“And here’s Bristol shaking the little black and white butterfly rattle to make it flap like a real butterfly.” Jessica’s face glowed with pride as she held her phone up for Tim to see. “We think she’s pretty advanced.”
“VERY advanced,” Ryan said. “I’m telling you, Timmy, that little girl has ‘full scholarship to Yale’ written all over her.’”
Tim nodded silently as he cut into his steak. Neither his sister-in-law nor her husband had taken a bite of their food yet. Instead, Jessica had been bombarding Michelle with photo after photo of their baby in an activity center ever since they stepped foot in the restaurant, while Ryan looked on and squeezed his wife with squealing glee after every explanation. Michelle looked to be enduring the onslaught with as much grace as she could muster through a forced grin and glassy eyes, but after what she’d told him about the other day, Tim knew she wouldn’t hold out much longer.
“Oh, and this is Bristol spinning! She just loves to spin.”
“Absolutely loves it!”
“You…” Uh oh. Michelle was having trouble finding words. Tim started chewing his steak faster and wondered how appropriate it would be to ask for a box in a classy restaurant. “You must be so proud,” Michelle said, finally.
Jessica eyes went wide. “Oh, we are! Do we not seem proud?”
“I think we’re pretty proud, honey. VERY proud.”
“I mean, just look at this smart little angel. There she is facing front. Then here she is at forty degrees. Then one hundred and twenty. Then here’s another when she at two hundred and eighty-five. And look! She’s turned a whole three hundred and sixty degrees in her Kolcraft WonderBug Activity Center! Regular children just don’t do that, do they?
“We’re pretty sure they don’t. VERY sure, in fact.”
Michelle nodded politely. Tim noticed that Jessica had the same scowl as her sister. Ryan seemed oblivious.
“Wait.” Jessica put the phone on her lap and straightened up. “Is this about the Kolcraft WonderBug Activity Center? Look, Michelle, it’s like I said before. The activity center you and Tim bought us was nice, but Ryan and I just didn’t think it was challenging enough for Bristol.”
“It was a little weak, you have to admit.” Ryan hugged his wife supportively.
Tim watched as Michelle’s face went flush. Slowly, he reached for his wallet, trying not to attract attention.
“It’s just that this particular activity center has eight toys dedicated to developing motor skills, not to mention the way the height adjusts as she grows. But don’t you fret about the one you gave us, sis. We got a pretty good price for it when we sold it online.”
There. Michelle was pinching her chin. The sign.
“GEEZ, WILL YOU LOOK AT THE TIME?” Tim tossed his napkin into his plate and placed his debit card on the table. “I had no idea it was so late. We should probably go save the babysitter, don’t you think, dear?”
“Oh, what a shame!” Michelle said. “And we were having such a lovely evening away from the kids, too.”
Jessica and Ryan both looked at each other, puzzled. “Oh, we don’t enjoy being away from Bristol,” said Jessica.
“Not at all,” added Ryan.
“But while we wait for the server to bring the check, just take a look at… Ugh. Ryan, you told me you deleted the diaper blowout pictures!”
“I thought the doctor would like to see them.”
“We think it’s her formula. Her digestive system isn’t as advanced as we’d like.”
“Not very advanced, indeed.”
