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“He doesn’t even care that we’re leaving him.”
“Our little boy is growing up,” she whispers.
And then my heart explodes because she called Sawyer our boy. Idaline has accepted Sawyer as hers and I couldn’t be happier. It’s definitely time to work on getting those adoption papers prepared.
“Let’s go before we stand here all day. I don’t want to be late for work.” She turns us around and we leave with Sawyer being none the wiser.
Unfortunately, it takes everything for me to not return to the daycare to pick him up throughout the day. The good news is that whenever I have that thought, I can pull up a website on my phone. One reason I liked this daycare is that they have a webcam continuously running and parents can tune in on their website to see what their child is doing at any moment.
Sawyer seems to be having a blast every time I tune in. He’s playing with others, but sometimes, he’s playing alone. All I care about is that he looks happy and unharmed. The work day seems to pass slowly as I wait for the time when I can pick him up. When I finally get there, Sawyer spots me after a moment and comes wobbling over as fast as he can, giggling with a big smile on his face.
I don’t think he’s ever been so happy to see me. I can get used to a greeting like this. I pick him up and kiss his cheek. “Hey, son. Did you miss me?”
“DaDa!”
I laugh. “I missed you too.” Once I get him checked out, we head to the house to get started on supper. I should finish just in time for when Idaline gets home. Sawyer seems to babble more than usual, but he falls asleep on the couch before Idaline can get home. I guess daycare wears him out.
“How did today go?” Idaline asks as soon as she walks in the door.
“He’s asleep on the couch, so it must have been too exciting to stay up for dinner.” As soon as I say this, she turns around and walks to the couch, peering over the back of it.
“Aw, he’s adorable. He looks like he’s sleeping so good.”
“I think I’ll let him sleep for a while and feed him when he gets up. Get over here and kiss me so we can eat.”
She laughs. “Yes, sir.”
This is the best ending to a workday that I could imagine. I’m sure our future will include many more of them.
“Declan, if you fall out of that tree again, I won’t take you to the hospital!” Idaline hollers to our ten-year-old son who has a knack for being both adventurous and clumsy.
He laughs and shouts back, “Yes, you will!” Sawyer, now fourteen, chases our two youngest daughters, Ashley and Corrine, five and three, around the yard. They absolutely adore him and thankfully, he doesn’t mind entertaining them every so often. Lastly, our eight-year-old son, Vincent, sits on the other side of Idaline on the bench. He has trouble in school and hasn’t finished his homework yet. Idaline has told him three times he could play with his siblings, but he’s determined to finish what he’s started.
I have no fucking clue how I ended up with five children from fourteen to three and married to my soulmate. Our house is constantly chaotic, but Idaline handles things surprisingly well. She takes time to herself when she needs it and I double-check on her sometimes to make sure she’s taking care of herself, but she’s more amazing than ever.
“Love?” Idaline looks up at me with a lazy smile. “Want to cross another name off your list?”
She laughs and playfully pushes me away. “We’ll never cross them all off, FC. There were at least a hundred names up there and we’ve used ten of them already. Go play, buddy,” she finishes to Vincent. Once he’s gone, she faces me fully, still smiling. “Five isn’t enough for you?”
“Five is plenty, but we’re uneven, Idaline.” I rest my hand on her stomach. “Plus, I love seeing you pregnant.”
She plucks my hand off her stomach. “All I hear is caveman talk for I love having a mini me inside you.”
I laugh heartily as Sawyer walks up to the picnic table.
“What are y’all talking about?” he asks skeptically. “You aren’t pregnant, are you, Mom?” His gaze bounces between the two of us. “No! I can’t handle more of these rugrats! I’m exhausted.” Sawyer lays out all dramatic-like over the table with his hand over his forehead. “I mean, another brother or sister would be cool, but for the love of god, lay off! Aren’t you old people tired yet?”
“Sawyer, stop it,” Idaline orders with a bit of a chuckle. “I’m not pregnant. Our family is complete.” She gives me a pointed look that’s serious enough for me to know that she doesn’t want more kids. I should know this already because she’s made mention of me going to the doctor for a vasectomy. This was my last attempt to change her mind.
Sawyer sits up and looks out at his siblings playing. “So, this is it, huh?”
“This is our family,” she confirms.
“Do we have to tell them about me?” he asks with a serious tone in his voice.
Sawyer recently learned about Lila. Having three sets of grandparents around was bound to bring up questions sooner or later, and he finally asked why he had so many when other kids don’t. That wasn’t a fun discussion and Sawyer is still processing what we told him.
That Idaline isn’t his biological mom, but she’s been with me and raising him since he was one. That she adopted him before he turned two. That my scars are from his biological mom and that she died in an accident while attacking Idaline. It took us almost as long to decide exactly what to share as it did to tell him. But we didn’t want him to later feel like we held out on him or lied, so we told him the bare bones and answered any questions he asked.
