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“How about I put him in the basement? He won’t freeze, he’ll have a big space, and you never go in the basement, so he can’t scare you anymore.”
Colby’s face brightened and he leaped off Rick’s lap, heading for the door, calling behind him, “Come on, Daddy! Let’s get him!”
Rick laughed and rose, but not before telling me, “Thanks for the help, shithead.”
“No way am I jumping in that snake pit.”
After they were gone, Colby’s words hit me.He’s your husband. Colby already thought of me as Rick’s husband. That rocked me. If something happened, would it destroy him? He’d lost a mother already, even if he didn’t remember.
I spoke to Rick about it, but he told me simply, “He saw us in bed together, Kan. For someone his age, he thinks that must mean we’re married. TV shows and things, it shows married people in bed.”
I relaxed a little, but it nagged me, nonetheless. Rick pulled me out of bed and kissed me. “There is a huge spider in the basement now.”
“I’m not afraid of spiders, Rick.”
“Then why was it me getting it?”
I laughed before kissing him hard. “Are you scared of spiders?”
“Yes! Creepy, crawly things!”
Chandler stuck his head in the door. “Spider gone?”
“You too?” I asked, laughing.
“Yes! Ew.”
“Do I sound like that?” Rick asked me in a worried whisper.
All I could do was nod.
“Great. I’m a child.”
“Sometimes…”
He took his pajama shirt off and threw it at me as he headed for the shower.
We had breakfast with the boys and Rick surprised me when he asked Chandler, “Can you watch your brother tomorrow night?”
“Date night. Sure, whatever.”
“Chandler. This is a?”
“Serious responsibility, Dad, I know, I know,” he sniped as he scrolled on his phone.
I watched Rick getting ready to lecture, so I cut in with, “Chandler is great with him, Rick. They’ll be fine.”
Watching Rick’s jaw popping from his frustration, I reached over and took Chandler’s phone.
“Hey!”
“Look your dad in the eye and tell him, or he’s gonna blow a blood vessel.”
After an overly exaggerated eye roll, Chandler said, “I get it, Dad. Big responsibility, the kid gets into everything, he’s a pain in the butt, and I watch him close. Okay?”
“Thank you.”
I handed him back the phone. “Yes, thank you.”
