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Then, before he was finished peeing, he released his winky, dripping urine all over the wood floor and squatted as if getting ready to play in the floor urine.
Joel rushed forward and plucked him up off the ground. Something wet dripped onto his calves, but he didn’t look down.
It hadn’t been fifteen minutes yet.
Holding Theo underneath one arm, he walked to the nursery. “Baby boy, you wouldn’t, by any chance, know where your mama keeps the cleaning supplies, would you?”
Theo clapped his hands and echoed “cleaning supplies” as best as he could, and Joel felt a spritz of something on his face.
“How’d you still get pee on your hands?”
Theo’s only response was a hearty giggle.
* * *
Josiah screamed his name and raced over, nearly trampling smaller children who were probably the same age.
At first, he didn’t recognize Josiah; he and Ayesha had talked about Josiah probably needing glasses, and she’d sent him pictures of the ones Josiah said he liked, but this was his first time seeing Josiah with them on.
Joel crouched.
Josiah slammed into him, squeezing tight. “Does Ma know you’re here?”
How long had he been gone that Josiah now said “Ma” instead of “Mama,” and Theo had graduated to sentences? What would he miss next? Facial hair and prepositions?
“Oh, wait! Of course, she knows.” Josiah released him. “You have Theo.”
He stood and opened the car door. “Yeah, she knows. How was school?”
“Same old, same old.” Josiah tossed his things onto the backseat, climbed in next to Theo, and buckled his seatbelt. “Where’s Ma? At home?”
“She went to work. It’s just the three of us. I figured we could have a boys’ day.”
“Ma’s really not coming?”
Joel slipped behind the steering wheel. With how much he’d been in Maui these last several months, Giorgio had a car from his extensive collection shipped from California to Maui. While he was grateful, he’d never been more irrationally afraid of damaging a vehicle.
“No. Why?”
Josiah slid a glance at his brother. “Have you ever watched Theo alone?”
“No.”
“Oh, no.”
“Why? What’s wrong? I figured we’d make a stop that I have to make, and then we’ll head to the park. Unless you’re hungry.”
Josiah shook his head. “I’m not hungry, but maybe we shouldn’t go to the park.”
“Why not?”
“Do you know what you’re getting yourself into?” Josiah pointed to himself. “I’m good, but Theo’s a terror. He pees on everything.”
So, he’d learned.
Plus, he wasn’t sold on Josiah’s proclamation of being “good.” He might not have been a terror, but he had his ways.
He started up the car. “We’ll be all right. By the way, do you know Theo’s teacher’s name?”
