Page 40 of His Best Friend's Widow
“I’m happy to hear it. So what do you want to do today?”
Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows in an adorable way. “What do you mean?”
“It’s Saturday. What do you want to do?”
“Don’t you usually tell us what to do?”
Hailey bit her lip. Maybe she did. “I do if we have something we have to do, but today there’s nothing on the agenda. No gymnastics meets, or soccer games, or schedules. How about we have a fun day? You can pick something, and if it’s reasonable and not too expensive, I promise I will say yes.”
“Really?” Charlotte and Ellie asked together.
“Yes, really.”
“Really, what?” Carter walked into the room rubbing his eyes and crashed on the end of the bed.
“Mommy says we’re having a fun day, and we can pick what we want to do!” Charlotte shouted.
“Wow,” Carter said.
“But choose wisely,” Hailey said. “There are three of you, and, if you each pick one thing, that could take up the whole day.”
The kids took on a serious look that made Hailey giggle.
“Why don’t you get dressed, and then turn on a cartoon in the living room while I get a shower. That will give you some time to decide, and then we’ll get going on our day of fun.”
They all jumped up and ran from the room, talking excitedly about the day and possible ideas. Hailey’s heart soared to hear them. For too long they had all lived under a cloud of darkness, and today felt like a breath of fresh air.
Hailey hummed to herself as she let the hot water run over her in the shower and then took her time getting dressed and applying her makeup. The kids must have agreed on a show to watch for once because she heard them laughing happily instead of arguing. Yes, today certainly was going to be a good day.
When she made it to the living room, the kids jumped off the couch and began talking at once. Hailey laughed and held up her hands. “Okay, okay, I can’t hear you. One at a time. Ellie, you go first.”
Charlotte and Carter made a face, but quieted down.
“I want to go see a movie!” Ellie shouted.
“Oh, that sounds fun,” Hailey said. “We’ll look on the website and see if there’s something playing we can go see. Okay, Carter you next.”
“I want to go to the arcade!”
“That’s another great idea. I think we can manage that one. Charlotte, what about you?”
“Mine is kind of two parts.”
Hailey tapped her chin. “Well, tell them to me, and I’ll decide if we can do it.”
“I want to go to the mall and buy outfits for Easter and go to lunch at Lorenzo’s.”
Hailey’s heart twisted a bit as Charlotte mentioned Kyle’s favorite Italian lunch place. “That seems reasonable, and if everybody agrees about lunch, I think we can do both of those.”
“Yay!” All the kids shouted together.
That night, Hailey collapsed into bed feeling happier than she could remember being in a long time. They had spent an hour at the arcade before going to the mall and lunch. Then they found a matinee showing of a cartoon movie that turned out to be hilarious and heartwarming. Instead of going home, she took the kids to play at the park until it was almost dark, and they picked up cheeseburgers for dinner on the way home. They had played and laughed all day, and she knew it was a day they would all remember.
As she fell into bed, she texted Landon about their adventures. The only thing that made her happier than spending the whole day having fun with her kids was the words he texted her in response.
I wish I had been there too.
19
