Abound in Love by Rosemarie Naramore

wasn’t
sleeping in it…  So…
    She
crossed the room and climbed between the crisp covers.  It was heaven.  Her
back already felt better.  Within moments, she was fast asleep.
     
    ***
     
    “Aunt
Laura, wake up!  It’s noon!”
    Laura
woke to find her niece standing over her, her arms folded.  “Why are you in
here?” she demanded in a huff.  “Why aren’t you in your bed?”
    “Krissy,
I told you not to disturb your aunt,” Dalton scolded from the doorway. 
    “I
don’t think she’s ever going to get up,” she moaned.
    Dalton
ushered her out of the room, and then turned back at the threshold.  “ Are you going to sleep all day?” he asked, quirking a smile.
    Laura
rose slightly and smiled in return.  “This has to be the most
comfortable mattress I’ve ever slept on.  And yes, I’m going to get up.”
    “Good. 
Because you and I are babysitting today.”
    “We
are?” she asked sleepily.
    “We
are.  Dan was called into work an hour ago, and apparently Candace picked up an
additional shift.  Since Thomas and Macy had plans, I volunteered…”  He spread
his hands wide.  “Us.”
    “That was
nice of you,” she told him and promptly laid back down and turned away from
him, pretending to go back to sleep.
    “Nice
try.  But I could really use some help.”
    She
glanced at him over her shoulder.  “Oh, all right,” she grumbled, and then
urged him off with a flutter of her hand.
    “Hey,
that’s my room, you know,” he reminded her.
    “Yeah,
well, don’t be surprised if I highjack this bed and move it into my old room.”
    He
walked off so she could ready for the day.  Twenty minutes later she found him
and the kids downstairs, waiting for her.  Dalton was on the couch, sitting
back with his arms folded above his head.  Krissy was on the floor, working on
a puzzle.  Kenny was kicked back in his grandfather’s old recliner, staring at
the television.
    “‘You’re
finally up,” the eleven-year-old said in a surly tone.  “Do you always sleep in
until noon on the weekends?”
    Laura
narrowed her eyes and stared intently at her nephew.  “Actually, no, I do not
customarily sleep in until noon.  And I would appreciate it if you didn’t use
that particular tone when you speak to me, young man.”
    Though
she said it in a somewhat cheerful tone, Kenny knew she meant business.  He
glanced up.  “I’m sorry.”
    “Thank
you.”  She turned her attention to Dalton.  “What’s on the agenda?”
    “You
guys are stuck with us,” Kenny said.  “That’s on the agenda.”
    “Hey, I
volunteered for the job,” Dalton told him, “so I’m hardly ‘stuck’ with you.”
    Laura
crossed the room and threw her arms around her nephew.  She kissed him soundly
on the cheek.  “I would pay money to spend time with you,” she told him. 
“You’re my favorite nephew.”
    A smile
tugged at his lips, though he managed to suppress it.  “I’m your only nephew,”
he mumbled.
    “If I
had fifteen nephews, you’d still be my favorite.”
    “That
wouldn’t be very fair to the other fourteen.”
    She
shrugged.  “What do you do?  I can’t help you’re so loveable.”
    “Yeah,
he’s loveable,” Krissy said, rolling her eyes.
    “Did
you say something, my favorite niece?”
    “Yeah,
what are we going to do today?”
    Laura
moved to the window and pulled back the drapes.  “What’s fun to do on a rainy
November Saturday?”
    The
group glanced at one another, seemingly uninspired.  “A movie?” Laura
suggested.
    She
didn’t notice Dalton waving his hands and mouthing ‘no’ until it was too late. 
She shook her head, uncertain what he meant.
    His
meaning became crystal clear when both kids began arguing about which movie
they wanted to see.  Neither was willing to budge on their selections.
    “We
could go shopping,” Krissy suggested.
    “No!”
Dalton and Kenny cried in unison.
    “We
could go to the mall,” Krissy suggested.
    “That’s
shopping,