Page 43 of Stolen Hours

Sophie giggled. “True. So. This could be an annual thing?”

“Annual? I thought monthly.”

“Honey! It won’t be free all the time. I bet they start charging us.”

“Bi-monthly. Quarterly,” Jesse countered. “Say yes, and I’ll get extra cheese and share my crab rangoon.”

“You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Smith, but I’ll accept.” Sophie kissed him again.

Jesse smiled down on her. “Thank you, Mrs. Smith. It’s a pleasure doing business with you. Let the records show that Jesse and Sophie Smith shall return for bi-monthly ‘mini-moons.’ These may hereafter be known as ‘baby moons,’ ‘second honeymoons,’ or ‘dirty, kinky weekends.’”

“Jesse!”

He looked at her with a mock serious face. “Does Mrs. Smith wish to make an amendment?”

Sophie rolled her eyes and pretended to consider. “I’ll allow the add-on of ‘dirty, kinky weekends’ if Mr. Smith will also share pork fried dumplings.”

“Anything for you, love of my life.”

Epilogue

“Okay, Dad’ll be here in a minute to pick J.J. up. Should we eat at Jade Forest or get it to go?” Jesse rubbed his hands eagerly as he came up behind Sophie.

“Let’s take it to go. Or order later.” Sophie turned her head to catch a kiss from her husband and bent to pick up J.J. “I’m glad it’s still staying dark this late in the morning. We can go to Dad’s and drop him off.”

“J.J. wants to show him the train set your parents built with him last weekend.” Jesse stopped in the doorway of their dining room to look into the little playroom area they’d made in the living room. “You know... I’m not saying it can’t happen someday, or that it won’t happen this time, babe, but it might be cool not to have every single thing in the house babyproofed this time next year. He’ll be three, and he won’t fall in the toilet. I might even be able to stop saying ‘Excuse me, I have to potty’ when I hang out with people.”

Sophie laughed. “Yeah, except that potty training is really going to kick in soon. It’ll be a whole different thing. Speaking of which—you get the door. I have to go potty,” she said with a rueful smile.

“Again? You were just in there when I wanted to get J.J.’s bathtime stuff.”

“I know, but I have to go all the time.”

“I thought that was later in the pregnancy.”

Sophie froze halfway out of the room. “What?”

“Oh! Oh, no. Honey, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to say that. I was just remembering how it happened when you were pregnant with J.J. I’m sorry, Soph.”

“It happened early on, too. I was sleepy, starving, and had to pee a lot.”

Jesse nodded. “But... You said you weren’t. You got your period.”

“Well, I got something. It was super light. More like spotting.” Sophie felt her knees wobble, and she went to grip the wall forsupport—only to discover her hand was still clutching a box of cereal—and her other hand was in it. Pulling handfuls out like she’d never heard of a bowl.