Layla

“Sometimes,” Cyn admitted. “Very rarely now that he’s older, but when he was smaller, it wasn’t an unknown situation.”

This time, my full body shudder had less to do with the dripping sensation, although it wasn’t out of the running altogether.

“My brothers and cousins have had enough kids to keep the Townsend DNA going. I don’t think I want any,” I said seriously. “The great part about always being the aunt is that I get to pass them back when they cry, shit themselves, do something bad, or just smell in general. It’s a win-win.”

“Me, too,” Jacinda agreed. “I don’t even want to think about how you deal with a blowout or projectile vomit. And spreading puddles of poop on the floor? Nah, I wasn’t built for that shit. Literally.”

Cyn sighed. “Sorry, I’m just in a crappy mood today. I didn’t mean to talk so harshly to you guys.”

My head turned so quickly it snapped. “That’s you in a shitty mood?”

She rubbed at her forehead. “I know, it’s horrible, isn’t it? I hate it when I feel like this.”

“Wait,” Jacinda called, getting as close to us as she could. “You’re being serious? This is really you in a bad mood?”

Cyn blinked. “Well, yeah? Total bitch features, hey?”

I was speechless, but Jacinda wasn’t. “How’s that possible? You haven’t snapped or used anything other than your normal tone since you arrived. When I’m in a shitty mood, Canon runs or covers his balls, people avoid me, and even my psychotic cat retreats to safety.”

Cyn frowned. “Why don’t people ever believe me when I say I’m in a bad mood? Even I can hear the difference in my voice.”

I shook my head, the ability to speak finally returning. “Honey, you sound like you always do, that’s probably why. When people are pissed, they usually look it, sound it, and they snap or glare.”

“Unless they’re one of Layla’s clients, that is,” Jacinda added. “They pay her good money not to frown and glare. Hey, wait, it all makes sense now.”

Cyn looked over my shoulder at our friend. “Uh, no, I haven’t had any Botox. Not that I’d rule it out now or in the future, you never know what you’re going to want to do. But I haven’t got anything injected in my face.”

Then, turning to me, she pursed her lips. “Wait, do you think my upper lip could use some filler? It seems like it’s getting thinner.”

“It’s personal preference, Cyn. If you want to get it done, I’ll go through it with you to ascertain what kind of look you want. Personally, though, I don’t think you need anything done.”

She blew out a breath, looking slightly deflated. “Okay, then. I was planning on doing something different for my birthday. I don’t know why this one’s getting me down so much.”

“It’s your birthday?” we asked at the same time.

“Yeah, tomorrow. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to meet up with you guys, to see if you fancied going for a drink this weekend in Palmerstown. Nana’s taking Wick for the weekend so I don’t have to worry about my hangover.” She looked to the side and mumbled, “Not that I’ve had one of those since I gave birth.”

That shocked me. “You haven’t had a hangover since you had Wick?”

“Nope,” she shrugged. “I turned into a lightweight after I had him, so I can’t drink enough now to get a hangover the next morning.”

Movement next to me showed Jacinda hanging around the edge of the door frame, her feet still far away from the milkshake splatter, which resulted in her body being at an odd angle. “You can’t be serious.”

“By the time I finish glass number two of vino, I’m pissed. You know, before I had Wick, I used to be able to drink grown men under the table. I even won a competition in a pub in London. Now, I’m just a cheap date, but it means I don’t suffer the next morning, so there’s that, I guess.”

Mark’s return with a pack of two rolls of paper towels prevented Jacinda from asking Cyn any more questions. Bless her heart, Cyn took one of the rolls from him and began helping with the mess on the ground in a way I’d only ever seen a mom do—with an insane amount of competence. If I’d been doing it, I’d have ended up smearing it everywhere first before I managed to even see the pale tiles under it.

Did those skills turn on when you gave birth, or did you have to learn them when you were dealing with poop grenades?

I was so focused on what she was doing that I only vaguely heard Jacinda ask Mark something while she wiped up the splatters farther inside the room.

“Layla loves them so I figured I’d surprise her with one of them. Especially after yesterday.”

I couldn’t turn my neck far enough around to see him, so I bent and looked at him from between my legs, making Cyn giggle when she ended up only inches away from my face.

“Never thought I’d meet you between your legs,” she snickered.

“What do you mean, ‘especially after yesterday?’”