Lilly
“Oh, please, please, unlock the door, Mr. Guard! I was framed for that robbery!” I shout with my hand to my forehead, for dramatic effect.
“No!” A little voice shouts, with a hand on a small, plastic gun. I’m still surprised how real it looks, and that is exactly what made him want it. “We have proof you stole the gummy bears!”
I snort to myself, refraining from laughing. Stealing gummy bears. Now that’s a crime of the century.
I have to stay serious, I remind myself. I promised. And it’s not a promise to be taken lightly.
“But I didn’t, I swear, I didn’t!” I say again, in a much whinier voice. I have to make it really believable, so I do my best. That’s what makes this game so much fun.
“Confess!” The same little voice says, that gun shaking right in front of my face, in a menacing way.
“Never!” I shout back, shaking my fist, pretending to be all mad. Now, the tables have turned. “Those gummy bears are mine, mine, I tell ya! Hahahaha!”
I have to admit that I don’t do the evil laughter very well, but it’ll serve its purpose. This is only about the tenth time I’m doing it, and it seems that I’m getting better at it… hopefully. Luckily, I haven’t gotten any complaints yet.
Then, suddenly, a new actor appears on the scene. “Fear not, I shall save you!” Marley lifts her cardboard sword up into the air.
“We’re not playing knights,” the guard, otherwise known as Will and a spitting image of his father, tells her. “You can’t rescue mommy.”
“I can, too,” Marley pokes fun.
I know she’s doing it on purpose. The difference between her and Will is a big one. She is already twelve now, and he only four. It was our fear that they wouldn’t get along, not only because of the big age gap, but also because they are a boy and a girl. However, Marley surprised us with her thoughtfulness and care, and even more with her willingness to play all those boy games, like cowboys and Indians, knights, cops and robbers, and the like.
Even now, when we all consider her as such a big girl, she has no problem reverting back to his level so that they can play together. I swear, with each passing year, Marley seems to grow up into such a sweet, kind and thoughtful young lady. It almost brings me to tears every time I witness it in action, such as now.
“Well, we could play something else,” I suggest. “Like, we could have an actual picnic in the yard, and eat real food. How about that?”
“Can we have pb and j sandwiches?” Marley wonders.
“We’d better,” I smile. “What kind of a picnic would it be otherwise?”
“Yay!” Will throws away his plastic gun and runs out of the room.
I step carefully out of the marked space on the carpet, which was supposed to have been my prison.
“You stole some gummy bears, huh?” Marley asks, with a sweet chuckle.
“It’s always something else,” I tell her, laughing. “But mostly candy. I’m a candy thief. That’s my fate.”
We go to the kitchen and see that Will is already there, grabbing the necessary stuff from the fridge for the aforementioned sandwiches.
“It’s Saturday,” Marley seems to notice only now, as she grabs a knife and starts spreading the peanut butter first, licking her finger, which dipped into the jar. “Where’s dad?”
“He went to pick up our guests,” I lean closer, whispering, so Will won’t hear. He always goes crazy and can barely wait for the moment when my parents come. He keeps asking a million times when they are going to come, and if you give him a million and one answers, he will still keep asking.
“Aha!” Will jumped to my left. “I heard you! Guests mean Pappa and Nanna!”
“You caught me,” I chuckle. “Daddy went to get them. They should be here soon.”
“When?” he asks.
“Oooh,” Marley rolls her eyes, laughing. “You won’t start with that again, will you?”
“What?” Will turns to her, his dark eyes and hair the perfect mirror image of his father, only a miniature version of him. “I was just asking when they’re coming.”
“Mom said soon,” Marley repeats.