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“I talked with Hannah today,” Josh told her.
Sophie gazed at her husband waiting for him to explain what they had talked about. “She ran into Ben at the grocery store.”
“Uh oh.” Sophie stared at Josh while she waited for him to explain.
“Yeah. He introduced himself. He knew exactly who she was.” Josh shook his head. “She said she stood in the baby food aisle staring at him with her mouth open and her heart about to race out of her chest.”
Sophie couldn’t help but think how shocking that had to have been for Hannah. “Why did she call you?”
“You’re sick. She needed to talk to someone. She didn’t want to anger Heath or Kai.”
“Oh.” She frowned at Josh. “So, Kai doesn’t know?”
“Not yet. I recommended that she tell her though.”
“I agree with that.”
Josh also told Sophie that she and Heath were thinking about Hannah quitting her job. Sophie was shocked by that. Heath made plenty for the two of them to live off and she really wanted to be with Joshua. Daycare was expensive at two hundred dollars a week plus Joshua hated it when he went before. The grandparents keeping Joshua was supposed to be temporary until they decided on daycare in Cooper after the recent move.
“Then when they have another baby, the cost of daycare would only increase because they think the grandparents can’t take of two kids.”
Sophie’s head shot around, and she stared at Josh. “Are they thinking of having another one soon?”
“Soph, he’s not even one. I don’t think so.”
She nodded and stared out the window. Some deer poked their heads out of the woods and Sophie was excited to see them. It had been a while. Not that they hadn’t been there, she hadn’t taken the time to look for them.
Sophie propped her chin in her hand and watched the animals pick at the leaves on the low hanging branches. There weren’t many left for them to eat, just a few.
“What are you looking at, Sophie?”
“Deer, in the yard. You forget how beautiful they are when you get so caught up in life that you don’t stop to watch for them.”
“We’ve been busy. Too busy with the business, the kids’ activities too.”
Sophie smiled. Football practice and games since Heath was seven. He was good as a wide receiver. Josh had hopes that he would be a quarterback like him, but his son could run fast and had great hands not an arm like his dad. He was content that Heath was part of a team not pushy like some of the fathers had been.
Ally was a swimmer so there were early morning practices and Saturday swim meets. Sometimes, all day. She went to state her sophomore and junior year in high school. Then Ally also had soccer and she was just as good at that sport. Camden offered her a soccer scholarship. Some schools had been looking at her for their swim teams. She took the best offer.
She missed those days. Sophie missed the hustle and bustle of activity that was always their lifestyle. She missed family dinner with the kids.
“Can we have dinner with just the kids on Saturday or Sunday?” She asked Josh.
“Sure. I’ll call Heath later. We can talk to Ally at dinner.”
“I miss them Josh.”
He nodded in agreement.
He brought a plate to her and went back for his. They sat side by side and ate in silence. Lost in thought and memories that weren’t so long ago. Time had a way of getting by. The kids had grown up so quickly that she felt she should have grabbed them and held on to slow them down a bit.
She leaned over and kissed Josh’s cheek, surprising him. “Ally isn’t joining us?” She asked suddenly realizing that he hadn’t made a plate or their daughter.
He sighed. “She went out for a while.”
Sophie shook her head. “I feel like we’re losing control over her. What is the appropriate level of parenting we’re supposed to have with her, Josh? I know she’s eighteen, but I feel like she just wants to do what she wants to do and to hell with what we think.”
He swirled his fork around his plate then he looked at Sophie. “I don’t know the answer. At her age, we were about to become parents to Heath.”
