Page 46 of The Lucky List
“Six, yeah?” I shift the bags of groceries in my arm and look at my watch.
“Shit. Is it six already?”
“’Tis.”
“What’s all that?” She nods to the bags in my arms. “I thought you were bringing dinner?”
“Dinner.” I hold up the bags a little to make my point.
“That’s not dinner, that’s the ingredients for dinner.”
“Exactly. And I’m going to cook these ingredients and make dinner.” I arch an eyebrow in jest.
“You’re going to cook?”
“I love to cook. I’m the resident chef at the station.”
“Okay, but the boys are picky eaters, so I hope you have chicken nuggets in there, because that’s about all they’ll eat at this point. If it isn’t shaped like an extinct animal, they don’t want to eat it.”
I chuckle, an idea already forming in my head. “Grand. Now can I come in? I’m freezing my balls off out here.”
“Okay, but I need to warn you, I lost track of time,and the two feral gremlins undid all the cleaning I did earlier, so do not judge me for the mess you’re about to see.”
“I spend most of my week in a firehouse surrounded by firefighters. Trust me, there is nothing that could shock me.”
She blows out a deep breath. “I’m pretty sure my floor is composed of Pokémon energy cards and Band-Aid wrappers at this point. And if you see a juice box, don’t step on it. Levi takes two sips and leaves them in random places. I’ve stepped on way too many Capri-Sun land mines, and my Bissell needs a break.”
“Noted.”
She opens the door and lets me in. It’s honestly not as bad as I expected, but it’s obvious kids live here, and I secretly love it.
“Lucky Charm!” Micah shouts as I walk into the kitchen.
Lucy’s mouth drops open.
“Mikachu!” I shout back as he runs over and hugs my leg. I’m touched he still remembers the nicknames we gave each other the day we met.
“Choo-choo!” Levi parrots as he climbs onto the arm of the couch and flings himself onto the cushion, completely unbothered by my presence.
“You have nicknames?” Lucy asks, confused.
“Yeah, he’s Mikachu, like Pikachu.”
“And he sounds like the green guy on the cereal box in the ads,” Micah adds.
The horrified look on her face makes me chuckle. “Micah, that is not nice. You cannot call him that just because he’s Irish.”
“It’s fine,” I say, brushing it off, yet secretly loving that she remembered our earlier conversation. “I wouldn’t recommend shouting it in Ireland, but I don’t mind it.”
“Can we have Lucky Charms for dinner?” Levi asks, now bouncing up and down on the cushions.
“No, and please don’t jump on the couch, Levi,” Lucy scolds.
She rubs her hands on her forehead like she’s trying to relieve a stress headache, and I jump into action. “Come here, Levisaur,” I say, walking to the couch and scooping him up. “I need your help.”
“I’m Bulbasaur!” Levi growls, chomping his teeth in my direction.
“He certainly zaps all my energy,” Lucy mutters. I give her a quizzical look as I set Levi down. “You know, cuz Bulbasaur draws energy into his back bulb, and that’s what powers all of his moves.”
