At dinner, my wife asked if I remembered her brother's daughter, Cindy.
"Cute little Cindy, the one who used to love to run around the house naked after her bathtime? Of course, I remember her. She must be what, 14 years old now?"
"Actually, she is 18," my wife replied, "and starting at the university next week. Her housing arrangements fell through and my brother asked if she could stay with us for the semester, since the school is here in town. What do you think?"
"18! Wow, time flies." I said. "Of course she can stay here."
"Good," my wife chuckled, "because she will be here right after dinner."
We spent the rest of dinner talking about how cute you were as a toddler, which was the last time I saw you, and about how much fun it will be to have you around for a while.
We cleaned up the dishes and just as we sat down in the living room, the doorbell rang. I opened the door, and the first thing I saw was a smile that took my breath away. Cindy was already laughing as she said hello, nearly jumping into my arms to hug me. "Uncle Jimmy!! Aunt Christine!!" she screamed gleefully, as she bounced from one of us to the other, hugging and kissing us both over and over.