Leap Year (✔)

November 27

~94 Days till Leap Day~

Rosie sat across from Brie at their kitchen table-- a wobbly old thing Rosie and her mom had found at a garage sale in the suburbs. They were making a Chicago bucket list full of all the stuff Brie had to do before she graduated.

Dating Brie was even better than kissing Brie, if that was possible. Because when Rosie was dating her, she didn't have to feel guilty about staring at her and daydreaming. And they still got to kiss.

Plus, Rosie finally got to introduce Brie to her mom. Taking Brie into her mom's dingy apartment for the first time had been awkward. Rosie was worried Brie wouldn't like her mom as much as she did when she realized Rosie's mom's apartment wasn't nearly as nice as her dad's, but Brie smiled the entire time. She didn't even mention the ugly, chunky sweater Rosie's mom was prone to wearing.

"I've heard about the Willis tower. Is that fun?"

"Everyone calls it the Sears tower. And honestly it's overrated, unless you find paying eighty dollars to stand in a thousand-foot tall glass box fun."

Brie's eyes bugged out from behind her glasses. She had stopped using contacts since that day in the stairwell. "A thousand feet? No way!"

Rosie's mom laughed from the kitchen. "I feel the same way, Brie."

Rosie's dog, Rex, came waddling out from the kitchen. He was probably overfed, even before Rosie had found him at the shelter, but Rosie couldn't resist his innocent, begging eyes when he loitered by his food dish.

Brie leaned down to pet Rex. "What about Navy Pier?"

"Okay, now that's a good idea." Rosie picked up the pen and scribbled Navy Pier at the end of their list. Her own handwriting looked sloppy under Brie's neat print.

"And we should see a Cubs game!" Rosie added. "Add that to the list. Cubs, not the Sox." Rosie had never actually seen a Cubs game at Wrigley Field, but it seemed like something they should do.

Brie nodded and swiveled the list back to her side of the table. Her hair fell past her shoulders and grazed the table as she wrote.

"I think that's a good start for today." Rosie's mom lay two bowls of mac and cheese at the table. "How about some brain food?"

"Food. We completely forgot about restaurants!" Rosie exclaimed. "We should visit a Polish restaurant!"

"Polish?" Brie looked confused.

Rosie's mom nodded. "What's that they alway say? Chicago has the largest Polish population outside of Warsaw. Rosie's half-Polish, you know?"

"Really?" Brie said as she blew on a spoonful of mac and cheese.

"Half," Rosie clarified. She didn't like mentioning her dad. Especially not the night before she had to go to his house.

"Well I'm ready for winter break," Rosie's mom said from the kitchen. It seemed to Rosie like her mom was trying to bother them as much as possible. Rosie tried to make eye contact with her mom and tell her to leave them alone, but her mom ignored her pleading stares. "Getting excited for New Years, Brie?"

"Yeah, actually." Brie took a bite of pasta. "It's a leap year, isn't it?"

Rosie grinned.  She saw what her mom was getting at now.

Brie caught her grinning.  "What?"  Rosie didn't respond.  "Rosie, what is it?"

Rosie kept her eyes on Brie's.  The first time she told someone was always priceless.  She tried to keep from laughing.  "I'm turning four."