and informed Birdie that Jack and his son Henry were Arlo’s favorites, because Henry wasn’t as crazy as Sawyer’s twin boys. Before I could inform them that I would just be dropping them off and that Birdie would never meet Henry or Sawyer’s wild kids, they were all three running towards the massive front door of the house.
I shouted after them, angry they hadn’t even waited for me to put the van in park before jumping out, but it was no use. By the time I got my seatbelt off and had both feet out of the van, they were disappearing through the front door.
I hurried after them, furious at Birdie. She’d just blown up all my plans of getting out of there as soon as humanly possible.
Easing open the cracked front door, I peeked inside and whispered Birdie’s name. It didn’t take more than a split second for me to realize it was useless. Screams were piercing through the house and the sound of total mayhem and destruction came from somewhere deep inside the massive home. It was the sound of glass shattering that finally pushed me over the edge and into teacher mode. My daughter was somewhere in the warzone that Sawyer called home. I had to find her grounded little butt and get her out of there. And maybe rescue the other children while I was at it.
27
Winnie
Mayhemwasn’t a big enough word to describe what I found in the kitchen at the back of the house. I was shocked and horrified to find smoke billowing out of the stove while Jack and Sawyer fanned it with frilly oven mitts. Two identical boys who looked like they were well on their way to playing professional football were literally bouncing off each other and hitting whatever was around them. A small boy was on the ground, a deep frown on his face as he rubbed his red forehead. Arlo was on the ground, checking on the smaller boy, and he quickly became a speedbump for one of the larger boys.
I watched Olive’s sisterly instincts kick in as she screamed like an angry cat and jumped on the boy’s back, wrestling with his head while he laughed. His brother eyed Birdie, who put her hands on her hips in a defiant stance, and I knew I couldn’t just watch. There was glass on the floor, fire, and two dumb men who weren’t doing so well.
The twin without a child attached to his head stepped towards Birdie with a big grin on his face,. She marched right over to Sawyer and Jack and cleared her throat.
“Excuse me? Your house is a zoo, and I’m just wondering who the heck is in charge here.”
“Birdie! How many times do I have to tell you that you don’t get to speak like Uncle Gabe?”
Jack frowned up at Birdie. “There’s another kid. Why is there another kid? They’re multiplying.”