AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Good morning, ma’am,” The man says as the boys inspect his other drawings.
“Hi,” I tell him.
“Did you draw all these by yourself?” Braxley asks, “They’re so cool.”
“Yes, I did. Would you and your brother like one done.”
They nod frantically, not even noticing the man called them brothers. I chuckle as they take a seat together basically on one chair and the man looks at me for reassurance.
“Would you like to be in the picture too?”
I shake my head, but the boys call me over to them. “Come on, Mom!” Braxley hollers and the man says, “Yeah, come on, Mom.”
I smile, taking a seat on the other chair, the three of us squeezing in, and I hope Thane likes this gift. I really want to do something nice for him after he’s been so generous. Flying us here and paying for everything and never complaining one bit.
As I sit with the boys, I can only imagine how silly this is gonna look. But…that’s what it’s about after all, right? Being here in this place, it’s like being a kid again, and if Thane has shown me one thing, it’s to be myself.
***
“Dad’s gonna love this!” Jack says, looking down at the framed picture of him, Braxley, and I as we walk back down the hall towards the hotel room.
“It did turn out pretty cool.”
I check my phone and don’t see any messages from Thane. He must still be passed out. “Ready to surprise him?” I ask and slip the key into the door. It turns green, and as I turn the handle, we quietly walk towards the bedroom where we find Thane still sleeping. The room is dark, and the boys yell, “Wake up!” He sits right up, then falls back when he sees us, and I open the curtains.
“Is it morning already?” he asks, pulling the covers up and over his face. Jack and Braxley, kick off their shoes and climb in bed with Thane. They are like two little monkeys. Jack almost hits Thane in the face with the huge picture, and I take it in my hand, helping him hold on to it as I say, “It’s time to wake up, sleepyhead.”
Thane hears my voice and peers out at me. I set his Chai Tea Latte on the nightstand that I grabbed on the way back. But it’s not enough, he burrows back under the covers, and the boys rock back and forth on the bed trying to wake him.
“We got you a present!” Jack says in his cute voice, and that gets Thane’s attention. His tired eyes blink a few times, and then he looks at the picture in front of him that I’m holding up
“Is this it?” he asks, and they nod together.
“Wow! I love it. Now let me guess. This is you, Braxley?” And he points to me on the paper. I sit on the bed next to Thane, and he wraps his arm around me. Braxley tells him, “No, that’s Mommy!”
“Now I see it; it is Mommy. Doesn’t she look pretty?” They agree and I watch Thane look at the picture, the smile on his face is clear—this was the perfect gift—he loves it.
