"The most important part is to be really quiet. So we don't give anything away."
"So Uncle Trav can't take our eggs," Wyatt wisely interpreted. "Because there's a lot here."
"That's right. We hit the motherload."
Both girls clung to Taylor's hands, their eyes wide as they took in the large pile of colorful plastic eggs Kylie and Jason had painstakingly hid in the yard early that morning. Their respective baskets lay on the ground and quietly, with Taylor's approval, they came forward to begin filling them up.
She watched with a smile. Each of them had a distinct way of getting the job done. Wyatt was meticulous, gathering one egg at a time and placing it gently in the basket, not slow, but with concentrated effort as if she were writing her name on paper, tongue hanging out with the exertion.
Ellie, on the other hand, was slap happy, tossing handfuls in at a time, pausing every few minutes to open one and peek at what was inside, only to be stopped by her big sister who'd hush her exaggeratedly, a finger to her lips.
It was adorable and she couldn't help but beam down at the two of them in their matching pink and white Easter dresses, hair in braided pigtails.
They had taken to her quickly, grabbing her hands the moment she and Travis walked in without any traces of bashfulness. Taylor supposed it helped she'd gotten to speak to them over the phone and FaceTime beforehand and though it was the first time she got to see them in person, it was as if she'd known the three of them forever. It came as no surprise that immediately, Wyatt and Ellie insisted she join their team for the Easter egg hunt, leaving both their younger sister and their uncle to their own devices.
"I see how it is," he'd laughed, lifting Bennett up into his arms. "They wanna ditch us, Bennie. Taylor's replaced me."
Wyatt scowled. "No boys allowed on our team. Not even you, Uncle Trav. You're a boy."
"Hey, no fair! Bennie's not a boy---how come she can't be on the team with you?"
"Bennie is a baby," Ellie explained as if he should have already understood. "Me and Wyatt and Taylor are big girls."
"Oh, I guess that makes sense, then," he winked at Taylor above their heads and she tried to taper down her smile. "Alright, well, Bennie and me are gonna kill it, right, Ben? Be prepared."
So far, Bennett's speed (or lack thereof) and strong desire to plop into the tufts of grass she toddled across every few feet proved to work to their advantage and Team Pink Unicorn (as Wyatt had dubbed them) was winning, having found a large majority of eggs. She couldn't help but believe the haphazard pile was Jason's handiwork; looked like he'd gotten tired of hiding them and just dumped a shitload in one spot.
"My little brother and I still have an Easter egg hunt," she softly let both girls know as they straightened up, lifting one full basket each. "Every year. It's tradition."
"Grown-ups can't find eggs!" Wyatt shook her head, "it's only for kids."
"Oh, I think Easter's for everyone," she smiled as Ellie reached back for her hand again. "Grown-ups can still have a little fun, right? And guess what? Your Uncle Travis and I were on a team together, just this morning before we came here. And we won! We found all the eggs."
She didn't add how Austin had cried foul, claiming two against one was hardly fair and that she'd totally ignored his protests, high fiving Travis as her mother declared them the winners, laughing as her children argued, same as every year.
Travis, naturally, fit right into the fray. Even Austin couldn't stay mad for long because he started telling a story about something completely ridiculous that had them all howling with laughter, practically on the floor and even though she'd heard it before, she couldn't help but giggle, too. He was the best storyteller. The best human, really. The light he brought with him wherever he went shone brightly on everything and everyone he came into contact with.
