Wish With A Kiss

Mia adjusted the collar on her blouse for the tenth time, and stared at the lined face looking back at her from the mirror.

“Jeez, what am I doing?”

The reflection offered no answer. Damn her, anyway.

Ashley appeared in the doorway behind her. “Grandma,” she whispered, “do I look okay?”

Mia turned to look at the little girl. She had put on her favorite purple dress and white tights. Her black Mary Janes were shining. The purple bow in her hair was perfectly straight.

“You look absolutely perfect,” Mia told her. The pride in her voice was so clear that Ashley couldn’t misinterpret it for anything else, and she beamed happily.

Mia turned back to her mirror, raised a hand to adjust her collar once more and said, “Now, me—I’m looking pretty much NOT perfect today.”

“You’re beautiful, Grandma.” Ashley stood by her side and studied the pair in the mirror. “Are you scared?”

“Not scared, no,” Mia replied. “But I am nervous. How about you?”

“I’m scared,” the little girl admitted. “What if Daddy shows up?”

“I suppose we’ll deal with it, if he does.” Mia sighed.

Her son and Ashley’s mother had screwed up parenthood as much as they’d managed to screw up everything else in their lives. Mia had had temporary custody of Ashley for over a year now, and today was the day a judge would hear her case for permanent full custody.

In a way, she almost wished Ethan would show up. If he appeared in the courtroom in the same condition he had been in last week when he crashed their Thanksgiving dinner, the judge would sign over custody in a flash.

Morgan, Ashley’s mother, wouldn’t be an issue. She’d landed herself another year in prison for breaking her parole—again.

Ashley sighed. “I wish Daddy was in jail again,” she said. “Maybe my tummy wouldn’t be so jumpy if he was.”

Mia nodded sadly. “I know what you mean, jellybean.”

Mia wished she could erase the bags under her eyes, the crow’s feet and the sagging jowls. The lines in her forehead and around her mouth were getting deeper by the day. “God, I look so old,” she told her granddaughter.

“Nah.” Ashley looked at the woman who had saved her by taking her in. “How old are you, anyway?”

“Nine hundred and twelve.”

Ashley giggled. “No way.”

They bundled up and headed for the car. As Mia buckled the seatbelt around Ashley, the little girl gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I wish for the judge to say yes,” she said.

Mia kissed her back. “I wish for that, too.”

“Wish with a kiss and you can’t miss,” Ashley chanted.

Mia smiled. “That’s a lovely thing to say, Ash.”

The drive to the courthouse wasn’t a long one, but recent snowfall had left the roads in terrible condition, and Mia drove slowly and carefully. She managed to get a good parking place, because her lawyer had arrived ahead of her and was standing in the space behind his car, resolutely reserving her spot in spite of some irate honking and cursing from other drivers.

Ashley found that situation amusing and entertaining. Mia pulled into the space while her granddaughter giggled in the back seat.

They hurried into the courthouse and down the corridors to the designated courtroom. They were early, but Mia felt rushed and frightened that she’d make a bad impression. What if the judge said she was too old? What if he didn’t think she had a good enough house, or enough money?

Her lawyer started to open the door. “Wait,” Mia begged. She bent down, face to face with Ashley. She whispered, “Wish with a kiss.”

Ashley kissed her and added, “And you can’t miss.”

Mia stood up straight and took Ashley’s hand. “Okay. We’re ready.”

Her lawyer opened the door and they went inside.