"So, you're officially registered for school." We walked out of the school almost an hour later. "Filled out some paperwork, saw the classroom you're going to be in and even met your teacher. How do you feel?"

"Okay, I guess." Eva still didn't sound very impressed, but I hoped in due time that would change and she would feel more comfortable as time went on. "The lady at the front desk was really nice."

"That's something positive. What about the after school program you signed up for?"

"It looks fun." She stated in a thoughtful voice as we called back to the parking lot. "Does that mean I don't need anyone to watch me while you're at work?"

"For most of it, yes. There are times I may have to go early in the morning and sometimes work late at night, depending on how long the case we're working on goes on. They also have an extended program where they'll take you to stay until I can pick you up, if you want. Or I can try to find someone who can pick you up from your after school program and take you home."

"I don't know. That's a lot of choices."

"Why don't we think about that one and do some grocery shopping?" I tried my hardest to make it sound fun when it really wasn't as I unlocked the car door and she hopped in. Kind of like signing up a child for school was fun at first, but by the time you fill out all the paperwork to get them in, you're exhausted.

"Sure. Let's think about it.."

"I'll even throw in some ice cream. If that's something you would like to have for dessert." Even though my life was a disaster growing up, I still used the same tactic I used for my brothers when they were feeling a little down.

"After our spaghetti?" She clicked the seatbelt into the buckle as she sat back against the seat. Her eyes danced with excitement and I wondered if she had just as much of a sweet tooth as I did. I guess I would find out tonight if that was true or not.

"Yes, after dinner." I replied, climbing into the driver's seat and turning the key in the ignition and the engine sparked to life. "Does that sound like something you'd want to do?"

"Yeah!" Pausing, she put her finger to her mouth as if she were thinking really hard. Not hearing more of an answer, I pulled out of the parking space and we started down the road. "Except I don't even know what your favorite flavor is."

"I'm more of a butter pecan, kind of girl." Turning down another side street, we passed by a bunch of houses with bicycles and various toys scattered in the yard. "What about you, what's your favorite?

"I like vanilla, but I also like mint chocolate chip."

"My younger brother likes mint chocolate chip." Peering into the rearview mirror, Eva was radiating happiness and I couldn't help but smile. "It must run in the family."

"When do I get to meet him?"

"I'm not sure. He still lives back in Minnesota."

"Wait." She got a confused expression on her face as she pulled her seatbelt tighter against her body. "How many brothers do you have?"

"Three. One older than me and two younger."

"So if he lives in Minnesota, where do the other two live?"

"My older brother lives in Virginia and my younger one lives in Ohio."

"And now you live here in Chicago. Don't you miss them?"

"All the time. But we usually travel to Minnesota around Thanksgiving or Christmas, depending on when we can all get together." Signaling to turn, cars rushed down the street and finally cleared so we could turn into the grocery store parking lot.

"Okay, so we'll grab some ingredients for Spaghetti tonight."

"And ice cream." Eva reminded me as we parked and unbuckled. She waited until I opened the door and she hopped out carefully this time. "I don't think I've ever tried butter pecan before. Is it good?"

"Really good."

"I think I want to try it."

"You know you can pick whatever you want. You're not just limited to butter pecan."

"I know." Squeezing my hand, we crossed the street the glass doors parted as we made our way into the store.

"Why don't you grab us a basket." Pointing to the stack by the side of the door, she turned, let go of my hand and grabbed the first basket on top before walking back to me.

"How's this one?"

"Perfect." Nodding my appreciation. "Do you want to hold it or do you want me to?"

"I can hold it."

"It might get kind of heavy with the ice cream." I warned as she put the handle over her shoulders as if she were carrying a purse.

"I can take it."

"Okay." I relented, gesturing over to the third aisle over from where we were standing. "Pasta is over here."

"Barilla Pasta spaghetti is what we need for our noodles."

"Is this it?" Eva pointed to a light blue box labeled Great Value spaghetti pasta as I continued to scan the shelves. "Or this one?"

"That's it." Why don't you grab one of those boxes and we'll go find some sauce. Which reminds me, what kind of sauce do you like on your spaghetti?"

"I don't know." She shrugged her shoulders as we slowly walked back down the aisle. "Red sauce." She paused looking down at her feet. "Sometimes my mom would make it but a lot of times we would just get it out of the jar."

"Okay. Did you put anything in that sauce, like mushrooms or onions?"

"Mushrooms maybe." Looking at all the different options as we passed by, we finally rounded the corner into the next aisle. "I don't really like onions."

"Your father didn't either."

"Really?"

"Really. He used to put all the onions on my plate whenever we would go out to eat."

"No wonder I don't really like onions." Scrunching up her nose, we stopped by the jars of spaghetti sauce. "So are we going to put anything in the sauce?"

"How about we leave it plain this time, and maybe next time we can think of some things to put in the next time we have spaghetti. Things that you like."

"I like that idea."

"I knew you would. Now, how about that ice cream?"