Page 14 of Wishing for Love
“I think so too,” Elsie said. “I’d rather play with dolls and my dollhouses.”
“Dolls are my favorite,” she said. “I love Rainbow Dolls. Barbie is a classic and you can’t go wrong there either. Disney dolls are fun too. Do you have a favorite?”
“Rainbow Dolls!” Elsie squealed. “I’ve got three of them. I want the other three. I’m going to put them on my list for Santa for Christmas.”
“Which three do you have?” she asked.
“I’ve got Sunny, Jade, and Violet,” Elsie said. “I’m going to go get them. I’ve got lots of clothes and Sunflower and Sweetpea too.”
“Oh, you have Sunny and Jade’s pets?”
“I do,” Elsie said, turning to run down the hall.
“Well done,” Phoenix said. “I just got schooled in two minutes, but at least I’ll know what is on the Santa list.”
“I can help with that,” she said, grinning. “I feel like an idiot talking about toys with my friends, but some are neat. These dolls are so much cooler than when I was a kid.”
“Don’t feel like an idiot. This is going great.”
She liked the sound of that. She wasn’t sure what to expect of the little girl but found her very open and friendly.
Elsie came back in with three dolls and two pets in her hands in different outfits than she’d seen before too.
“I’ve got a few playsets too. They are still at my other house.”
Crystal didn’t want anything to get in the way of this visit or make the little girl upset, so she just nodded.
“We are going to get everything soon,” Phoenix said. “Just finding a place for it all.”
The house seemed plenty big to her, but she wouldn’t volunteer those things either. It wasn’t her place. At least not yet.
“Do you like doing arts and crafts?” she asked.
Elsie was sitting at the big island with her three dolls and placing them just right with their two pets. “I do. I like making bracelets.”
“Bracelets are the best. But you know what’s even more fun to make?” she asked. She leaned in close and whispered, “Slime.”
“I love slime!”
Crystal started to laugh.
“I don’t want to know,” Phoenix said. “I’ve heard horror stories of slime and glitter.”
“The evidence will be cleaned up so you won’t see it,” she said, smirking.
“Perfect,” he said. “Elsie, do you mind if I show Crystal upstairs?”
“No,” Elsie said. “I’m just going to play here. Maybe we can make a bracelet after dinner? I’ve got some beads.”
“I’d love to,” she said.
“The stairs are this way,” he said.
“This house is much bigger than it looks,” she said.
“You’ll have the run of most of it,” he said. “My bedroom is on the other side of that wall.”
He pointed to the doorway about ten feet from the stairs. So he had some distance from Elsie. She wondered if she’d bother him if she came down to the kitchen for something. Nah, she wouldn’t need to in the middle of the night.