Page 10 of Get A Fix

“You think I’m pathetic because⁠—”

“I don’t think that for a second. I have sisters who all have kids, and that is not easy. Mothers are astounding. My own used to tell me that if she’d had me first, she would have stopped at one.”

She nodded.

“But please, I would never judge. We all hit a wall at some point.”

“Yes,” she agreed with a sigh.

“Juju,” Gemma announced, and even without translation, I knew she was thirsty. “May I?” I asked before leaning over and pulling Gemma’s sippy cup out of the pocket of the backpack Ainsley was bearing the weight of. The cup was empty, but it looked and smelled like it had milk in it earlier.

“Okay, Gemma, hold on,” I said to the toddler before turning to Ainsley. “I’m gonna go rinse this out at the water filling station right there, and I’m taking your kid with me.”

She gave me a dismissive wave.

I rolled Gemma with me, rinsed the sippy cup, and once that was done, I filled it with water and passed it to Gemma.

“Juju,” she insisted.

It was a cute word, and she was adorable when she said it, but that wouldn’t sway me since it was all we had on hand and better for her body and her teeth than juice. “No,” I replied, shaking my head. “Water.”

She scowled at me, and it was pretty good for a two-year-old, but I’d been through this with nieces and nephews and I was ready. I could outlast her no matter what.

After only a few moments she gave me an aggrieved sigh and said, “Wadder,” then started slurping it down.

Once I returned to Ainsley, rolling her daughter along with me, she looked better standing up.

“So, shall we go get the stroller?”

Quick nod.

“I will hug you if that’s okay, but I need permission.”

She whispered a please, and I wrapped her up tight. There were lots of awwws and comments from people walking by. I heard What a sweet family and How clever is that, how the toddler is on the suitcase.

Ainsley finally pulled back, sniffled, took a breath, and pointed at Gemma. “That is clever.”

“You can thank my sister Camryn. She doesn’t wait for short legs going through the airport. Her youngest always rides.”

She smiled. “How many sisters do you have?”

“Four.”

“And brothers?”

I grinned at her.

“Oh I see, your mother would have stopped with you if she had you first.”

“That’s what she always says, but you know, she exaggerates a bit, and I’m her favorite child without question. I might have been a terror when I was Gemma’s age, but once we all hit puberty, I was easy. The girls were hard.”

“My parents only had girls, and they were always thankful.”

“Well, again, I’m the one she loves the most. Everyone knows that.”

“That part where you told me she exaggerates, have you ever said that to her face?”

I squinted at her. “I would be murdered. Horribly. Do you understand how fast she could kill me?”