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“I have to go potty, first.”
“I go potty,” he said proudly.
“Is that why you don’t have any pants on?”
Figuring it meant he’d peed on the bathroom floor, she’d have a big mess to clean up. He pulled her by the hand to the bathroom and in the potty chair, out for display for him to get used to because he wasn’t even two years old yet, was a perfect Tootsie Roll.
“Stevie! You pooed in the potty! Excellent! What a big boy! We need to take a picture of this and send it to Daddy!”
He was so proud of himself, doing a little dance while she took the picture and sent it to Steve and at the last second, to Beverly and Kelly. They were Stevie’s family. She sent it to Calista, too. Potty training at day care would keep things consistent. And Katrina and Maggie would appreciate it because they were concerned about potty training when the time came.
The answers came right away, laughing emojis and declarations of pride. She read the texts to Stevie and showed him the gifs his family had sent on this auspicious occasion, and his response was so cute she had to do a video of it and share that to everyone, too.
Then she sent it to Chris, with the message,You can come get us anytime now.
And his response,On my way. Congratulations to Stevie!
“Get your pants on, buddy. Chris is on his way to take us to his house.”
“Chritopher.”
“Yes. His sons are there. Joel and Ben. You’ll like them.”
She didn’t say big brothers. Not yet.
“We’ll take toys over this time, too.”
“Toys.”
She packed up a suitcase and containers of toys and things that a small boy would need in a new environment. The sound of his car in the driveway made her heart rate speed up.
“Chris is here!”
Stevie ran to the window, pulling the curtain aside. He began to yell.
“Jeez, this kid is so excited to see you,” Annie said, one of Chris’s arms around her while the other held Stevie when he jumped up.
“I’m excited to see you two, too,” he said, kissing both of them on the cheek. “Stevie’s a big boy!” Referring to the toilet photo, Chris bit his tongue to keep from laughing, but he did the thumbs-up.
“He’s growing up fast!”
“Is this stuff to take?” he asked with a big smile, nodding at the pile. “You’re moving in!”
“Well, sort of. This should get us through the weekend. I’ll leave toys there, if that’s okay. Then we won’t have to keep hauling things back and forth. He has enough toys and clothes for two houses.”
“How exciting! Okay, let’s get this show on the road. Are you hungry?”
“Hungy,” Stevie said.
“We’ll stop at Burger Den. Do you need anything from Spencers?”
“Not a thing.” Annie climbed into the huge, brand-new SUV Chris had purchased as soon as he knew that Annie and Stevie were going to be in his life permanently, and replacing her former hopeless feeling, a sense of entitlement flowed through her. “I know how lucky I am to have you.”
“Is that right? Well, I’m lucky to have you, too.”
“Thank you for picking us up. For feeding Stevie. He woke me hungry and then I saw the poo and that changed my entire course for the afternoon.”
“Did you get a nap?”
