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While Max clung to him, he also clung to the words his mother had said earlier about deserving something for himself. “I want to make you a promise.” Max pulled back so he could see Caden’s face. “If I date Lexi, nothing will change between you and me. I swear to you. Nothing will change except maybe you’ll have someone else in your life who loves you. But you and me? We’re best friends, and that’s never, ever going to change no matter what. Okay?”
His little chin quivered as he nodded.
Max hated that he’d upset him, but he supposed it was bound to happen whenever he started to date. He probably should’ve done it a long time ago so it wouldn’t be such a big deal to Caden now.
“Are we good?” Max asked.
He nodded again.
Max held out his fist to initiate their special handshake. As they went through the elaborate sequence, Caden grinned, which was a relief. “No one else in the whole world knows our secret handshake, you know.”
“Chase wants me to teach it to him, but I won’t. Cuz it’s ours.”
“That’s right, but you should make up another one for you and him, so he won’t feel left out.”
“That’s a good idea. Maybe we can do that this weekend. Can he stay at Grammy’s on Friday, too?”
Max was relieved that he’d come around to accepting the plan for the weekend. “I’ll ask Uncle Will, but I’m sure that’s fine.” Max bent to kiss his forehead. “Get some sleep, buddy. Love you to the moon and all the way to Pluto.”
“Pluto isn’t really a planet anymore.”
“It is in my world.”
Giggling, Caden said, “Love you to the moon and your anus.”
“We talked about that. Not funny.”
“Yes, it is!”
“Nope.” Max had to bite his lip to keep from joining in Caden’s laughter. “Go to sleep.” As he left the room, Caden was saying “your anus” in a singsong voice between giggles.
“I can’t hear you.”
“Yes, you can!”
“Sleep. Now.”
Max waited until he was in the kitchen before he allowed himself a quiet laugh. The Uranus thing had started last fall when they covered the solar system in kindergarten. One of the other kids in Caden’s class had explained to the class why the pronunciation of Uranus was so funny. Caden had trotted out the term “your anus” over dinner at the barn, which had resulted in his parents and grandfather laughing until they cried while Max had looked on in horror.
“This is what happens when you send kids to school,” his dad had said.
The incident had made Max wish homeschooling was an option for them. As he finished loading the dishwasher, he thought about how Caden had cried over him going to see Lexi. That had gutted him and had him again questioning whether he was being fair to his son. He was so used to basing every decision on what was best for Caden that he’d forgotten how to think about what was inhisbest interest.
Lexi was in his best interest. Just as he had that thought, his phone chimed with a text. Thank God for Wi-Fi that kept him somewhat connected to the outside world. He pulled the phone from his pocket and smiled when he saw the text was from her. She’d included a picture of herself with a tabby cat.
Super cute—you and the cat. Who’s your friend?
Our neighbor’s cat Misty. She loves me. We spent so much time in the hospital that we couldn’t have pets, so our neighbors let me borrow her whenever I need a fix.
We should get one when you move here.
She sent a GIF of a woman fanning her face.
Max sent laughter emojis.Too much too soon?
No… All I think about is moving to Vermont.
We’re here, waiting for you to come back!
