Mom?" Corey called. He cut himself short and swore. "I probably shouldn't do...

Mom?" Corey called. He cut himself short and swore. "I probably shouldn't do that. Scare the crap out of her." He took a step toward the kitchen, then paused. "Or maybe I yell. Warn her before her dead son appears from nowhere." He glanced at us. "Arghh! I'm overanalyzing. When this is over, I need a long break from you guys."
"And we'll need one from you," Sam said.
"Just relax," I said. "Call her. Find her. It doesn't matter. You're about to give her the best heart attack of her life."
He grinned. "Right."
He took off, jogging through the house, calling for his mom. Sam started to follow, then saw we weren't and realized this was a moment we should leave to Corey.
I collapsed onto the sofa with a sigh. Daniel plunked down beside me, then twisted to stretch out, legs going over mine.
"Oh my God," I said, shoving his feet off my lap. "Do you know how bad those smell?"
He tried to stick them in my face. I grabbed him around the ankles and tickled the bottom of his feet. He let out a shriek.
"Well, you're still ticklish," I said. "And you still giggle like a girl."
He tried to grab me, but I held his feet tight. Sam slid from the recliner and limped into the next room.
"Our immaturity is scaring her off," I said. "Sorry, Sam. Come back and we'll act our age."
"No, I'm just grabbing some food. You two carry on. You've earned a maturity time-out.