Abi

Day 34 - Date with Victor...AGAIN

"I just have to get my skates from my house, then we can go," he said as put the key into his house door.

"O-Okay. Cool. Totally fine. No problem." Jeez, Abi, what are you nervous for?! You're just getting his skates!

Except his family is there.

He opened the door and we went inside. We put my shoes at the side and I sat by the couch. "Hey, Mom, I'm home!"

A woman wiping her hands with a kitchen towel came in. She had straight brown hair, gray eyes, and olive skin. "Sweetheart, I put them in your closet--oh, who's this?"

"Hello. I'm Abi."

Her eyes widened and so did her smile. "Oh, yes, of course! Welcome to our home, Abi!" We shook hands and Victor groaned. "Ok, I'm gonna look for my skates. Mom, don't bother her."

"I won't, honey!"

I chuckled and we sat down. "Can I get you anything? Some snacks, something to drink?"

"Oh no, thank you, Mrs. Evans. You have a lovely home." And they do have a lovely home.

"Thank you, dear--" That's when a little girl with curly dark brown hair (that was in a complete mess) and a blue dress walked past us. "Kalika, baby, we have a guest."

She didn't pay us no mind. She picked up a stuffed kitten, a coloring book, and some crayons. "Mommy, I'm gonna color now."

"Ok, sweetie, but say hello to Victor's friend."

Kalika turned around but didn't give me eye contact. I waved at her with a big smile. "Hi, Kalika. I'm Abi."

"H-hi."

Mrs. Evans leaned in and whispered to me. "I'm sorry. Kalika is autistic, so for her, she can have difficulty communicating with others such as eye contact, speaking or greeting others."

"Oh, I see. No problem." I put my attention to Kalika. "What a nice kitty! Can I see?" She handed me the stuffed kitty. It was purple with big green eyes and big smile. Ok, creepy, but cute for a little girl. "What a nice kitty. What's her name?"

"M-M-Miss Sparkle Whiskers."

"What a cool name. What does she do?"

"She has tea parties and colors with me. She likes strawberry tea. She hates watermelon tea. Only Mr. P-Puppy Wiggles likes watermelon tea. He likes glitter pumpkin cake, too. Mommy, can I color now?"

"Yes, sweetie."

"Can I color with you, Kalika?"

She scratched her head and sat down between us. She opened her coloring book and it was amazing. Sure, it was just a coloring book but it was WAY neater than my coloring book at her age.

She turned to the page with Cinderella on it. Everything was colored correctly and neatly, besides her skin. It was still blank. "Nice coloring. You are quite the artiste."

She looked at me and then looked back at her coloring book. "Kalika, say 'thank you' to the nice lady."

"T-Thank you."

"You're so welcome."

Her mom ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. "I can't, for the life of me, do this girl's hair. Victor was easy. He just needed it cut."

"Oh, trust me, Mrs. Evans. I know the struggle. Maybe I could help out?"

"Really? You do hair?"

"Well, I'm not a professional but I can do many protective styles. How about I start with simple cornrows?"

"Hmm...okay. Let's give it a shot."

Kalika sat on my lap and I installed two cornrows. They weren't so tight, so she didn't cry. The braids ended below her shoulders.

"All done. What do you think, Kalika?"

Mrs. Evans smiled. "They look amazing, Kalika! Don't you think so?"

She felt her braids and shook her head really hard. "I like these b-braids."

"They look awesome. Say 'thank you' to Abi."

"T-Thank you, A-Abi."

"Aww, you're welcome. It was my pleasure."

Victor finally came downstairs with a pair of green skates. "Found 'em--what's going on here?"

"Victor!" Kalika ran over to her big brother and hugged him at his legs. He picked her and he had a confusing face. "Huh? What happened to your hair?"

"A-Abi did my hair for me. I like it."

"I like it, too. Thanks, Abi."

Off to a great start!