understanding you?â
âUm, sorta.â
âSorta?â Jeff sounded like he was working to keep his voice nice and calm. âAnd is Jamie saying that this talent has extended to the Earth animals, too?â
âAh . . .â
âYou know you do, Mommy,â Jamie said patiently, while I did my best to ensure that my expression, body language, and upper level thoughts didnât betray how freaky it was to be having this conversation, with this level of language clarity, with my almost-one-year-old. âJust like you talk to Fairy Godfather ACE.â
âRight.â Now I had to hope my worry about ACE wasnât getting through to Jamie. Prayed Jeff was doing some sort of mind block or something, though he looked like my Dr. Doolittle-ness had sent him to Freaked-Out Land with me.
Jamie shook her head. âFairy Godfather ACE is tired and busy. You shouldnât worry, Mommy. Heâll never leave us.â
âWe canât talk about this with other people, Jamie-Kat,â Jeff said quickly. âDaddy doesnât want you to talk about ACE unless itâs only with Mommy or Daddy. And the same with Mommy being able to talk to the animals, thatâs just for us to talk about.â
âI know, Daddy.â Jamie looked back and forth between us. âAre you mad at me?â
I hugged her tightly. âNo, weâre not. Mommy and Daddy have been worried about Fairy Godfather ACE, thatâs all. And other things.â
âOther things you donât need to worry about,â Jeff said quickly.
âOkay, Daddy. Mous-Mous wants everyone to come with us tonight.â Mous-Mous was Jamieâs Poof, which, at the sound of its name, appeared from wherever it had been to perch on Jamieâs shoulder and purr loudly.
âEveryone?â Jeff asked. âDaddy and Mommy have to entertain the other grownups.â
âNo Daddy, Mous-Mous wants all the other pets to come.â
Jamieâs saying that it was her Poof who wanted the other animals along was actually normal. Lots of little kids said their stuffed animals or favorite pet wanted to do the thing the little kid themselves wanted to do. Mom claimed that Iâd used the cats theyâd had when I was born, Sugar and Spice, as my excuse for anything and everything.
Now, however, I wasnât sure if Jamie was just being a little girl or if Mous-Mous was actually weighing in on the eveningâs animal arrangements.
Didnât matter, because all roads led to every animal we had heading over to the Pontifexâs residence anyway. âNo worries, Jamie-Kat. Every furred and feathered beast we have will be with you and Mous-Mous tonight.â
âYay!â Jamie gave me a big hug, which was always nice.
Jeff got her settled and her dinner finished up. Then it was bath time, and into a Minnie Mouse pajama set. The A-Cs loved black and white and Armani. However, Reader had managed to ensure that Jamieâs baby shower registry had contained actual color. I didnât know how long before sheâd be put into the white oxford shirt and black slim skirt that was the female uniform of A-C choice, but I was going to do my best to ensure that day was a long time coming.
Jeff finished getting Jamie ready to go while I fed the dogs and cats and packed Jamieâs bag. Sheâd potty trained herself a month ago. Per Denise, Jamie had asked about it, Denise had explained the concept, and Jamie had done her thing. It made some things easier, but I almost dreaded what sheâd do weeks, months, or years ahead of schedule next.
However, among the things it made easier was packing her for babysitting gigs like this one. All the room diapers and wipes would have taken up in the still awesome and reasonably pristine diaper bag was filled with changes of clothes, toys, and, as I looked inside, Poofs.
The cats were herded back into the Feline Winnebago along with whatever Poofs