“Are you almost ready?” Travis calls from the hallway. He’s always rushing me when we need to leave. Looking this good takes time. I wish he’d understand that sometimes.
“Almost,” I yell back. I grab my fur lined boots from the closet and pull them over my feet.
“Hurry,” he answers/ “Your little broke bestie is getting antsy.” He says something else, but I can’t hear him. My guess is Layla is driving him bonkers. She truly is my little broke bestie. Tonya says I spoil her too much. It’s kind of my job as her aunt. We may not be related by blood, but I would do anything for that little girl.
I finally walk out of the room and down the hallway where Travis and Layla are waiting for me. “You could have come in the room with me.” I bend down to Layla’s height.
“Mommy said not to let you put makeup on me.” She grins and lifts the sucker in her hand to her lips. “It took too long to take off last time.”
“It’s probably safer she stayed out here with me.” Travis grins. He may or may not have said we shouldn’t have used my makeup on her the last time she stayed the night. I chose not to listen. That’s okay, though. I’ll be dropping Layla off with a sugar high this time.
“Can we go now?” Layla taps my shoulder.
Standing, I lift her in my arms. She’s technically too old to be carried, but she’ll always be that adorable little baby I fell in love with the first time I saw her. “Let’s get out of here, Sweetheart. Are you ready to see the lights?”
“Yes,” she yells in my ear, and I shift my head away to try to get dampen the sound. “Mommy said we’re going to one you and her used to when you were little.”
“Your mommy is right.” I turn toward Travis, “wanna grab her booster seat?”
“Sure thing.” He grabs the seat from the hall closet. Normally we keep it in the car, but I’ve been doing so much holiday shopping, there wasn’t room for it.
He follows behind us after he locks the door. We get Layla settled in the backseat, and we’re off. Luckily, the light show is only about fifteen minutes away.
The only thing I didn’t count on was there being a line. I’ve never seen a line here before. Thought with as much as they have been posting on social media, it’s understandable. They also offer pictures with Santa and have snacks available. Neither of those were things they had when I was a kid.
“Is it our turn yet, Aunt Cami?” Layla is trying to look in any direction she can to see our progress.
“Almost.” I glance ahead of us to see if how many cars are before us. “As soon as those two cars go through, it’ll be our turn to pay.”
As soon as we’re through the gate we roll down all the windows to see the lights better. There are animals and I point them out to Layla as we pass them. You would think it was the best thing on the planet.
“Why is the music so sad?” She’s not wrong. Well, not entirely. It’s mostly the classics and most of it is kind of slow.
“Let’s turn on our own playlist.” I open my music app and put it on pop Christmas music and turn up the volume to drown out the music from the outside speakers. “Is this better?”
“Yes!”
Travis is glancing at the cars around us to make sure nobody is complaining about the music. Let them. My little niece is having the time of her life, and I intend to keep it that way. Though, I’ll probably add a suggestion to their website to update the music playlist.
The lights are beautiful, and I’m as interested in pointing things out as Layla is. While she’s distracted I shoot a quick text to Tonya.
Cami: Has Layla already seen Santa? I don’t want to take her at the end if you haven’t yet.
Tonya: Yeah. Just tell her that one is one of his helpers. She won’t question it.
Cami: Cool. Have a good date night. We’re about to load up on sugar.
Tonya: I swear to God Cam, if you send her home in a sugar rush, I will strangle you!
I’m not even going to respond to that. It’s my duty, as her aunt, to make sure she has the best time ever. If that includes cotton candy and hot chocolate, so be it. We’re nearing the end of the light trail and Travis pulls into the parking lot.
Once all of us are out of the car, we make our way to Santa’s cabin. The wind is harsh and makes the night cooler than what it actually is. There’s a small line and we wait patiently for our turn.
Layla jumps onto the chair next to Santa and tells him all the things she wants. It’s cute because most of them involve toys for her little brother, and a blankie for her sibling on the way. She reminds me so much of her mama. Always looking out for others instead of herself.
Before she gets down, she waves at me and Travis. “Aunt Cami, Uncle Trav, I want you in the picture.”
She knows neither of us can tell her no, and we crowd in around her and Santa. It’s the only picture I actually buy. I can’t wait to put it on the fridge.
She walks between me and Travis, one of her hands in each of ours. As sweet as this moment is, I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for kids. Luckily, Travis is okay with that. We’ll continue hanging out with our nieces and nephews.
“Aunt Cami,” Layla gasps. “Is that a zebra?”
Her hands leave ours and she rushes toward a fenced in area. She’s right. There’s a zebra on the other side. It lifts its head over the fence as if it’s asking something from us. It seems to be friendly.
“Can I pet it?”
I glance around for signs that say no petting, but I can’t find any. Another couple stand beside us and reach their toward the zebra’s head. It nuzzles into their touch. “I guess.”
Layla waits for them to finish petting it before she lifts her hand and touches its nose. She yanks her hand back at the feel, but talks herself into petting it again. Travis lifts her up to give her better access and the pure joy on her face is all I can ask for.
A line forms behind us and I gently nudge Travis’s arm. “Maybe we should go get some hot chocolate and a snack. I think these other people want a chance to pet the zebra.”
“Okay.” Layla wiggles from Travis’s arms. She takes us by the hands and leads us to the food truck. “This is the best day ever. I can’t wait to tell Mom and Reaf I petted a zebra.”
I have a feeling that’s all she’s going to talk about on the way home.