“Cupcake,” I sigh. “Frankie and I don’t get along.”
Her flat stare sees straight through me. “Yes, you do.”
“We really don’t,” I reiterate.
“Then why do you get hearts in your eyeballs whenever you look at her?”
Dennis tries to muffle a bark of laughter behind his fist, but fails miserably. “Spit it out, son. We’re all family.”
I grind my molars until an ache spreads in my jaw. “You don’t have to make this more difficult for me.”
The devious twinkle in his eye is alarming. “This is for your own good.”
There isn’t much left to say, especially with these two teamed up against me. “I’m sure Frankie already has plans.”
“Only one way to find out,” Dennis croons.
“Ask her!” Ronnie applauds her correct answer.
“We’ll see,” I evade.
“What’s she doing now?”
I glare at my uncle. “Does it matter?”
“Wouldn’t hurt to send her a quick text. Just to get it out of the way.”
“Yes, do that!” My seemingly innocent daughter points at where my phone sits on the table. “Tell her I miss her, m’kay?”
Before I can put an end to this spiral, the bingo caller turns on the microphone. Every voice in the room shuts off as if connected to a switch. “We’ll begin round seven in two minutes. This will be a traditional bingo. Winner gets two hundred dollars or their choice of prize from the table.” She sends a collective wink to the children spread around the large area.
“Yippppeee! I’m gonna pick the bedazzling kit. We need it to make our crafts sparkle.” Ronnie claps in optimistic glee.
My smile returns easily. “You’ll have to show me how it works.”
“Frannie can teach you. She’s got a whole book about it.”
Warmth spreads through my chest. “Of course she does.”
“Shhhhhh,” she shushes me and presses a finger to my lips. “We gotta listen.”
But my mind is elsewhere. The more I think about it, another night with Frankie is a fantasy I’m eager to explore. I glancedown at the punctures she left on my arm. The wounds are healing, but my memory is infected with our explosive fuckery. She might need convincing. I could leave that up to Ronnie. Dennis would gladly join in the bombarding.
“Bingo! I got bingo!” Ronnie is jumping up and down, waving her paper in the air.
The caller laughs into the microphone. “Congratulations, cutie. Come on up here and get your winnings. For those playing for money, the game is still live.”
My little girl wraps me in a tight squeeze. When she straightens from the hug, her tiny index finger races down the slope of my nose and taps my chin. I repeat the gesture instantly.
“Guess what?” she whispers.
“You love me?”
“Duh,” she giggles and rolls her eyes. “That’s not what I was gonna say.”
“Tell me,” I urge.
Ronnie twirls away, the widest smile plastered on her face. “I’m gonna make Frannie something really super pretty for your date!”