That's more than enough for me. "Thanks for the blanket again."
"It's not much of a redo, but hopefully it'll make your room more welcoming."
"You know what I'd really like to have in my room?"
"What?"
"You. I'd never leave this room again."
"That would be very bad for your Seattle business," she says.
"True, but it would be very good for both of us."
I realize at this moment how much I miss her. Her and the kiss police. Chloe and Lucas arguing about which tone of gray in this room is shittier, with Sienna telling them “shitty” is a bad word would definitely liven things up.
"How was your weekend?" I ask.
"Well, something happened, and I called you earlier to ask if you talked to Lucas recently."
"During lunch yesterday. Why?"
"Because he just scared the wits out of me. Pranking Lucas is back in business. He brought up his Halloween box and everything."
"I’m so proud of that kid."
"What did you tell him?"
Lucas called me yesterday at lunch, eager to talk about the big soccer game from Friday night. He was very disappointed I hadn't watched it. I can’t blame him though; when I was nine, if someone had told me they worked on Friday evening instead of watching a soccer game, I would’ve dropped them from my “cool people” list. I took advantage of the opportunity to prod him, sniffing for information.
"I tested the waters, trying to understand why he stopped. Turns out, he thought being the man of the house meant being a grown-up, and grown-ups don't prank people. I used myself as an example to prove the opposite," I say.
"You're a genius. I never get him to tell me these things."
I stay silent for a while, mulling over a thought that occurred a while back. "I think it's easier for him to talk about these things with outsiders."
"Christopher?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for talking to Lucas. This is the most romantic thing you could have done."
"Happy I helped. In all honesty, I was dying to have someone to pass on the pranking skills to. My nieces are sadly still too young. Anyway, I always said a prank is the best way to lighten up any day."
She snorts. "Please explain."
"What did Lucas do?"
"He put a spider on my neck."
"Still hasn't moved past the spider phase? I have to teach that kid better pranks."
"Should I be afraid?"
"Terrified. Anyway, before you realized the spider was just rubber, I bet you almost had a panic attack, thinking over all the worst-case scenarios."
"Yeah."
"So after learning it was a prank, you realized all your real problems are nothing compared to the scenarios. See, your day is better."