“Um, Olivia.” I felt a little emotional as I said, “Ohmigodthankyousomuch.”
I moved over to wait for my drink and felt even more excited about this life redo, because I was actually having good luck for once. That had to be a cosmic sign, right? I grabbed my drink when they yelled my name, then I unwrapped the straw and took a huge sip of my cosmically gifted beverage.
So, so good.
My phone buzzed, and when I pulled it out of the waistband of my shorts, I saw a message from my anonymous friend who I thought I’d unfriended the night before.
Mr. Wrong Number: I thought we were done, Misdial.
I was confused until I saw the message above his.
Apparently I’d butt texted him a series of letters and symbols.
Me: Sorry, that was a butt dial.
Mr. Wrong Number: Sure it was.
I giggled and looked up. The guy barista with the ponytail raised an eyebrow, but no one else seemed to be looking my way. I texted: Swear to God.
Mr. Wrong Number: Well, good. Because we are NOT going to banter, right?
Me: Right.
Mr. Wrong Number: You have a good day, Misdial.
Me: You, too, Wrong Number.
Mr. Wrong Number: kkljfhjdfshghgdhgh
I smiled, shoved my phone back into my shorts, and started humming “Walking on Sunshine” as I headed for the exit, excited to get home and tackle more job applications. The morning was rich with possibilities, and I wasn’t going to waste a single second. I was pushing the door to exit when it opened and my sister-in-law, Dana, was on the other side with her boys.
“You guys!” I nearly leapt through the door as I scooped up Kyle and spun him around. “What are you doing here?”
I squeezed that little cutie and sniffed his neck, where he still smelled like baby sweetness even though he’d just turned four and wouldn’t be sweet for long. Dana was smiling—no surprise, because my oldest brother’s adorable wife was always smiling—and holding Brady, who looked like he belonged on a babyGap billboard with his chubby cheeks and yellow sun hat.
“Our new place is just around the corner,” she said, shifting him on her hip. “Will said you were back, but I told him he couldn’t bug you yet.”
“Shut your mouth, Dana,” I said as Kyle giggled and leaned forward to hover over my straw. “I want you bugging me constantly. The only upside to moving back home is getting to hang with my dudes all the time.”
She laughed and said, “Well, you don’t have to tell me twice. Want to watch the boys today?”
I knew I had to job hunt, but surely two tiny humans wouldn’t impair my ability to do that, right? “Yes, please.”
She crinkled her perfect eyebrows. “I was kidding, Liv.”
“Don’t be kidding.” I leaned my face forward to grin at Brady, instantly getting that mush-happy vibe that my nephews always inspired. “Please don’t be kidding. You’re not allowed to be kidding.”
“Are you serious?”
I shrugged and growled at Kyle as he took a long sip of my frappuccino, which made him belly laugh while continuing to guzzle my drink. “I was going to job hunt today, but that can wait a few hours. Give me the care and feeding instructions and they can chill with Auntie Liv until lunchtime.”
“Oh, my God—that would be incredible.” Her whole face lit up as she set down Brady and reached for his hand. “We’re getting the rugs cleaned this morning so we had to vacate the apartment, but I just knew they were going to get bored after twenty minutes of running errands.”
“See? Win-win.” I pointed my chin at her diaper bag. “Does that thing have enough stock for multiple morning poopies?”
“It does.”
“Well, then, hand it over.”
Dana went inside and got her coffee before we made the exchange. She squeezed me into a ginormous hug, and just like that—we were off. Dana was very nearly skipping as she headed toward her car, and we were skipping as we took off in the other direction, where my apartment awaited.
Just being around those little turds made everything better. We played I spy outside for an hour （though Brady pretty much just screamed the words I spy but had no idea what we were doing）， rode the elevator up and down the building three times, shouting, “See ya!” whenever the doors opened and closed on a floor, and then we spent a solid forty-five minutes blowing bubbles off the balcony while aimlessly hoping to hit selected targets.
It was amazing.
I dragged my air mattress into the living room and we made a fort, using it in conjunction with the sofa and the coffee table turned on its side. We were so into our little hideout activities, which was pretty much just eating popcorn in the fort and singing songs from Moana, that I didn’t even hear someone come in until I looked out of the fort and saw a pair of sleek dress shoes approximately twelve inches from my face.