Something was shaking me. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, so I tried to brush it off. I swatted and I grumbled, but the shaking wouldn’t go away. After abandoning my sweet dreams of me and Martinez tangoing in our swimsuits on the beaches of Jamaica, I reluctantly opened my eyes to find Danny staring down at me. For a minute, I thought I’d waken up from a dream into another dream—I’d done that before—but then I quickly remembered the events of the night before. I struggled to sit up, glad that I had remembered to wear shorts and a t-shirt to bed. Wouldn’t want to be charged with child abuse or endangerment or something like that.
“What is it, sweetie?” I asked Danny, glancing at my beside clock at the same time. It was nearly one, which meant I got close to seven hours of sleep. Not bad.
“I’m hungry, Auntie. And I want my mommy.” Danny was holding Percy in one hand and sucking the thumb of his other. “I also have to go potty.” I leapt out of bed and dragged him to the bathroom where he did his thing. I silently thanked Kayla for potty-training Danny so early as it made things much easier.
“Let’s see what I can make you,” I said, grabbing Danny by the hand and taking him to the kitchen.
“I want my mommy,” he repeated in a louder voice. “When are you going to find her?”
“It’s not that easy, Danny,” I said, rummaging through the fridge. I tried to remember how long the eggs had been there, but I couldn’t. That meant no eggs as I wasn’t taking a chance of giving salmonella to Danny. Pancakes. I could make pancakes. “Do you like pancakes, honey?” I asked, reaching for a box. Danny nodded yes, but he refused to be distracted.
“You found me. Why can’t you find my mommy?” Before I could answer, my cell phone rang. I gave Danny an apologetic glance, but I raced to find it. Who knew what important information it could be? It was my mother.
“I’m back. That poor, poor boy,” Mom said, clucking her tongue against her teeth. “And poor Julia so worn out. I made her promise she would take a whole day to show Banana the sights. How are you, dear?” The answer to my prayers!
“Mom, are you busy today?” Before she could ask why, I filled her in on the situation—leaving out my little escapade at the club last night, of course. She was properly appalled and agreed to watch over Danny while I visited Matt and talked to Martinez. She told me to come right over, that she would defrost a few of her frozen goodies which she saved for an emergency such as this. Knowing her, it would be a seven-course meal, but I had no objections. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten a real meal, and my mom was a better cook than I could ever hope to be.