I scowled. “I’m almost forty years old. I think I’m perfectly capable of knowing when to sit and when to stand, thank you very much.”
Winnie lowered her voice. “Yes, and you’re also currently losing a fight against sunlight.”
Unfortunately, that was accurate. So, I led the way into the family room and sat.
Winnie disappeared briefly into the kitchen before returning with water, medication, and something cold wrapped in cloth.
“You’re frighteningly efficient,” Amethyst observed.
Winnie handed me the medicine. “I’ve had a lot of practice over the years.”
Something about the way she said it carried weight beneath the humor.
Amethyst seemed to notice too. Before either of us could respond, she brightened suddenly. “Oh! Actually, I came for a reason.”
CJ looked alarmed. “Do you have a tax question for Dad?”
She laughed. “No, of course not. Though, I’m always open to pointers from the financial guru.”
Amethyst pulled several glossy passes from her bag dramatically. “I was comped VIP tickets through one of our donors,” she announced. “They’re for the amusement park downtown. Full access. Unlimited ride bands.” She paused and looked around the house theatrically. “Do you think anyone around here would be interested in these? If not, I suppose I could give them to one of my colleagues.”
The children exploded instantly. Billie screamed so loudly my migraine nearly filed a restraining order. Bianca’s book tumbled out of her hand. CJ grabbed one of the passes with reverent awe. “Fast pass access?”
“Unlimited.”
“No freaking way,” he whispered.
Amethyst grinned. “I thought maybe we could all go today.”
The kids turned toward me hopefully.
And God, I wanted to. I wanted a normal spring-break day with my children. I wanted to ride roller coasters and eat overpriced funnel cake. Even Billie throwing up from going on all the spinning rides sounded like fun. But the migraine was escalating fast now. The edges of my vision had started shimmering unpleasantly. Even the children’s excitement hurt.
A protective tenderness filled Winnie’s eyes. “You should stay home,” she murmured.
“I’m okay.”
Winnie gave a slight shake of her head. “You’re one loud noise away from meeting God.”
Billie’s eyes went wide. “Can we see God at the amusement park?”
“No,” Bianca said automatically. “That’s not included in the VIP access.”
“Conrad,” Amethyst said, frowning at me.
I exhaled slowly. “I don’t think I can do it, but I really don’t want to miss out on all the fun. Plus, I don’t want to leave you alone with all three kids.”
Three disappointed faces stared back at me. The guilt came just as fast. Then, to my surprise, all three children started talking over each other about staying home instead.
“We can go another day.”
“You need to rest, Daddy.”
“I can ride roller coasters later.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. That was the thing about my kids. Even at their most chaotic, they loved hard—too hard, sometimes.
“No,” I said gently. “Absolutely not. You should go.”
