"Mom, I can't find my cleats." Joy, my fifteen year old daughter, whined from her bedroom as I was down the hall changing her one year old brother James' diaper.
"Where did you take them off after your last practice?" I asked patiently, while I secured the last side strip and blew bubbles on his tummy making him smile.
"If I knew that I'd have them in my hands wouldn't I."
"Don't take that tone of voice with me young lady."
"I'm sorry mom, but I'm going to be late to my soccer game and everyone is counting on me."
"I'll come help you look," I sighed moving James to my hip.
&&&
We finally got to the soccer field on time and I pushed James' stroller over to the spot Willow had saved for me while Joy ran to the rest of her team. "Hey Will, sorry we're late but there was a missing cleat incident."
"Under the bed," Willow guessed.
"Isn't it always," I laughed.
Willow has been my best friend since I moved to Sunnydale my sophomore year of high school. We've been through a lot together, boyfriends, apocalypses, and boyfriends that start apocalypses.
"I hate to ask, but can you take Alice tonight?" Willow asked. "Seth found out that I was still talking to Kennedy and it brought up some old issues."
"He knows that you two work together and are not together, together anymore. You should be able to talk to anyone you want."
"Like Mark wouldn't freak out if he meet Angel."
"Totally unrelated, how did he find out anyway?"
"Xander has a big blabbermouth."
"Do you want me to put a hit out on him? I could get Giles to send in a Slayer."
"No, that would be a waste of a perfectly good Slayer."
"He could always send in a bad one."
"Yeah, but then she'd just fall in love with Xander and we'd be stuck with her."