Holt

“Mommy! I’m ready to go!” Turner calls, pacing the floor with his lunch box in hand. It’s shaped like a garbage truck, and Kinley cracked up laughing when we brought it home from the store. “No one will pick up your lunch by mistake,” she pointed out.

Turner’s new truck obsession is with garbage trucks, and he’s made friends with the garbage collector by always being outside to watch him dump the cans and dumpsters at Foxhaven.

Right now, he’s impatiently waiting for a ride to his first day of Kindergarten. His fifth birthday was only a week ago, and now that he’s starting school, I’m realizing just how fast things seem to move when you have a kid.

Kinley’s phone rang a moment ago, and she disappeared into the bedroom with it, so it must be important.

“It’s not time to leave yet, buddy. A few more minutes.”

“My teacher is so nice. She gave me a sucker when I went to meet her, and I get a desk right up front!”

He’s gone on and on about school since the open house a few days ago. I’m glad he’s so excited. I’d hate to have to leave him there crying or begging to come home.

“I know! You’re going to have so much fun. And you know the bus is going to bring you home, right?” I remind him.

“Uh-huh, it’ll drop me off at Foxhaven. Mommy rode the same bus and got dropped off there too! But that was a long, long time ago.”

Kinley walks in, tucking her phone in her pocket. “Not that long ago, mister,” she says, tickling his ribs as she walks by.

Giggling, he hops from foot to foot like a cartoon character. “Can we go now?”

“Go pee, and then we can.”

He darts out of the room, and I turn to my wife. “Is everything okay?”

“Heather took a plea deal today. She was sentenced to twenty years, counting the broken parole.”

Wrapping my arms around her, I kiss the top of her head. “How do you feel about that?”

“Relieved,” she sighs.

Turner races back into the room, his backpack slapping against his back. “Ready!”

Turner’s school is only a few minutes away, and he’s wiggling in his seat with excitement when we park the car. He takes my hand as we all walk inside. Multiple people stop Kinley to say hello, and she introduces Turner to some of her old teachers and friends as we make our way to his classroom.

“Ms. Hill! I’m here!” Turner announces, and several parents turn to chuckle at his entrance. Yeah, that’s my kid.

“And I’m so glad you’re here,” Ms. Hill replies. “Do you remember which desk is yours?”

“Yes!” He walks over and puts his lunchbox on it.

“Good job. Just have a seat and when everyone gets here, we’ll learn where to put our bag and lunches.” He beams up at me and Kinley as we approach.

“We have to go now. I want you to be good and listen to your teacher, okay? I’ll be waiting for you when you get off the bus,” Kinley tells him.

I thought she’d be the one hesitating to leave, but she just smiles and heads for the door. “Have fun. I want to hear all about it when you get home,” I add.

“I will,” he says, dismissing me with a wave of his hand to talk to the little boy beside him.

Okay then.

Kinley grins at me when I join her and a lot of other hovering parents in the hallway. “Are you okay?” she asks.

“Should this feel like I just abandoned my kid and threw him to the wolves?”

“Pretty much,” she giggles. “But look.”

When I peek back through the door, Turner laughs at something the boy next to him says and he doesn’t seem the least bit worried about being left there. She grabs my hand, and we head back to the car.

The drive home seems way too quiet.

“I’ve been thinking about something,” Kinley says, as I unlock the cabin door.

“Getting naked and nasty while the house is empty?”

“No.” She laughs. “Well, sort of. I know I said I wanted to wait a couple of years before we try for a baby, but I’ve reconsidered.”

Shock freezes me in place. “I thought you wanted to travel and see the world first.” The last thing I want to do is talk her out of it, but I want to make sure she isn’t just doing this for me.

“I want our kids to be close in age, so they’ll always be close to each other. And we can show our kids the world, can’t we? It’s not like we can’t afford vacations and a nanny to watch them if we go somewhere not appropriate for kids.”

Elation builds in my blood. “Are you telling me you want to get pregnant soon?”

“Yes, if that’s what you want too.”

She squeals as I lift her up and toss her over my shoulder.

“We’re going to start right now!” I declare, carrying her to the bedroom and tossing her on the bed.

She grins up at me. “I have to get the implant out first. You can’t knock me up this second.”

“So, we’ll practice.”