What Little Worlds

Fourteen

Her train arrived to the suburban station five minutes later but she had to spend the next ten minutes in the bathroom cleaning up her face to hide the evidence of tears.

When Amelie finally emerged from the train station, it was ten-thirty. She looked around for her father's familiar black truck, absentmindedly dreaming about getting to fall into her childhood bed. Exhausted from traveling, and wrung out from her emotional notes, she didn't realize someone was calling her name until the third yell.

"Amelie!" she heard and finally turned around.

There was her dad next to the black truck, with two little kids standing beside him. A smile grew on her face.

"They wanted to see their Auntie Amie before they went to bed," her dad explained, grinning. He knew how much she loved her niece and nephew and she suspected the meeting was as much for her benefit as it was due to the kids insisting.

"Josh! Claire!" Amelie yelled and ran over to her family. She bent down and grabbed her niece and nephew in a three-way hug. Still beaming, she stood up to hug her dad.

"Happy birthday, Dad." She said.

"Thanks Am." He was grinning as much as she was. Maybe this weekend wouldn't be as awkward as she had feared.

"How are you feeling?" she asked as he picked up her back to haul it into the truck.

"Sixty years young!" he replied.

"I feel five years young!" shouted Josh. Amelie smiled at him and picked him up, hoisting him up on her hip so his head sat above hers. "Now you're five years young and six feet tall!"

He squealed in delight! "I'm taller than you Grandpa!"

"I want to be six feet tall too!" exclaimed Claire.

"Can you climb?" Amelie asked. Claire nodded. Amelie nudged her head towards the truck bed. "I bet you'd be the tallest if you were up there."

Claire jumped in excitement and ran over to the truck bed. She pulled herself up onto the wheel and swung her body over the top of the bed railing. Then stood up and reached her hands towards the dark night sky.

"I'm the biggest in the world!"

Amelie felt Josh start squirming in her arms and carried him over to the truck so he could climb in with his older sister.

"Here Josh you can be the tallest with me!" Claire exclaimed.

Amelie walked over to her dad. She paused but then put her arm around him. He stiffened from the contact but loosened up and pulled her into his side while they watched the kids.

"Thomas is going to kill us for getting them riled up this late," she said.

"He'll survive one night of crazy kids," he replied. "He keeps them too tame anyway."

"Agreed," said Amelie, suddenly not feeling quite as extinguished as she had on the train.

________________

"Claire, will you help me wash the dishes? I would love some company!" Amelie shouted from the kitchen.

"Mommy may I?" she heard Claire ask her still-seated mother.

"Sure baby. I'll come with you."

Claire ran into the kitchen and immediately started to climb up on the counter next to Amelie.

"Hand me a towel, Auntie Amelie, I'll dry from up here."

Amelie laughed and handed her niece a towel.