Reflections of Light

Sleepy Thoughts

"But Dad, I don't wanna go bed yet. I'm not tired!" Wesley argued, following up the statement with a loud yawn, as Steven tucked her into bed.

"Well, I am and Mummy is too, so we're all going to bed soon." He answered. "Now, I've read you your story..."

"Want another one!"

"No, one story a night, that's the deal."

"Story was too short, doesn't count!"

"It counts. I'm the adult and I say it counts." He answered tiredly, going for the door. He knew from experience that Wesley could, and would, willingly argue the point all evening.

Wesley snuggled down into her bed. "Dad, when Billy comin' back? I wanna play games wif him, an' do does Rigsy an' Ibrahim an' Shelby an' everyone!"

"Uh..." Steven thought for a moment. "Um... You'll have to ask your mum on that one... No, not now, get back to bed, missy!"

Wesley pouted, tucking herself back into bed, as her dad switched off the light and walked out.

Wesley thought about her best friend, entertaining herself by replaying in her mind some of their most hilarious and inventive capers.
The time they'd tried to build a robot out of a toaster, the time they'd pinched her Auntie Angela's glass bead necklace and tried to ebay it for a million dollars, the numerous times they'd wound up Mags by taking advantage of her bad eyesight... The list went on and on.

Targeting Evelyn had been particularly funny, especially watching her trying not to get mad, as they tried to see how far they could push her.
Because she was 'head honcho' of the place, the 'Lady of the Manor', she'd been the target of most of Billy's plots, as he tried to find exactly what it took to push her buttons, testing her authority.
Most of the time, Evelyn would just scold them, shrug it off, and find them something constructive to do, often frustrating Billy in a way Wesley found almost as hilarious as their original plan, not that she'd ever admit.

Wesley remembered the time they'd followed her down into her secret laboratory under the mansion.

The kids had created many theories about what was down there, everything from a mystical underground sorcerers cave, to a hidden alien spaceship filled with super hi-tech equipment and technology.

When they'd actually gotten down there, it had been like neither, and yet at the same time both.

Of course they'd pinched some stuff. In fact, Wesley had a suspicion Evelyn knew they pinched some stuff, some of their 'weapons' had been developed from a list of relatively harmless inventions of Evelyn's (probably developed as some kind of emergency distraction tool, given what they did.)

They were pretty cool, and Wesley had always wondered what else Evelyn had down there.

"Hey, maybe you should go look?"

Wesley chuckled at the stray thought. She knew that would not be something the adults would approve of, but the idea of being so naughty was naturally enticing to a child her age.
Not that she was actually going to do it.
Well, maybe if Billy were here, she would, because it was the kind of thing they'd do, but he wasn't, and it wasn't the kind of thing she'd just do otherwise.

"Not that anyone could stop you if you decided to."