Page 95 of Sleeper: The Palisades Edition

“Exactly. Exactly like that.”

My kids simultaneously shrug their shoulders.Whatever.Mommy and Landon must have their door closed a lot.

“But it would mean Willa and I will be phoning and texting each other when we aren’t with each other.”

“What about when you are with each other?”

“We’re probably going to text each other when we’re in the same room sometimes too. We can’t seem to stop doing that.”

Summer scrunches up her entire face for a few seconds and then exhales and throws her hands up in the air. “Fine. Just pay attention to us at the dojo.”

“Deal.”

Lucky asks, “Can we Skyped her? Or is she still being weird?”

“I guess we can try Skyping her tomorrow. I’m not sure which one of us is being weird. I just don’t want you guys to get your hopes up about her moving back in with us. I mean, she loves you a lot, but she might have to move to New York for work.”

Summer rolls her eyes at me for the nine hundredth time in her life. “Yeah. We know she loves us. Do something to make her loveyou!”

“Oy vey. That’s harsh.”

All three of us are startled by the sound of the buzzer to the front gate. People don’t usually come by the house at night.

Summer bolts upright. “Maybe it’s Willa!”

“Unlikely. Maybe Margarita has a visitor.” While I slide down to the foot of the bed, the phone in my pocket vibrates. There’s a message from Nico:It’s me. Open up.

“It’s Uncle Nico.”

Summer jumps up on the bed. “I wanna see him!”

Lucky starts to climb out from under the covers. “I’m coming too then.”

“Both of you get back in bed right now and go to sleep, or I’ll send Margarita up.”

Their heads hit the pillows immediately, eyes shut tight. I don’t know… I kinda like this new nanny situation.

“Love you. Good talk. Nighty night.”

Margarita is by the front door, wearing pajamas and a robe, clutching an iPad to her chest and staring at the intercom. “Mr. Miller, I didn’t know which button to push.”

“I got it, Margarita. Sorry to disturb you. It’s a friend of mine.”

She nods and steps away, giving me the side eye. “Are the little ones asleep?”

“Almost.” When I turn on the front gate video, I see Nico holding up a six pack over his head, like John Cusack with a boom box inSay Anything. “You here to tell me you love me?” I say into the intercom. “Because you should have brought more beer.”

“Let me in, superstar. I haven’t got all night.”

I buzz him in and open the front door. I cannot believe he drove all the way out here and I didn’t even beg him. “Is everything okay?”

“I’m in the fucking Palisades at eight on a Wednesday night. What do you think?” He narrows his eyes at me. “Wow. You look like shit, bro. Good.”

“Did you expect to see sunshine shooting out of my ass? I’m a broken man. Also, keep your voice down—it’s bedtime.” I lead him to the kitchen, and he’s twisting open abottle when I’m shutting the doors. “What’s up?”

He takes a pull of his beer and hands me one. “Remember that very special Valentine’s Day episode ofThat’s So Wizard?”

“‘The Love Potion Notion?’”