"Patty cake, patty cake, baker's man, bake me a cake as fast as you can. Roll it -no, grandma! You got it wrong!" squealed Lita.
"I got it wrong? No, you got it wrong!" said Grandma Jan as she scooped Lita up and attacked her with kisses.
The little girl screamed in delight and squirmed under her grandmother's kisses.
"Grandma, stop! Stop! Let's try again!"
"Alright, but don't get it wrong this time, okay?" teased Jan.
"No, you get it wrong! It's like this," said the little girl as she took her grandma's hands and put them in position. "Patty cake, patty cake baker's man, bake me a cake as fast as you can. Roll it, roll it, mark it with a -no! You got it wrong again!" laughed Lita.
"No, you did!" said Jan as she reached for her granddaughter again, covering her with kisses and tickles.
Lita laughed and screamed, trying desperately to escape her grandma's attack but loving every second of it.
After a few seconds Jan stopped her teasing and took Lita into her arms, hugging her close.
"Have I ever told you how glad I am that you're my granddaughter?" she said.
Lita disentangled herself from the hug and looked up at her grandmother. "Again, again!" she demanded; the heaviness of the statement clearly lost on her.
"Okay, but I'm telling you, I'm not doing anything wrong!"
"Yes, you are, you have to roll your hands like this, see? Let's go, Patty Cake, Patty -no! not yet!" complained Lita, a mixture of giggles escaping her.
"But you just told me to roll my hands! Are you trying to confuse me, huh?" said Jan, then once again reached out to tickle Lita.
This time Lita's screams brought Juan to her bedroom, curious to see what on earth all the screaming is about. He stood by the door watching the whole thing unfold, until Jan noticed him standing there.
"Hwuan! Come over here, my sweet boy."
The boy complied. When he was close enough, Jan embraced him.
"Have I ever told you how glad I am that you're my grandson?"
Juan shrugged his shoulders and then shook his head.
"Well, I am," she said, hugging him tighter.
Lita pulled at Jan's arm, the little girl growing restless. "Grandma, again, again!"
"What? You want me to smother you with kisses again?" teased Jan.
Lita giggled. "No! To play Patty Cake!"
"Oh, I think what you want is for me to tickle you, in fact, I think you both want me to tickle you," said the grandmother, then she reached out to tickle both her grandchildren.
Juan and Lita screamed in unison, both of them laughing and squirming from all the kisses and tickles from their grandmother.
"Hey, what's going on –Mom?" The screams had attracted Ellie, who stood by the door in Lita's room. "Mom, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"Why, can't a grandmother enjoy the company of her grandchildren?" said Jan.
"I thought you'd left half hour ago!"
"Me and Grandma Jan are playing Patty Cake!" blurted Lita.
"What?! Mom! It's almost Lita's bedtime, you're riling her up!" exclaimed Ellie, clearly annoyed at her mother.
"Okay, okay!" said Jan, putting her hands up in defence. "I'm sorry, I'm going now." She turned to Lita. "Right baby girl, grandma has to go," she said, embracing her in a hug.
"Nooooooo," complained Lita, the disappointment obvious in her voice.
Jan placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow and we can continue playing, okay?"
"Okay," said the little girl.
"I love you, baby"
"I love you too, grandma"
Jan turned to Juan next.
"Bye my sweet boy," she said, giving him a hug.
"Bye Grandma Jan," said Juan.
"Love you."
"Love you too."
Jan stood and walked to the door.
"Lita. Bath. Now," said Ellie, stepping into mom mode immediately.
The little girl pouted but complied, running out of the bedroom.
"Juan, are you done with homework?"
"Yup."
"Alright, make sure your room is cleaned up and get ready for bed, alright?"
"Okay."
When both kids had left the room, Ellie turned to Jan. "I'll walk you out, Mom."
"Let me just say goodbye to Lizzy first," said Jan.
She made her way to Lizzy's room and knocked on the door.
"Come in!" said Lizzy from inside.
Jan opened the door and popped her head in.
"Oh hey," said Lizzy.
"Just popping in to say bye," said Jan.
"Bye Grandma Jan."
"I love you," said Jan.
Lizzy smiled. "I love you too."
…
Once downstairs, Jan gathered her jacket from the coat hanger while Ellie unlocked the front door to let her out.
"Thank you for joining us for dinner, Mom. I'll see you tomorrow?" said Ellie.
Jan turned to look at her, and sighed.
"Listen, I just wanted to say... I'm… I'm sorry for not being as supportive as I could've been when you first told me you were adopting."
Ellie frowned, confused as to where this was coming from.
"Mom, that was a long time ago."
"I know, I just… I can't express how thankful I am… to have those kids in my life. I love them so, so much."
"Mom, have you been drinking again?"
"No honey, I mean it…. I love them so much. And I just… I used to feel so guilty, and I feel bad about it, you know? For months I felt guilty… I thought there would be a difference in my love compared to my other grandkids. But oh, there isn't. There really isn't. And I can't express how glad I am that you adopted them, El."
Ellie was speechless. She was touched, but also confused as to where this was all coming from.
"They're really wonderful kids. You're doing a great job, honey," said Jan.
Ellie pursed her lips, trying to keep her emotions in check. She didn't know what to say in response, so she took her mother in her arms and gave her a hug.
"Thanks, Mom. Means a lot."
After a few seconds both women pulled back and smiled at each other.
"Do you want me to drive you home?" asked Ellie.
"No, it's okay, I can drive myself," said Jan.
"You sure?"
"Yeah. Say bye to Pete from me."
"Will do."
"Bye hon. Love you."
"Bye Mom. Love you too."
