Page 79 of Jay Bird

Apparently, Amira took that as an invitation to conduct the conversation from approximately three inches away, because instead of simply asking from her seat, she practically climbed onto the table to get closer to Lily.

“Do you wanna color?” she asked, as if the decreased distance was somehow necessary for Lily to understand the question.

Willow bit back a laugh, though others at the table found it hilarious.

Bear reached out and caught the back of Amira’s shirt before she could make it all the way onto the table.

“Easy, Spider-Man. You can ask her without climbing the furniture.”

Amira looked over her shoulder at him. “I’m not climbing on it.”

“You’ve got a knee next to my crab dip. I think we’ve crossed that line.”

Amira huffed like he was being completely unreasonable, then slid back into her seat. “Fine. But she might not hear me from all the way over here.”

Jay Bird glanced at the whopping two feet separating them. “Yeah. It’s a real long-distance situation.”

Amira stared directly at Jay Bird. “Uncle Jay Bird?”

“What?”

Amira pointed at Lily. “When did you get a kid?”

The table went suspiciously quiet. Willow nearly choked on her water.

Jay Bird looked down at Lily, then at Amira.

“I found her in the parking lot and decided to keep her.”

Amira’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“No,” Jocelyn said quickly.

Laughter broke out around the table, and before she could even think to hold it back, Willow found herself laughing right along with everyone else.

“Don’t tell her something like that. Shit, now she’s gonna be scoping out every parking lot we pass, looking for a kid she can bring home,” Bear muttered.

Amira looked at Willow. “Is he keeping you too?”

That only made the laughter around the table grow louder, and Willow felt her face heat up as she tried and failed to hide how flustered she was.

Jay Bird leaned toward Amira. “Eat your food.”

“I don’t have my food yet.”

“Then go play a game,” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out two dollars. He handed it to her.

Willow laughed again as Amira snatched the dollar bills from Jay Bird’s hand, looking as if she had hit the jackpot. Then she skipped off to the pinball machine.

Willow looked at Lily, who was watching everyone.

“Want to color, bug?”

Lily eyed everyone again, then slowly reached for a purple crayon and started to color.

Jay Bird leaned closer to Willow. “You okay?”

This time, when she answered, she meant it. “Yeah. I’m good.”