Samantha ate in a hurry, and by the time both Jacob and Hazel’s meals were finished heating up, she was all done.
“I’m going upstairs to do my homework,” she said, scooting her chair back.
“Take a shower first,” Hazel advised. “You don’t want to get a chill after getting soaked like that.”
“I think I’m okay, Mom.”
“For me?”
Samantha laughed. “Okay. I’ll take care of myself so that you don’t worry.”
Hazel waved at her as she grabbed her backpack off the floor and made her way toward the staircase. She felt another surgeof gratitude that Samantha was such a sweet teenager and a considerate person.
“She’s such a good kid,” Hazel said with a sigh as Jacob set their plates down on the kitchen table.
“Such a good kid,” he agreed. “Although she escaped before we could offer her a vegetable.”
Hazel chuckled. “I’ll whip up a salad quick and bring her up one later as a snack.” She quickly made a salad of pre-washed spinach and lettuce leaves, throwing in some strawberries that she’d already sliced up with the intention of putting them in muffins.
“Oh, amazing,” Jacob said when she brought over the bowl. “A seven-second salad.”
“Cousins to the seven-layer salad.” She arched a brow, and they both laughed like kids over her silly joke.
They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes, and Hazel’s thoughts drifted to Samantha and all of the things that they’d talked about together during their car ride. She didn’t realize how nostalgic her expression was becoming until Jacob tapped her arm gently.
“Penny for your thoughts.”
She turned to him with a smile and then sighed. “I’m just—well, feeling sentimental, I suppose. Samantha is growing up so fast. And I love interacting with her almost-adult brain and it’s so amazing to see her grow up into this fantastic person, but sometimes I miss when she was a little girl. I really loved the toddler era.”
She chuckled, remembering some of Samantha’s most unforgettable antics, such as cracking eggs open on a kitchen chair seat and stirring them with a carrot, declaring that she was cooking. “There was something really sweet about the way she depended on me for everything. I kind of miss that, even though it was definitely overwhelming at times.”
Jacob kissed her cheek. “It’s completely natural to feel that way,” he assured her. “The people we love change, and sometimes we miss the way they were before. It doesn’t mean we love them any less.”
“Do you miss the way I was before?” she teased, scooting her chair closer to his.
He shook his head. “This is my favorite version of you. I’m sure I’d feel all sentimental if I saw a picture of us in high school, but I would never trade present Hazel for past Hazel. I’m a hundred percent sure I’m always going to feel that way.”
“Even when I’m old and gray?”
“Especially when you’re old and gray. You know I can’t wait to be a cute old couple with you.”
She laughed and gave him a big kiss. She startled and pulled away from him, however, as a terrific boom of thunder rattled the windowpanes.
“Yikes!” she squeaked, turning toward the windows, which had rivulets of raindrops running down them. “This storm is crazy.”
“It does seem like a bad one.”
For a moment, they paused, listening to the wind howling and the rain patterning down on the roof like the stamping of a thousand watery foot soldiers.
“I hope nothing breaks,” she said nervously. “And I hope no trees fall down and break a window or something.”
Jacob rubbed her back reassuringly. “I wouldn’t worry about it, sweetie. Those trees are all sturdy, and none of them are very close to the house. Besides, if this storm does end up causing any damage to the house, at least I’m a handyman.” He grinned impishly.
She chuckled and leaned over to kiss his cheek. “That’s right, I almost forgot. Being married to you has all kinds of nice perks.”
He placed his hand on hers. “I would do my best to protect you even if I knew nothing about fixing houses.”
“I know,” she said softly, feeling a glow of love in her heart for him.
