Page 45 of Take My Kiss
Sam grabs his Nintendo Switch in between amusing his sister with the doll she handed him.
We play for almost an hour before I remind Sam he needs to shower before bed. He groans for a solid five minutes before I give him my best “better do it before your mom comes out here” look.
“Don’t forget to washeverythin’…” I remind him. “With the body wash.”
He whines again, dragging his feet as he goes. Remy’s quick to follow, never letting him out of his sight for too long.
Amelia informed me he’ll take a quick three-minute shower without using any soap and thinks she won’t notice he still smells.
Not sure how my mom managed three boys who lived on a ranch, because we tried the same thing on her.
“How was class?” I ask Amelia when she returns.
“Pretty borin’…but fine. How’re things out here?” She kneels next to Lily, kissing the top of her head.
“Great.” I hold up my doll. “I’ve been to the mall, then we went to the beach and made an apple pie.”
“Really? Wow, all of that in a couple hours. You must be exhausted,” she quips.
“Was cherry pie!” Lily corrects.
“Oh, my bad.Cherrypie.” I wink at Amelia, and she smirks.
“It’s time for your bath,” she tells Lily once Sam’s out of the bathroom. “And then bedtime.”
“No,” she whines, aggressively shaking her head.
“Yes, ma’am.” Amelia stands, holding out her hand.
“Can you read me a story?” Lily asks me.
“Sure, sweetheart. Pick one out, and I’ll come in once you’re ready for bed.”
“Yeah!” she squeals, grabbing her mom’s hand.
Amelia leads them out, but before they’re out of view, she glances over her shoulder. There’s a warmth in her eyes that wasn’t there before, and when I smile, she does too.
I pick up the living room, putting all the dolls and accessories together so Remy doesn’t use them as chew toys, then put the crayons and markers back in the boxes where they belong. The kids stayed busy playing most of the day, and between everything they packed and all the stuff Bellamy brought over, there were a lot of options.
Lily comes out to tell me she’s ready, so I follow her to the bedroom, where Sam’s already tucked in and waiting.
“This one.” Lily hands me a blue book before getting under the covers.
I beam when I read the title. “Rainbow Fish. Good pick.”
Kneeling beside the bed so they can see the pictures, Amelia sits on the edge of the mattress, inches from me. From the outside, we’d look like a family—a mom and dad putting their kids to bed, reading stories, and kissing them goodnight.
But in reality, they’re only here temporarily, giving me a glimpse of what I yearn to have someday.
The kids getting attached isn’t the only thing Amelia should worry about while being here.
Because I am too.
My routine for one got an overhaul, and I switched to cooking for four, picking up toys before I step on them, checkingon them in the middle of the night, reminding them to wash their hands, and so many other small details I never realized would be part of taking care of kids. I find myself waking up eager to make them breakfast, where they tell me how they slept and what kind of dreams they had. Fortunately, Sam hasn’t had a single nightmare since that first night and sleeps a good ten hours straight.
As I flip through the book, I read in different funny voices to make them giggle, but the best part is that it makes Amelia laugh, too.
“Again, again!” Lily begs when I finish the last page.
