By the time we pull into the driveway, she’s gone quiet with her head tipped against the window, still clutching the smooth stone she insisted on bringing home.
Gus explodes out of the truck the second I open the door, does two tight laps of the yard, then flops onto the porch. Inside, everything slows down with the kind of late-afternoon quiet that settles after a big adventure. Penny takes the cooler from me as I unload it, before I can stop her.
“I got it.”
“You don’t—”
“I got it,” she repeats, already halfway inside and carrying it to the sink. “Girls get to be in charge too, don’t yanno?”
I smirk, watching as she pushes up her sleeves and starts rinsing it out, humming under her breath. Water runs over her hands, over the plastic lid, and down the drain.
Elle drifts in behind me as I pull some fruit out to chop for a snack. She’s revived just enough to resume penguin commentary.
“Do you think penguins ever get tired of each other?” she asks.
“Probably,” I say.
“Nuh-uh.” Penny glances over at Elle from the sink. “They definitely don’t.”
“They live in Antarctica,” I retort. “Of course they get sick of each other.”
“Would you get sick of me in Antarctica, Daddy?”
“Never.”
Elle pauses. “What about Penny?”
My eyes flick to Penny, now grinning with a brow raised. “Yes, Evan, what aboutme?”
“No,” I say, turning my eyes back to the fruit. “Not you either.”
She laughs warmly at that, while Elle drops onto the couch in the living room with a dramatic sigh, her pebble still clutched tight. Gus lumbers over and presses his entire body against her legs as though he’s trying to anchor her there.
There’s dim afternoon light cutting through the window, and Penny’s soft hums as she moves around the kitchen. I lean back against the counter and let myself take it in. Until my phone buzzes on the counter.
Penny looks up first. “You gonna get that?”
I check the screen.
Remi
With a quick exhale, I answer. “You good?”
“Wow,” she says brightly. “No hello? No how are you, Remi, light of my life?”
“You’re fine,” I say. “You only call when you want something or there’s an emergency or you’re pissed off and looking for Colt.”
She laughs, and I can hear kids in the background. Max’s voice, Zela babbling, and the low hum of Colt somewhere further away.
“What're you doing tonight?” she asks innocently.
It’s not innocent.
“…Nothing.”
There’s a pause.
“Well, that’s just unacceptable, Prince.”
