Page 51 of Together Is Where We Belong

“You ready to go?” I called out to Luke who came running out of his room. His shirt wasn’t buttoned correctly, and I smiled down at him.

“I can’t get my shirt right, Mom,” he said, as he pulled at the bottom of his shirt, trying to figure out how to fix it.

I knelt down and showed him what he did wrong and correctly buttoned the shirt.

“All fixed,” I said as I ruffled his hair which was still messy from this morning.

“Let’s go comb your hair, and then we’ll be ready to go,” I told him as we walked into the bathroom.

“Spikey or side part,” I said as I sprayed his hair down with water.

“Spikey,” he said as he jumped up in the air.

“Can you lean down and get the gel out of the cabinet for me please?”

He did as I asked and thrust the gel into my hand.

“Careful,” I warned because when Luke got excited he didn’t realize his strength sometimes.

I got a small glob of gel out of the container and rubbed it in my hands before I ran it through his hair, spiking it just the way he liked. Once I was done I rinsed my hands off, and lifted him up so he could inspect my handiwork in the mirror.

He fixed some pieces he didn’t like before he turned to me and gave me a wide smile and a nod.

“Alright, let's get your sandals on, then we’ll be ready to go,” I told him as I put him down.

He raced into the living room and pulled his sandals out of the basket by the front door. Just as he finished putting them on, a knock sounded at the door.

“I’ll get it,” he said as he jumped up and pulled open the door to find Leo on the other side.

“You have to make sure you know who’s on the other side of the door,” I told him as I grabbed my purse off the counter.

“But I knew it was going to be Dad,” Luke groaned.

“That may be true, but we always have to check first, okay,” I told him as I walked from the kitchen over to the front door.

Leo eyed me curiously before he looked down at Luke.

“You ready to go, bud?” he asked as he kneeled to Luke’s level.

“Yep,” Luke said as he grabbed Leo’s hand.

“You ready?” Leo asked me, but all I could do was nod as I took him in.

He wore a short sleeved blue button-down shirt opened with a white shirt underneath and a pair of khaki shorts. I grinned at how they were dressed alike even though we didn’t plan it.

“What’s so funny?” Leo asked as he held the door open, Luke’s hand still in his as he waited for me to follow.

“You two are dressed alike,” I said with a smirk as I walked out the front door, making sure it was locked before I pulled it closed.

Leo looked down at his shirt and then over to Luke and laughed.

“How about that?” Leo said before he walked slowly down the porch steps. Luke hopped down each one, causing me to take a deep breath in and hold it until he reached the bottom.

I let out a sigh of relief when he stepped off the bottom step and let go of Leo’s hand, racing toward his truck.

“We can take my SUV if you want since I have Luke’s booster seat already inside,” I suggested, not only for Luke’s safety because I didn’t know how I felt about being back inside the truck that held so many memories for the two of us.

“No worries. I have one in my truck,” Leo said as he opened the back door and picked Luke up before putting him inside. He ensured he was buckled properly before he closed the door and opened the passenger side door for me to enter.