Isaac âcause God said to âcause she laughed and Isaac means laugh.â
Nathan had enjoyed the story so much that he continued to talk about it throughout his bath and was still going strong when Jessica tucked him into bed.
âShe laughed,â Nathan said again, snuggling under the covers. âShe didnât think God meant it, did she? That she would have a little boy when she was very old.â
âNot at first,â Jessica said. âBut then later she did, especially when she had that little boy and she was so happy to have him, just like Iâm happy to have you.â She kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly, enjoying the bonding time they shared each night before he went to sleep.
Then she saw his rolled-up take-home papers on his nightstand and remembered what Hannah had said. âHey, you didnât show me what you did in class. Want to show me before you go to sleep?â
âSure,â Nathan said, wriggling away from her to reach for the papers.
âThis is Abraham and Sarah and Isaac,â he said, pointing to the coloring page. âI kind of got out of the lines on her hair, but Ms. Hannah said I still did pretty good.â
âSheâs right. You did a good job,â Jess agreed. She continued admiring the picture and wondered why Hannah thought this paper showed that Nathan wants to meet his daddy. Maybe heâd said something about Abraham and the way he was looking at the baby in Sarahâs arms. âSo, you like this picture of Abrahamâs family?â Jess prompted, hoping to figure out what Hannah had meant.
âYep, but my family is on the other side. We drew ours on the back.â He turned the page, and Jessica now knew that this was what Hannah wanted her to see.
Nathan drew his typical tall, skinny house in red crayon and put an even taller tree on the right side, the green swirled circles at the top forming its leaves. On the ground, to the left of the house were two stick people. The taller one had brown hair that was longer, and Jess recognized the âmommyâ drawing that Nathan often put in his pictures. She also recognized the little boy beside the mommy as his traditional âNathanâ drawing. Both of the stick people were merely round circle heads with two lines forming the legs, which was the extent of Nathanâs current drawing skills.
Jessica adored the way he always drew the mommy and little boy so close together when he depicted his family. But the mommy and son werenât the only things on the page this time. On the opposite side of the house, just beneath the tree, was another stick figure, a littletaller than the mommy, who appeared to be wearing a hat. And beside that circular head and string legs was another straight line extending outward, as though the fellow had one arm.
âWhoâs that?â Jess asked, though she suspected she knew.
âThatâs my daddy. He hasnât found us yet.â
Jess nodded, gathering her bearings. He doesnât even know to look for you yet. âWhatâs that?â she asked, pointing to that extended line.
âThatâs his bat,â Nathan said, as though this should have been obvious. âRemember? Heâs going to teach me to play T-ball. And heâs going to be my coach. Ansonâs daddy is his T-ball coach.â
âWhoâs Anson?â
âA boy at school.â
âIs that what heâs wearing? His baseball cap?â She pointed to the hat on the daddyâs head.
âYep. Anson said he was on the Rangers last year, but he donât know what team heâll get this year yet. Do you think Iâll get on Rangers or something else?â
âI donât know,â Jess said, and made a mental note to check into the Claremont Little League sign-ups tomorrow. And she guessed she should probably ask how they go about signing up to coach.
She almost laughed, picturing her telling Chad that he
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