Page 132 of The Golden Hour

Honey smiled as she straightened her spine, the compliment wrapping around her.

“Well,” Honey smiled. “I was thinking after the new year? So… two and a half months?”

Penny froze before her smile looked wide enough to split her face in half.

“You have no idea how many times parents have asked me how you’re doing,” Penny gushed, gently rocking Daisy. “And when you’re coming back. This is so wonderful. I can finally tell them that you are!”

And as she looks around at all the giggly, bright faces of her toddlers, she cannot wait.

“Miss Honey! Where’s your belly?”

“Is that your baby?”

“I want to see!”

“Can I see?”

Honey laughs at the rapid-fire questions from the excited toddlers as they crowd around her and Penny, trying to see Daisy. Ebony, who was always one of her favorites, is now clinging to Honey’s neck and does not seem to want to let go. Honey lifts her and brings her to Penny to see Daisy.

“She’s so tiny!” Ebony gasps, looking at Honey in shock. “Miss Honey, why is she so tiny?”

“Can you believe she was even tinier?” Honey says, Ebony’s dark eyes wide with amazement. God, she missed these sweet little kids, missed their non-judgmental, wide-eyed innocence that reminded her of all the good in the world.

“Really?”

“Mhm,” Honey says, tickling a giggling Ebony’s belly. “She’s growing every single day, too! Pretty soon she’ll be as big as you guys!”

“Be gentle and quiet,” Penny softly shushes the kids, setting off a chain reaction as they shush each other very loudly. Honey snickers and Penny yell-whispers, the only way she can. “Miss Honey’s baby is sleeping!”

“Shh, she’s sleeping!” one of the toddlers yells to another toddler for whispering too loudly, making Honey and Ebony share a look and giggle. Daisy, luckily, does not even move at the loud yell. She is a very heavy sleeper, thank God. Melissa advised Honey not to keep a quiet house, because they never did with Honey, and she never woke up when someone was mowing the lawn or when Melissa was vacuuming around the house.

“Thank you, Timmy,” Penny tries to hide her smile, before, with Honey’s encouragement, she kneels down to let the toddlers see the baby up close. Honey smiles at the sounds of "aww" or the kids' excited chatter as they meet the baby. There’s something so funny about small humans meeting and being amazed by an even smaller human.

“Miss Honey, did the stork bring her to you?” Caroline, a sweet little four-year-old, asks, blue eyes wide. “That’s what Mommy says happens with babies.”

Penny snorts and shakes her head with an amused smile on her face, and Honey chuckles before kneeling down and letting Ebony walk over to the baby.

“How about we sing a song with Miss Honey?” Honey says.

Partly to avoid answering that minefield of a question.

And partly because Daisy’s birth is still a tender bruise in her mind.

“Yes!” they cheer in unison.

Honey gathers the kids around the carpeted area. Penny settles back by the teacher’s desk with Daisy in her arms, and Honey grabs the guitar hanging from the hooks on the wall. She’s not Jimi Hendrix, but she can play a few chords to sing sweet little songs with her kids.

“Any requests?” Honey asks, giggling when they all start throwing out song titles at once. This actually gives Honey a good look into what their parents are listening to at home.

And Honey picks out one that feels important and appropriate for her.

“Little baby bumblebee, you’re as cute as you can be,” Honey starts singing, her kids bouncing and wiggling in their seats and making her giggle. “And I know you love to fly⁠⁠—”

“Flap your wings, little guy!” the toddlers scream as loud as they can.

Honey laughs, continuing the song.

She glances back at Penny and sees that Daisy is awake now, smiling as Penny gently bounces her. Honey smiles at her little girl and keeps singing, feeling more in her element than she has in quite a while.