nicki might have had a small family but she was happy. jonah was just as much her family as her parents. not only did she look at him and treat him as a brother, her mother and father treated him as their own as well. kylie was no exception. she was her niece and their granddaughter. when she hears the small voice calling her name, nicki immediately feels every ounce of energy come back. “ ky ky! ” she calls back, arms outstretching and enveloping them around the small girl and kissing her head. “ ewww a butt? ” nicki scrunches her nose, “ did it look like his face? ”

nicki always felt guilty. telling jonah to come to the starlite had been her idea. they could see each other more and she could help him with kylie. that was the plan. unfortunately, their schedules didn’t sync up as much as she wished they did but despite being an olympic gold level quitter, jonah was someone she’d never quit on. “ hey! i’ll find somewhere. ” she argues, hand running over the smooth top of her previously owned but brand new trunk. “ i mean look at it jojo, how could i not? ” she pushes herself up and off of the steps, standing in front of him, she pinches her index finger and thumb “ just a little. ” she replies with a laugh.

Kylie was clearly thrilled to find an adult as interested in Danny’s drawing as she was. “He was going to draw it pooping but Mr B sent him into timeout.” The news was delivered with the grave air of a newscaster reporting a natural disaster. Jonah raised his eyebrows at Nicki and shook his head, mouthing ‘Don’t encourage her.’ He loved Nicki, he really did, but if Kylie started telling this story to strangers in an attempt to get the same reaction, he would not be happy.

it wasn’t often when nicole was up before at least five o’clock in the evening but today was an exception. one of the few things nicki loved as much as mcdonald’s was a good deal. in fact, she often skipped malls and retail shops — unless there was a clearance sale of course — in favor of thrift shops and flea markets. what was better than finding something priceless and unique for next to nothing? when her mother told her about a flea market she was headed to, nicki couldn’t turn it down no matter how much she preferred to sleep.

aside from some clothing she had to throw in a washing machine as soon as possible, she couldn’t resist buying a gorgeous vintage costume trunk. obviously it wasn’t something she needed but it was a steal, that was all that mattered. nicki had managed to lug her new purchase from her car and to the steps before collapsing onto them in exhaustion. she leans against the step behind her, elbows resting on it as well. “ i clearly didn’t think this one through. ” she says to no one in particular, taking a long moment to regain her energy. there was no way she could lug this thing up the steps until she did.

Accompanied by Kylie and her stories about the events of her day, Jonah walked across the parking lot to the stairs leading to their room. He stopped when he noticed the person at the foot of the steps, but smiled when he realized who it was. Before he could call out to her, Kylie was sprinting across the sidewalk to give Nicole a hug. “Aunt Nicki!” she said, vibrating with excitement. “Today we drew pictures of our favorite stories and I drew Snow White and Danny drew a butt!” Jonah rolled his eyes at Nicki over his daughter’s head.

The diner was full of people this night, so Cora’s boss made her keep working more than she was expecting. It would be hard to be ready at least at 5 o’clock. But Jonah could wait for her a little bit. 

When the woman was finally free, she took a little bit more to get ready and get out of the dinner. She carried some essentials items in her purse like a pepper spray, a knife and a contact taser. Jonah seemed to be a nice guy, but something that Cora learned was that not everything is what it seems to be and it can get  even worse when the person in question wants something with her. They can become violent and possessive, Cora didn’t want this kind of trouble in her life anymore, after all, Mark was a trauma and she didn’t need another. 

“Hey!” An smile came through her features as she came closer to the car. “Sorry, I’m late. Why didn’t you come inside? You could had wait until I get everything done. You could also order a milkshake! Believe me, my milkshake is great.”

Riley didn’t get to see the scene unfold and somewhat this turned out to be not a good thing. By the time the young man and the little girl got her attention, she was crying while a man with a grimace on his face was knelt beside her. Riley’s heart rate picked up, the introverted shy girl suddenly replaced by someone high on adrenaline out of fear. Riley didn’t even hear the man asking for a napkin as she came between their bodies in an attempt to protect the little girl. Stupidly enough, her first thought was that the man must have been abusing her. She really had to know that little kids cried for stupid things too but in that moment, Riley didn’t think straight.

“Older cousin.” She said. “My family’s huge and we all lived pretty close together and we would have get togethers for no real reason, and I had to look after a lot of them.” She smiles fondly thinking of her family back in Miami. “I’m guessing Kylie is your little girl?”

“Oh yeah, I heard about you.” Mari smiled and nodded politely. “Yeah I’m Mari, I work the front desk.” She looked over at the little girl, Kylie, and smiled more gently. “You don’t need to say sorry.” She said kindly and looked back at Jonah. “She really doesn’t, I’ve been looking after kids since middle school, this is practically second nature to me.”

The disinterest from the red-eyed child brought a smile to Ken’s face. Kids were honest, and she couldn’t blame her for the flippant attitude toward a stranger. “Anytime. I get it, it’s tough. Especially with a job that she can’t just hang out with you the whole time. I used to have to hide Max at one of my old jobs when he was her age.” She smiled at Kylie. “I think I’ve still got some toys and stuff from when Max was younger, too. I can bring some tomorrow, that way she has a few more options if TV’s babysitting.” 

Kennedy laughed at the comment. “Well, maybe if you didn’t eat poop, she wouldn’t have to tell everyone,” she teased, nudging him with her elbow. “I’ll try not to romanticize this age, even though I do miss it. But maybe just push him back to elementary school ages, I could do with those again. But, you’ll miss these days too, trust me.” Ken nodded, a fond smile coming over her. “I’ll have to send him your way sometime, I’m sure he’d be excited to see you back.”