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“What?” I ask.
“I don’t want to go to summer camp,” he growls, glowing brighter.
He’s angry. More than likely, he’s scared. I had a different upbringing, but all the books tell me this is a normal reaction.
Turin rounds the corner. “Hey, guy,” he says, voice booming. “Settle. Your mom has a lot on her plate today at the VA office. Give her a break, okay?”
“I promise you will have so much fun, Dax,” she says.
He scowls. “Mom, it’s school. There’s a math class.”
“There’s also paintball,” Turin says.
I groan. Why on Earth did I think this was a good idea?
“Look, I know you don’t want to go, but you have to understand, your father and I need some alone time, too,” I protest. “And if you’re good, maybe you’ll come home to a new game.”
Turin grimaces. “Naomi, the kid needs no more bribing.”
When you become a mom, you don’t expect to make deals with your kids, but sometimes they’re tougher to crack than some adults.
“Is Drake going?” Dax asks.
“Everyone is going,” I tell him. “Drake, Arkanin, Holliana...”
His face turns red almost immediately, and his nose scrunches. “Holliana? They let girls go to this thing?”
Turin drops to the couch and chuckles. “Son, you’d be a fool not to go,?
?? he says.
The doorbell rings. It’s Jessica, Drake’s mother.
No one knows about what we went through. Not even Dax. Most people think we met on an intergalactic holiday trip.
It’s completely crazy.
After briefly catching up with Jessica, I lead her into the living room to collect my morbid son.
“So,” he says. “Drake agreed to this? He knows about the math course?”
Jessica snorts. “He’s excited about the paintball,” she says.
A paintball course is always a deal-breaker.
“All right. I’ll go. But I’m not doing it for you.” Dax huffs, but when he grabs his bag, he’s smiling.
“Great,” I say. “Go take the bull by the horns.”
I used to get teary-eyed when our son left for any period of time. Watching him take the school bus used to shatter me for at least half of the day. Now that I’m used to it, words can’t explain how fast I ushered that boy out of the house.
It’s time for a little one-on-one action with the husband…
As soon as the door shuts, he grabs my waist. “I finally have you,” he says.
I smile and kiss him. “You told him I had a busy day at the VA office. He knows I’m off work today,” I say.
He grins dumbly and lifts me off my feet, swinging my body into his arms. “I think we put up with enough. He can deal with it.”
