“For now. Taking things slow.”
He grins. “That’s fair enough. One day at a time.”
My heart leaps.
He gets it.
He respects it.
Eighteen
Emma
I remember the Aquarium from my childhood.
Back then it was a large circular building with a giant tank in the middle. I always thought the fish must be bored. All they did was swim around and around in circles.
There were other things to look at, of course, like the giant saltwater crocodile and I always thought it was scary they had piranha.
That was back before my dad got really involved in church life—when life wasn’t overwhelming and sad.
It’s all changed now. The old building is still there, but it’s been extended, and instead of the big circular tank in the middle, there’s an oceanarium tunnel that we walk along.
It’s magical.
Jason’s eyes are wide with excitement as we step into the tunnel.
Fish swim over us, and I keep a hand on his back as his eyes are everywhere but where he’s walking.
Caleb watches us with amusement written all over his face.
“Jason, come and look at this.” Bailey takes his hand and they skip off to look at something.
It’s all a little overwhelming.
We walk out of the tunnel and wait at the end for everyone else to catch up.
“Are you okay?” Caleb asks.
“Not really.” I place a palm on his chest. “It’s breaking my heart that this is the first time they’ve been somewhere like this. Did you see how excited Jason was?”
Caleb gives me a soft smile and nods. “We’ll have to find more places to go. Even if we have to travel to do it.”
“You would do that for my children?”
He raises his hand and brushes my cheek with the back of it. “I’d do it for you. I can’t imagine what it was like for all those years in your own little bubble.”
“It’s not easy to break out of old habits. Today has been perfect.”
He casts his gaze over my shoulder to where the rest of the family is gathered. “We could make it better.”
“How?” I laugh.
“Do you think they might like to go for ice cream before we go home?”
“I think they’ll be the happiest they’ve ever been.”
He grins. “Let’s do it.”
