Lila cowering in the corner, and both looking like they’d survived a disaster. Turns out, they had: two huge spiders had dropped from the ceiling, and Emma had panicked. “She said it was no big deal,” Lila whispered to me, “but I heard her say ‘oh no’ a bunch of times.” Emma laughed, admitting defeat, and we all ended up in the kitchen, eating popcorn in our pajamas. That night,
I stayed over. Lila snuggled into her sleeping bag and whispered, “Next time, I’ll call before the spiders show up.”Love is funny like that. Sometimes it’s fairy tales and hugs. Sometimes it’s racing through the dark because someone’s pretending to be brave. And sometimes, it’s just knowing exactly who to call when the spiders come.