Am I my sister's keeper? I guess so

I was in the shower this morning when I heard a little voice asking me where Mom was.

I knew where my mom was and told my niece, but she asked again so I answered again.

Then I heard the bathroom door creak open and I pulled the shower curtain back enough to see my niece, who will be 7 in a few weeks.

With her left hand, she was simultaneously trying to pull back the curtain and shield her eyes so she wouldn't see my naked self. She was also crying.

“I can't find my mom,” she told me, “and I'm really upset.”

I said OK, I'll come right out and find her, turning off the water. So what if there was still soap in my hair?

The hardest part was figuring out what to do next. I knew my little sister was around and I also knew that she and her cellphone are joined at the hip, so I wasn't worried about finding her. But I normally I dry off before getting out of the shower. My niece might have called 911 by then, though, I reasoned, so I just plopped my wet self down on my chair and put my towel over me. I didn't even dry off my glasses.

I then went out to give my niece a hug, tell her the world was not over and find her mom.

She wasn't there, which seemed odd, so I called my sister and left a message on her cellphone. Then, because I was sure she was within shouting distance, I called her name.

She came right over and apologized because I did not hear the “I've got her, Matt,” which followed the weepy shower interruption.

I think I need to start locking the bathroom door.