“No problem.You’re a better speller than my brother, and he’s in college.”
She stands and says to me, “Can you text me about when his spelling bee is?I want to go if I can.”
“Of course.”
How did I get so lucky?Noel’s children have embraced Jules, me, and my boys so warmly that it already feels like we’re family.
I walk Chloe to the front door, watching until she’s in her car driving away.By the time I turn around, Coop, Eli, and Magnus are all upstairs.
My feet hurt from the heels and it’s been a long day, so I go to my bedroom to change.My groan of satisfaction when I take off the shapewear I’m stuffed into like a roll of sausage is borderline sexual.
I trade my underwire bra for a simple cotton one I can pull on over my head, then put on baggy dark-gray sweats and an old Radiohead T-shirt.If I had cute loungewear, I’d wear it, but I don’t.I take my comfort seriously, and I don’t like lacy little camis and shorts.
After washing my face and taking the many pins out of my hair and letting it down, I go into Coop’s room.
Oh my ovaries.
Magnus is sitting cross-legged on Coop’s bedroom floor, his shoes off.He has laid his jacket on the bed and rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt, his bow tie undone and hanging loose.
“This is a Feeyari,” Coop says.
I can tell by his grin that Magnus knows it’s aFerrari.He glances over at me, the quick look turning into a lingering one.
“I’ve turned back into a pumpkin,” I say.
“You still look great.”
Eli is sitting nearby, arranging cars in a line.Coop is the more outgoing of the two, but Eli always likes to be included.I go sit down beside him.
“Did you have a good time with Chloe?”I ask him.
He pushes his glasses up on his nose.“It was fun.”
I can tell from his drooping eyelids that he’s tired.Eli has always been a sleeper, like me.When he was four, he started asking me to close his door at bedtime so he could sleep better.
Coop is the opposite.Getting him down when he was younger was like trying to put a lit firework to bed.He was always popping back up, coming into my bedroom or the living room.
Because he forgot to tell me a kid got in trouble for talking during class that day.Because he was thirsty.Because he missed me.Because he wanted to know if frogs poop.He had endless reasons for not going to sleep, and there were times I slept on the floor beside his bed because I was too tired to keep putting him back to bed.
Eli climbs into my lap and rests his cheek on my chest.He doesn’t want to go to bed before his little brother in front of Magnus.I kiss the top of his head.
“After Coop shows Magnus his room, I’ll read you guys a chapter of our book,” I say.
“But he just got here!”
“My dude, it’s almost eleven thirty p.m.,” I say.“Only one of us has the energy level of a squirrel, and it’s not me.”
“We can have a sleepover,” he says.“Then we can play cars in the morning.We can make a tent and sleep there.”
“Coop.I don’t think Magnus wants to sleep on the floor in his tuxedo.”
“Come on.”Coop gives Magnus a pleading look.“I promise it’ll be fun.My mom will make cinnamon roll pancakes in the morning.”
Magnus gives him that lopsided grin that makes my stomach flip.“I don’t want to spring an unexpected overnight guest on your mom like that.”
“She doesn’t mind!Right, Mom?”
“It’s not that I mind.But he doesn’t have pajamas or anything.”
