like he’d heard Gerry make many times. Must be one of those things they teach mothers, some sort of code for you are such an idiot. “Yes. And it’s so practical.”
“Can I ride in Lightning, Uncle Neil?” Elijah asked. “Can I? Please?”
Neil looked from him to Maddie. “Would it kill you to help me out?”
Her look clearly told him that while it might not kill her, it would pain her greatly. Still, she lifted a hand to someone outside—Fay most likely—then faced him. “He means Lightning McQueen.” He must have looked as blank as his brain felt because she added, “It’s a character from the Cars movie.”
“And Cars 2,” Elijah piped up. “Can I ride in it?”
Take his nephew for a ride? The kid couldn’t stay still for longer than thirty seconds and had talked nonstop for over an hour the last time Fay had flown out to Seattle. He didn’t even always make it to the bathroom in time.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Neil said, not caring if he sounded desperate and out of his element. He was desperate and out of his element.
“Why not?” Elijah asked, loosening his grip—all the better to lean back and send Neil a wide-eyed, imploring look.
Why not? Good question. Neil searched the room, as if something in there would supply inspiration.
“Oh, for the love of...” Maddie crossed over to them. “If you don’t want to take him in the car, say no. But you’d better do it before he asks his mother. Fay hasn’t quite grasped the concept of ‘no,’ or the power of ‘because I said so.’”
“But I want to ride with you,” Elijah whined.
“No,” Neil said, sounding gruff and vehement to his own ears.
Elijah’s eyes welled with tears. Shit. Neil opened his mouth, ready to promise the kid he could drive the car if he wanted, but Maddie interrupted.
“Your booster seat won’t fit in a car like Lightning.” She crouched to look Elijah in the eye. “And what’s the rule?”
Elijah sniffed, wiping his nose with the back of his hand and then wiping the back of his hand on Neil’s jeans. Neil tipped his head back and sighed.
“I haf to be in a booster until I’m eight,” Elijah said, as if that was a fate worse than death.
“Right. Or until you’re big enough to use a grown-up seat belt.” Tipping her head to the side, Maddie studied him. “You know...you do look a little taller than last week.”
“I do?” he asked in awe.
“I think so, but there’s only one way to be sure....” She took out her tape measure. “Okay, you know the drill.”
Elijah let go of Neil and ran over to press his back against the doorjamb separating the large front room from the entryway. “I’m ready.”
While Maddie measured the kid, Neil took the opportunity to wipe at the wet spot on his jeans and check out the window for Fay. Through the open back door of her minivan, he spotted her talking on the phone while trying to keep Mitchell, her eight-month-old son, from toppling out of the car.
“Yep,” Maddie told Elijah. “It’s official. You grew.”
“How much?”
“An eighth of an inch.” She straightened and offered him a high five. “Way to go.”
Elijah slapped her palm. “Yes!” He turned to beam at Neil. “I grew, Uncle Neil.”
“I heard.” But now both the kid and Maddie were looking at him expectantly. He had no clue why.
“What Uncle Neil means,” Maddie said, her hand on Elijah’s shoulder, “is good job.”
“I’m going to tell Mom,” Elijah said. “Can I take the tape measurer and show her how much?”
“Sure,” she said, handing it to him, “but remember it snaps back quickly so don’t pull it out too far. You hear me?”
“Uh-huh.” Elijah nodded as he did a little happy dance, his attention clearly not on one thing she was saying. “Mom,” he called, though Fay was still outside and couldn’t hear him. “Mommy! Look what I did.”
And he was off, his feet slipping on the floor in his haste.
“He grew,” Neil muttered once he and Maddie were alone, Elijah’s excited conversation with his mother a muffled explosion of words. “He had no control over it.”
“He wants you to be excited for him,” Maddie said. “Praise him.”
“Like a dog?”
She stared at him. “Yes, Neil,” she said, her tone all sorts of dry. “Like a dog. So, why don’t you tell me why you—and now your sister—are here?”
“I’d like a tour.”
“A tour?” Maddie repeated as if she’d never heard of the concept before.