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“Starving,” Caden said, as he did every night.
“Feed Daisy, and then you can eat.”
Max was trying to get Caden in the habit of feeding Daisy twice a day, and so far, he was doing well, but sometimes he had to be reminded.
While Daisy chowed down on puppy food, Max served up the stew he and Lexi had made. They’d discovered cooking was another thing they enjoyed doing together. In fact, he enjoyed doing everything with her and couldn’t wait until they lived together full time.
She was at their house most nights for dinner and often helped Caden with his math homework, which was a relief to Max. She’d helped him with his math homework back in the day, too. He still sucked at it as badly as he had then.
They had slowly started to feel like a real family, and he gave her credit for not forcing herself on Caden, but rather allowing their relationship to grow organically.
As they enjoyed the stew and salad, Max glanced at Lexi.
She gave him a hesitant smile that lit up her eyes, letting him know she, too, was feeling all the things about what they needed to tell Caden.
Max cleared his throat and took a sip of the beer he’d opened. “So, um, Caden… Lexi and I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Are you getting married?”
“Uh, well…” Max glanced at Lexi for help.
“Hopefully, we will eventually,” she said, “but that’s not what we wanted to tell you tonight.”
Caden’s questioning gaze darted between them.
“We got you this,” Max said, handing Caden the gift bag they’d put together the night before after he was asleep.
“It’s not my birthday or Christmas,” he said suspiciously.
“Open it,” Max said, reaching for Lexi’s hand under the table.
Caden pulled the tissue paper out of the bag and then the T-shirt they’d bought him that said Big Brother and the year the baby was due. His mouth fell open. “You’re having ababy?”
“Yeah, buddy, we are, and we’re so excited to make you a big brother, because you’ll be the best one ever.”
“A baby,” Caden said as tears filled his eyes. “I’m going to be a big brother.”
“That’s right. Are you excited?”
“Yeah. Of course I am. Is it a boy or a girl?”
“We don’t know,” Lexi said. “We’ve decided to let it be a surprise.”
“What do you hope for?” Max asked him. “A baby brother or sister?”
“I’m fine with either,” Caden said as he put on the shirt. “Can I wear it to school tomorrow?”
“Sure,” Max said, pleased with how happy his son seemed about the news.
Lexi gave his hand a squeeze and smiled at him.
“So why aren’t you guys getting married? You’re having a baby, Lexi is here all the time anyway, and she helps me with math.”
Max glanced at her. They hadn’t talked much about that as they prepared for the baby and faced the hurdle of breaking the baby news to Caden. “I don’t know why we aren’t getting married yet. We haven’t really gotten there.”
“Well, you should,” Caden said, folding his arms. “Why don’t you ask her, Dad?”
“Like, um, now?”
