good aunt or simply being an enabler.”
“You’re being a good aunt.”
She turned back to Larry. “You’re biased.”
“Because I’m sleeping with you?”
“Exactly.”
“Think about it,” he said. “Would Amber stop seeing Zane if you weren’t babysitting?”
“No,” Crystal admitted.
“There you go. There’s nothing you can do to alter her behavior. From what you’ve said, there’s a pattern to these reunions, and you simply have to let it run its course.”
“And keep the fallout from hurting the kids.”
“That’s right. And that’s exactly what you’re doing.” He reached across the seat to cover her hand with his. “You’re a good aunt, Crystal. And you’re a good person.”
His sweet intentions warmed her heart.
“You’re still biased,” she reminded him.
“You forget. I’m a scientist. We’re trained to be impartial.”
“I remember. You’re a man. You’re anthropologically selected to think with your hormones.”
His gaze warmed. “I’m thinking with them now.”
So was she. “See what I mean?”
He nodded toward two blocks up the busy street. “That the parking lot?”
“Take a left at the light, and you can pull right in.”
Larry stopped his car in the pickup lane while Crystal jumped out. She spoke to the entry attendant, who confirmed that Amber had given her permission for Crystal to take the kids.
The kids were thrilled to see her, doubly thrilled when they learned Larry was along as well.
“I’m going to be a fighter jet pilot,” David called, swinging his backpack into Larry’s compact backseat and clambering in.
“It’s a tough job. The F-15 Eagle, for example, has a top speed of Mach 2.5,” said Larry. “That’s 1694 miles an hour at thirty thousand feet. A whopping 1902 miles an hour at sea level.”
“Whoa!”
“You sure you want to go that fast?”
“Yes!” David shouted, with a bounce on the seat.
Jennifer paused before getting in the car, looking up at Crystal. “Is Mommy okay?” she asked in a quiet voice.
An ache flashing across her chest, Crystal smoothed Jennifer’s hair back from her forehead and forced out a cheery smile. “Of course, she’s okay. She’s at work right now, but she said you could come to my place for dinner if you wanted.”
Jennifer smiled and her narrow shoulders seemed to relax. Crystal realized she needed to have another talk with Amber. It looked like waiting out Zane might be too hard on Jennifer.
“Fighter pilots always wear their safety harness,” said Larry, and David immediately searched for the two ends of his seat belt.
“They wear helmets, too,” said David as he buckled in.
“Safety equipment is very important,” said Larry, gazing expectantly at Crystal.
“Oops.” She grabbed her own seat belt.
He smiled. “Fighter pilots have really cool flight suits.”
“And parachutes,” chimed David.
“That’s right,” said Larry as they pulled out of the day care’s pickup lane and back into traffic. “Do you know what happens if a fighter pilot pulls the ejection lever?”
David’s voice was hushed. “What?”
Crystal found herself paying attention along with Jennifer.
“The aircraft canopy comes off, an explosive charge goes off under his seat, and he and his chair are propelled at twelve g’s into the air where a parachute deploys, sending them safely back to earth.”
“And then the plane blows up,” said David.
“It definitely crashes,” Larry agreed.
“What if there are people underneath?” asked Jennifer, her forehead furrowing.
Larry cast a worried glance into the rearview mirror. “There usually aren’t,” he said in a cheerful voice. “A very small percentage of the earth’s surface is populated. Add up all the deserts and jungles and farmland. Did you know that seventy-one percent of the world is covered in water?”
Jennifer went from worried to impressed. “Do you know everything, Uncle Larry?” she asked.
Crystal’s and Larry’s eyes met over the honorary title. She wasn’t touching it with a ten-foot pole.
“I know a lot of things,” he told Jennifer. “Mostly scientific things.”
“Arithmetic,” said David with a scowl.
“Arithmetic is important,” said Larry. “You can’t be a pilot without learning arithmetic.”
“I guess,” said David, drumming his feet against the back of Larry’s seat.
“Anybody up for South Park Mall?” asked Larry.
“Milkshakes,” sang David.
Jennifer sat straight up, looking to Crystal. “Can we?”
AT THE ELECTRONICS STORE, Larry urged David toward the toy section, leaving Crystal alone with Jennifer.
“Do any of your friends have cell phones?” Crystal asked, as they slowed beside the display case.
“Melinda Bergman has the AS-207, so she can take pictures. And Alicia Wong has a Blingbot. But her parents are rich.”
“Have you ever thought you might like one?”
Jennifer looked at her curiously. They both knew Amber wasn’t into extravagant gifts, and Grandma thought a land line worked perfectly fine, thank you very much.
“I was thinking,” said Crystal, lifting a slim, pearlescent pink model. “That having one might be handy.”
“Mom would just say no,” Jennifer sighed, her attention going to the shiny black one at the far end.
Good taste, that girl. It was top of the line.
“It would be very practical,” Crystal continued. “Like, I could call you. And you could call me. It wouldn’t matter where you were, or what you were doing.”
Jennifer looked at her, a light obviously going on in her brain. “Like when Mom was late or something.”
“Yeah,” Crystal admitted. “If Mom was ever late.”
Jennifer chewed her bottom lip.
“You could call your friends,” said Crystal.
“It’s not my birthday.”
“No, it’s not.”
“And it’s not Christmas, or even Easter.”
“Mayday?” Crystal tried.
“It’s June,” said Jennifer.
“Special Secret Surprise Present Day?”
Jennifer giggled.
“I just decided when that should be,” said Crystal. “Right now.”
Jennifer looked at the phones and sobered.
Crystal crouched down so that they were eye level. “We both know your dad can be unpredictable.”
The young girl nodded.
“So, just in case. Just for emergencies, like when you practice fire drills at school. Mostly you’ll be calling your friends at recess. But we can put my phone number on a speed dial button. And you can call me. Anytime.”
“Like, if David has a bad dream. And Mommy won’t wake up?”
“Sure,” said Crystal, forced to blink back tears for a second.
Jennifer nodded. “David might need you.”
“He might,” said Crystal. “And he’s too young to take care of a phone.”
