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“No. I was already up.” I look at Charlotte again. “You guys sleep okay? Or at all?”

“She did,” Anna answers. “Eventually.”

“And you?”

“A wink here and there,” she says with a shrug.

“Are you guys hungry?”

Charlotte nods, flashing a big smile.

Anna steps forward. “Actually, we should probably get going…”

I shake my head to hide the sudden tug of emotion deep in my gut. I don’t want them to leave yet. I don’t want my daughter back on the streets where mob pricks want her dead.

“Not on an empty stomach,” I say. “How about it, Charlotte? Do you like breakfast burritos?”

“What’s buritoast?” she asks.

I gawk at Anna. “How are you raising this child?”

Anna shrugs.

“Do you like eggs?” I ask Charlotte.

“Yes,” she answers.

“Do you like bacon?”

“Yes.”

“How about cheese?”

“Yes!”

“Then you like breakfast burritos. Come on.”

I hold out a hand, and she takes it. Her little fingers just barely wrapping around two of mine. She looks up at me with a wide smile and I can’t help giving her one right back.

It nearly knocks me off my feet.

“What’s great about the burrito is that you can put whatever you want in it,” I say in front of my stove. “It’s completely customizable from the inside out.”

I look over my shoulder at the counter behind me. Charlotte nods, though I’m not sure she understands a word I’m saying. Not that I care. She’s so fucking adorable. She could smile and nod at me until the end of time and I won’t think less of her.

She takes another big bite of her little burrito, enjoying every bit. I beam with pride.

Anna sits on the stool beside her with her own half-eaten burrito. She’s also smiling, but probably not for the same reasons I am. There’s a lot of lip-pressing behind her smile as if she’s desperately trying to hold back a laugh.

I turn back to my skillet. “For breakfast, you can add sausage or potatoes — oh, some green or red peppers and minced onions make for a good kick. Salsa is a given. You like salsa, Charlotte?”

“I don’t know,” she answers.

“Well, the next time we hang out, we’ll try some. I think you’ll like it. Sound good?”

I glance back again, but she’s too busy chewing on another big bite to answer. Such a well-mannered kid. Anna taught her well. I sure as hell wasn’t this polite when I was her size.

I drop my own burrito on the last plate and turn off the stove. “Now, many people prefer to just wrap the thing in a tortilla and go, but I always stick it over the heat. Just a few minutes of patience on both sides radically alters the experience.” I pick up my burrito and take a huge bite. “Mmm,” I hum, chewing. “Now, that is breakfast.”