AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Fine. I’ll come, but only for Jayden and Mom. I’m not coming for any other reason, so don’t think that you can buy me by throwing your money around. I told you, I’m only interested in what’s best for my son. Nothing else.” Feeling confident that I’d made myself clear, I stalked off upstairs to pack and check on Jayden.
Once I’d packed all the essentials that the two of us would need for such a long trip, I went over to Jayden’s closet and rummaged around for a few more pairs of shoes when the little tyke finally awoke.
“Mama?” he called in a quiet, croaky voice. “Whatcha doin’ in my closet?”
I grabbed a pair of his jelly sandals and put them in the luggage before heading over to Jayden and sitting next to him on the bed. “Me, you, and Granny are all heading off on a trip with one of Granny’s friends,” I told him as I reached out and stroked his soft, blond hair away from his sleepy face.
“What kinda trip?” Jayden questioned as he rubbed his eyes with his tiny fists.
“We’re going to the beach, baby boy,” I told him. “We’re going to make sand castles and swim in the ocean and maybe we’ll even see some fishies!” I ruffled his hair and smiled sweetly at him.
“R-really?!” Jayden cried before launching himself out of bed and hurrying over to the closet. He grabbed hold of his toy chest and dragged it out before searching for his beach toys.
“I need my backpack, Mommy!”
I stifled a laugh and retrieved it for him. Then I watched as he grabbed his arm bands and his bucket and his plastic fish before excitedly attempting to pack them all in his tiny rucksack. None of it fit very well and soon Jayden groaned as he struggled to cram it all in.
“Hang on, honey. You’re going to break them!” I cried as he grabbed his green swim ring that was decorated with turtles and tried to shove that inside his rucksack too.
“I won’t, I pwomise,” Jayden told me with a scrunched-up face as he concentrated hard on pushing everything inside the bag. “Come on, Mommy, we need to hurry up and go see the fisheees!”
I laughed again before kneeling down and helping him pack his stuff away. I took the larger items and put them in the luggage instead so he could still carry the rucksack himself. “The fisheees aren’t going anywhere, baby,” I told him and leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead.
“But I wanna see them!”
“And we will, okay?” I reassured him and stroked his hair. “Now, can you go put your jacket and shoes on for me?”
“Yes, Mommy!”
Jayden disappeared back into the closet to retrieve his things, but before I could stop him, he was haphazardly trying to put them on and failing miserably. He had his shoes on the wrong feet and his coat on backward! I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Oh sweetie, I’m so proud of you,” I said with a smile. “You’re trying your best, but let Mama help, okay?”
Jayden nodded and let me rectify his mistakes before finally donning his rucksack and excitedly heading for the stairs. I nervously picked at my nail polish and then took a deep breath. It was now or never.
The two of us headed down the stairs and I took Jayden to the kitchen where I could see my mom was already packed and ready. She was sharing a cup of coffee with Spencer at the dining table, the two of them caught up in reminiscing about their school days. Spencer hadn’t even noticed my reappearance yet, but I knew it wouldn’t stay that way for long so I took a deep breath and I spoke.
“Jayden, this is Mommy and Granny’s friend, Spencer,” I said by means of introduction, kneeling down next to my son and pointing at his father.
In a state of obvious shock, Spencer’s head turned rapidly and a range of emotions crossed his face before he finally settled on happiness and smiled wide. He stood up from the table and crossed the room to our son who had grown shy all of a sudden and was half-hidden behind my legs. Spencer squatted down and held out his hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, buddy. Your mom and Granny have told me all about you,” he said in a quiet, clear voice.
“Who are you?” Jayden asked with a confused face. He shook Spencer’s hand warily.
“I’m…” He glimpsed up at me and I looked away. “I’m the one who is taking you all to the beach! Are you ready for the trip?”
Jayden nodded. “I got everything, mister, even my swim ring! Do you wanna see me blow it up?”
“No! Baby, that’s not a good idea,” I told him with a nervous chuckle. “We can blow it up once we get to the beach.
