Free My Mr. Manny by Jennifer Garcia

I hope that’s okay.” When he rubbed his chin with his knuckles, I noticed his hands were almost feminine. His nails were well manicured, and his hands looked callus-free.
    I scoffed. “This is your place now, too, so I want you make yourself at home here. Put your stuff wherever you want.” I stopped cleaning the kitchen and stood across from him, leaning against the bar. Reaching into the basket on the bar, I pulled out his keys. “I have keys and a gate card for you here, and soon, I’ll take you to Lucia’s school with me so we can put your name on the paperwork. I want you to feel comfortable here.” Then I looked at Lucia, who was sitting next to Dominic and watching us. “We’re happy to have you here.”

Chapter 11
    Pin the Tail on the Donkey
    Lucia’s sixth birthday was approaching like a shot, and I had nothing planned. After some thought, I decided that the easiest solution would be a small gathering at Chuck E Cheese. Lucia was excited when she found out where we were having her party. We invited some of her friends from school, plus Danielle, Gary, Gabe, Susan, my dad, and Dominic and me.
    I found a wonderful bakery near our house that made the most amazing cakes and ordered one for Lucia that was decorated with pink ballet slippers and lots of pink frosting.
    Lucia wanted to wear a dress that looked like a ballet costume. We searched high and low and found an adorable dress with a white bodice covered in pink polka dots and a big puffy skirt with lots of pink and white tulle. She wore little white shorts underneath the dress since she would be climbing in and out of the tunnels and I didn’t want her showing her undies to everyone. Her hair was up in a tight ballerina bun, and she sported a pair of old ballet slippers.
    Sometimes when Lucia needed to run around and let off steam, we would go to Chuck E. Cheese so I could sit and relax. I would bring a book and sit in a booth, and she could come and check in with me every few minutes. It was a great playground for allowing the kids freedom to play without the parents suffering from fear of kidnapping. The system was genius. At the entrance, an employee stood stamping the hands of families that entered together. The stamp had a number for each family and was invisible on the hand. When it was time to leave, the employee would place the parent and child’s hands under a black light to see if the numbers matched. If they did, they could all leave together, but if the numbers didn’t match, they could not leave. It made it a safe place for kids to play.
    The staff had set up a long table in the party room. The room had a stage filled with some mechanical characters — friends of Chuck E. himself — holding band instruments, and every hour on the hour they would break out into song and dance. Every few minutes, a parent would come into the party room and drop off their child and ask what time they needed to come back for them. Almost all of her friends were there.
    Susan and my dad arrived at the same time with their hands full of bags.
    I took a good look at what they had in their arms. “What’s with all the bags?” I pointed to them.
    “They’re Lucia’s gifts.” Susan smiled like the little devil she was.
    “What? No way, Susan,” I said shaking my head back and forth “That’s too much. You can’t give her all of that.” My voice was adamant. She was going to spoil her.
    “It’s just one big gift that comes in a lot of small packages. Relax.”
    My dad made quick work of pulling the small wrapped gifts out of the bags and setting them on the table.
    “Hi, Dad.” I reached up and pecked his cheek.
    “Hey, kiddo. Where’s the birthday girl?” He looked around for Lucia. I laughed because he’d never find her in that crowd of little heads running around. The place was packed, and all of her friends had arrived. Even though the kids were running around playing in the game room, they’d stop what they were doing and run back to