“No,” she squeals. “Not the tickle monster.” Evie runs around the table, and I catch her in my arms, tickling her sides beforelifting her in the air. Her laughter fills the space, making me wonder if I’ll ever hear my own children’s laughter floating through my house.
I shake my head, unsure where that thought came from. I’ve always wanted a family, but I have a few steps to take before getting to that point. You know, like dating.
You already went on a date with Kelsey, I remind myself. Or maybe a non-date. Either way, I enjoyed our non-date way more than the real ones in my twenties.
Even the two years I spent with my last girlfriend weren’t as enjoyable as the short time I’ve spent with Kelsey. But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. My ex wasn’t exactlymarriage material. After all, I could never end up with someone who thought I spent too much time taking care of Evie and Tess after my sister went through her divorce.
“Uncle Ty, you’re getting my shirt wet.” She wiggles in my arms.
I put Evie back on her feet. “Sorry, kiddo.” The microwave beeps, and I drop to my knees. “Dinner or new clothes first?”
She pinches her wet shirt. “New clothes.”
I help her find a sweater that should keep her warm since we’ll be outside after dusk for the surprise I have in store. I leave her alone to change and head to my room, throwing my pants into my laundry hamper and putting on a pair of khakis. After looking at myself in the mirror, I change out of my black long-sleeve into a maroon one.
We meet back in the kitchen to eat dinner. Evie tops her bowl of spaghetti with an obscene amount of Parmesan cheese that probably takes away all the nutritional value of this meal, but she’s a growing girl, so I don’t say anything.
I put our used bowls in the sink. Even though it kills me to leave dirty dishes out, I don’t want to risk missing our entry time for tonight’s event.
“Put your shoes on, please.” I pull on my duck boots and grab her coat from the closet. “To the car,” I say, throwing Evie over my shoulder. She playfully hits my back. “Hmm, this sack of potatoes sure is wiggly. Maybe it needs a quality check.” I put her down and hold up an imaginary magnifying glass, moving it up and down her arms.
Evie shakes her head, but the grin she’s wearing is worth all the gold in the world. “It’sme, Uncle Ty.”
“Well, thank goodness. Otherwise, you would miss the Pumpkin Spectacular.”
She gasps. “I heard people talking about that at school.” Evie wraps her little arms around my neck. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I smile, glad to feel like I’m at least doing one thing right. While it’s hard to process all my muddled feelings toward Kelsey, at least I can sleep at night knowing Evie is loved and cared for while her mom is gone.
We park and walk to a local amphitheater, getting in line behind a large group of people waiting to be let in for our time slot. Evie and I talk about her day at school and play games together on my phone until the sun sets. After dusk, the volunteers begin letting people in. The second we pass under the arch and enter the trail for the park, Evie looks around like it’s Christmas morning.
We walk along the paved path between a forest of trees. Pumpkins surround us on both sides, all exquisitely carved. There are so many little details that you could walk around for hours and still need more time to look at them all.
Evie’s hands ball into little fists as she excitedly takes everything in.
“Can you guess how many pumpkins there are?”
“A hundred?” she asks with awe.
“More than five thousand.”
Evie’s jaw drops. “That’s way higher than I can count.”
“Maybe it will be good math practice.”
“No.” She groans. “We’re here forfun, Uncle Ty. Not school.” Evie points ahead. “It’s Elsa!” She drags me to a section featuring characters fromFrozen, where baby-blue lights illuminate the pumpkins and the chorus of “Let It Go” plays.
Evie finally lets us continue walking once I’ve heard the song at least three times. “Is Ms. Kelsey coming?”
“No, I thought we’d have fun tonight, just the two of us.”
She scrunches her nose. “Then why is she here?”
I glance up and see Kelsey and her roommates looking at the rest of the Disney-themed designs.
“Ms. Kelsey!” Evie shouts, letting go of my hand and running to her nanny.
Kelsey turns our way, her surprise morphing into a giant grin as she hugs my niece.
