Dinner interruption

“Auntie?” says a voice from my front door.

I look up from the episode of True Blood I’m currently watching. My neighbor is peering back at me through the screen; the lower half of her face is obscured by the wooden frame.

She and her brother normally stop by before dinner. The only clue I have to how old she is is that she doesn’t understand what I’m asking when I ask her how old she is. I know that she likes dancing and playing, but what however-many-years-old don’t?

I wasn’t expecting a visit tonight. I came home late enough that the kids were already inside eating dinner and night was falling. And honestly, I was hoping to quietly sneak into my house and finish making my own dinner. 

But some things are more important than what fate awaits Bill at the vampire tribunal. “Come,” I say as I hit pause on my computer and scoop her into a hug.