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“I’m sure Violet knows what she’s doing, Han. This isn’t her first nanny job.” I squeeze Hannah’s shoulder. I know this is all her nerves and second thoughts talking. “We’ll be fine.”
“Promise?” Her bottom lip twitches and she’s close to bursting into tears.
“Promise.” I draw her into a hug, and she squeezes me so tightly I grunt. When I pull away, I catch Violet’s eye for a moment, and she’s looking at us kind of strange. “Now… go make the world a better place. I’m proud of you.”
She hugs me again before turning her attention to Theo.
“Mommy, do you have to go?” Theo asks, the first tear dripping down his face. He held a good fight there, especially for a five-year-old.
My chest squeezes. I hate seeing Theo upset and I know Hannah does too.
“Mommy won’t be gone that long, buddy. You’ll see the time will fly by.”
Theo flicks his gaze my way as if to question what Hannah said. I run my hand through his hair and nod.
“I’m going to miss you so much.” Hannah falls to her knees in front of him. “But we will talk all the time on video chat, okay? Just like when Daddy is on the road.”
He nods, but the tears stream down at a rate his hands can’t stop them. “I’m going to miss you, Mommy.”
That sentence makes Hannah’s tears burst forward, leaving tracks in her makeup. “I’m going to miss you so much.” She pulls him into her, giving him a tight hug.
Theo’s little fingers grip the back of her shirt as if he’s afraid she’s going to vanish in a flash.
My gaze meets Violet’s and holds before we both look away, giving them some privacy.
Hannah draws back. “I have to go catch my plane.” Her voice is shaky. “You be good for your dad and Violet, okay? I’ll call you as soon as I land.”
Theo nods, pressing his lips together as though he doesn’t trust himself to speak.
Then Hannah gives him a kiss on the cheek, wiping his tears away with her thumbs, and stands. “Good luck,” she says to Violet. “Thank you.”
“I swear I’ll treat him like my own,” Violet says.
Hannah nods and squeezes Violet’s hand. “I believe you.” Then she swipes under her eyes and sniffles. “All right, time to get myself together. I’ll see you all in a few months.”
Theo comes to me, wrapping his arms around my legs, while Hannah makes her way down the driveway to the car driving her to the airport. I pick up Theo and hold him close.
He buries his head in my neck and mumbles, “I don’t want Mommy to leave.”
I run my hand up and down his back. “I know, buddy.”
“Your mom is doing such a great thing. She’s helping all kinds of people who have no one else to help them,” Violet says, walking toward us.
“Does that mean my mommy is brave?” Theo asks her.
“Very brave.”
The three of us watch as the car reverses down the driveway, and we wave until the taillights are no longer in sight.
Theo bursts into tears, so I continue rubbing his back and telling him it will be okay. My chest squeezes in knots from seeing him so upset, but I remind myself it’s temporary. Once we get into our new routine, he’ll adjust fine. Especially once he realizes he still gets to “see” Hannah on our video calls.
“What do you say we go open that really cool Spider-Man Lego set we’ve been saving for a special occasion?”
Theo perks up in my arms, lifting his head from my shoulder. “Really?”
“Yes. I don’t have to be anywhere for the rest of the day, and I think Glamma and Grandpa are going to stop by, so if we start now, we can probably finish it before they get here. Then you can show them.”
His smile is already full of pride as though he’s finished the set. “Let’s go, Daddy.” He wiggles out of my hold, and I set him down before he races back to the family room.
