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“Caleb is a great kid. It’s not hard to hang out with him at all. Besides, Legos are the best. I think my mom still has some of my old sets in her attic.”
“Would you say that if Caleb was a brat?”
“No. If he was a brat, I wouldn’t be here. But I don’t think you’d put up with a disrespectful child for long.”
“He’s a normal kid,” I reply with a sigh and close my eyes when his thumb digs into the arch of my foot. “He pushes buttons, and if he’s hungry or tired, he can be a handful. But no, on the whole, I don’t tolerate my son being a jerk to anyone.”
“It shows.”
“I have to go up and say goodnight to him. I’ll be right back.” I have to pull my foot away and stand up before the relaxing massage puts me to sleep.
“How about if I pour us a glass of wine?” he offers as he stands with me.
“Excellent idea. The kitchen is this way.”
He follows me as far as the kitchen, and then I branch off from him to go upstairs. I find Caleb already in bed, his sidelight on.
And he’s already asleep.
I can smell toothpaste when I lean in to kiss his forehead, and it makes me smile. He actually brushed his teeth.
“I love you so much, baby boy.”
“Love you, Mama.”
He doesn’t open his eyes with the words. He’s already too sleepy for that. And for just an instant, he’s not a ten-year-old with smelly socks and a mop of brown hair that’s screaming for a haircut.
He’s my baby. I can see the pudgy cheeks and smell that baby smell. It’s in moments like these that my heart fills to almost bursting with all the love that I have for this little human that I created.
“Sleep good.”
“Hmm.” He rolls onto his side as I turn out the sidelight and walk to the door. I close it behind me because Caleb always demands pure darkness at night.
I tried a nightlight when he was little, but he wanted none of it.
My kid isn’t afraid of the dark at all.
I don’t make it back to the TV room because I find Drew still in the kitchen, casually leaning back against the countertop, a glass of wine in his hand.
When I walk into the room, his eyes light up, and it sends a jolt right through to the very core of me.
“He’s already out,” I inform him as I step forward and take the offered glass of white. “Do you want to go chat in the game room?”
“Honestly, I’d like a tour of this incredible house. I want to see it through your eyes.”
“Showing off this house is one of my favorite pastimes,” I inform him. “I bought it about five years ago, but before we moved in, I had a major renovation done to update everything. The house was built in the nineties, and it was pretty outdated.”
“This kitchen is great,” he says, looking around. I follow his gaze.
It’s a white kitchen with a massive island that I absolutely love for baking Christmas cookies.
“Check it out.”
I move to the tall cabinet next to the stovetop. It looks like a small pantry, but when I open the door, I reveal a massive butler’s pantry behind it.
“Whoa,” Drew says in surprise. “A secret room.”
“That’s exactly what Caleb said,” I reply with a laugh. “Ilovethis space. I don’t host parties often, mostly during the holidays, but it’s so nice to be able to hide the mess back here. People tend to congregate in the kitchen, and this makes it possible for me to keep my kitchen clean while still using it, if that makes sense.”
