Boots is happy.

Not always, of course. Sometimes she trips on the floor and hurts her knee. Owie! That hurts! But Mama puts a band-aid on her knee and kisses it, and then Gego sings songs and blows raspberries on her tummy, and then she forgets about owie and crying and me hurt. Boots is happy.

And today, Boots is very happy.

She was also very happy when Gego played hide and seek with her, and when Gego took her to the playground, and when Liz-ee talked to her about a number thing (the number had the funniest shape), and when Mama tucked her in and kissed her forehead, and when Grandma tickled her, and when-

Boots can't remember that far back, but it doesn't matter, because she's very happy now! Gego has given her a ball, and it is soft and yellow and perfectly bouncy, and-

"Ball," she cries, "Ball!" The ball goes careening through the laundry room, settling between a pair of dryers. "Ball!"

Boots isn't happy. "Ball!"

Then Gego reaches between the dryers, and out comes the ball! He smiles at Boots, and then the ball is flying through the laundry room again.

Boots runs, giggling all the way, because now Boots is very, very happy again! She chases after the ball like she's seen dogs do (not the strays lurking about the courtyard, Mama says she should stay away from those even though they're cute, but the ones that have a clean pelt and collar) and yips in happiness on the way back to Gego. She smiles up at him.

He smiles back, but his face looks a bit weird. Well, it always does, but it's Gego! Gego gets to be weird sometimes. Like when somebody says Da-da.

"What makes you so happy, Boots?" he asks.

Isn't it obvious? The laundry room is nice and cool, she gets to play all day, and she has a - "Ball!"

Gego just smiles that weird smile of his again. He's being slow, why isn't he throwing the ball again? She hits her head against his knee, and lo and behold, he tosses the ball again. And then Boots is running across the laundry room again, beaming all the while.