and there was no guarantee that time with Max was a big enough reward.
The little boy contemplated his choices. He went back to his drawing and took his time, carefully coloring in the spaces he needed to fill. Wait him out, wait him out, Kendall told herself. She had to let him reason this out on his own.
The kitchen timer went off, breaking the silence. Lucy popped up. “That’s me. Dinner’s almost ready!”
As much as Kendall dreaded making dinner after such a long day, eating something Lucy cooked was hazardous to her taste buds. She glared at Emma, who would have none of it.
“Don’t look at me like that. She was already whipping something up when I got here.”
“When you say she was whipping up ‘something,’ can you be more specific? Did it resemble some kind of real food?”
“I was trying to figure it out when she dropped the you-know-what bomb on me. After that, I couldn’t think straight.”
Kendall could tell she was exhausted and stressed. Her sister was kind enough to make her and Simon dinner, and she was feeling nothing but ungrateful. She needed to suck it up. Dinner was likely some organic, nondairy, gluten-free mystery concoction, but she was going to clean her plate.
“I can talk to Max if I go to school in the morning?” Simon asked, finally ready to make his choice.
“If you go to school all day,” Kendall clarified. She had to be specific; he would take advantage of any loophole.
Simon’s bottom lip jutted out at her catch. “Fine.” He began to pick up his markers and place them in their bin.
“Dinner’s ready!” Lucy shouted from the kitchen.
“Don’t set a place for me. I’m not staying,” Emma said as she stood up. “Wish I could, but I have that thing, so I need to get home.”
Kendall mouthed the word liar.
“I’ll see you tomorrow after school, bud.” Emma ruffled Simon’s hair. “I can’t wait to meet Max.” She smiled at her frowning sister as she grabbed her purse.
Kendall held out her hand to help Simon to his feet. She gave him a kiss on top of the head. “Let’s go eat, huh?”
“I’ll go to school, but I’m not eating Aunt Lulu’s dinner,” Simon said quietly but firmly.
Kendall smiled and shook her head. “ Et tu, Simon? Et tu? ” She couldn’t really complain. He’d get peanut butter and jelly if it meant he’d go to school the next day. That was an easy deal to make.
* * *
K ENDALL PULLED THE covers up under Simon’s chin, making sure he was tucked in tight.
“Love you,” she whispered before giving him a kiss good-night.
“I love you more,” he replied quietly.
Switching off his bedside lamp, she smiled. “Impossible.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Trust me, someday when you have kids, you’ll know just how impossible it is. Now, get some sleep.” She paused at his door and blew him one more kiss. When she was his age, she had no idea she could love someone as much as she loved him. Forget about to the moon and back. Kendall’s love for Simon was infinite.
She padded down the stairs and found Lucy drying and putting away the dishes. The small kitchen was her favorite room in the house. It reminded her of the one in the house where she grew up.
The kitchen was where all the big and little events happened. Everyone used to crowd around the small table at dinnertime and talk about their day. Their dad would share funny stories about what happened on the construction site, Lucy would try to rally everyone to take up her latest cause, and Emma and their mom would discuss how they were going to save the world. It was at that same table that she told her parents she was engaged and, a few years later, that she was pregnant. Her mom was standing in the kitchen when she called Kendall to tell her they had found a lump, and they celebrated around the table when the news came back that the cancer was gone.
Life-changing moments could happen in a kitchen like this one.
Trevor would have hated it. He would have wanted
The little boy contemplated his choices. He went back to his drawing and took his time, carefully coloring in the spaces he needed to fill. Wait him out, wait him out, Kendall told herself. She had to let him reason this out on his own.
The kitchen timer went off, breaking the silence. Lucy popped up. “That’s me. Dinner’s almost ready!”
As much as Kendall dreaded making dinner after such a long day, eating something Lucy cooked was hazardous to her taste buds. She glared at Emma, who would have none of it.
“Don’t look at me like that. She was already whipping something up when I got here.”
“When you say she was whipping up ‘something,’ can you be more specific? Did it resemble some kind of real food?”
“I was trying to figure it out when she dropped the you-know-what bomb on me. After that, I couldn’t think straight.”
Kendall could tell she was exhausted and stressed. Her sister was kind enough to make her and Simon dinner, and she was feeling nothing but ungrateful. She needed to suck it up. Dinner was likely some organic, nondairy, gluten-free mystery concoction, but she was going to clean her plate.
“I can talk to Max if I go to school in the morning?” Simon asked, finally ready to make his choice.
“If you go to school all day,” Kendall clarified. She had to be specific; he would take advantage of any loophole.
Simon’s bottom lip jutted out at her catch. “Fine.” He began to pick up his markers and place them in their bin.
“Dinner’s ready!” Lucy shouted from the kitchen.
“Don’t set a place for me. I’m not staying,” Emma said as she stood up. “Wish I could, but I have that thing, so I need to get home.”
Kendall mouthed the word liar.
“I’ll see you tomorrow after school, bud.” Emma ruffled Simon’s hair. “I can’t wait to meet Max.” She smiled at her frowning sister as she grabbed her purse.
Kendall held out her hand to help Simon to his feet. She gave him a kiss on top of the head. “Let’s go eat, huh?”
“I’ll go to school, but I’m not eating Aunt Lulu’s dinner,” Simon said quietly but firmly.
Kendall smiled and shook her head. “ Et tu, Simon? Et tu? ” She couldn’t really complain. He’d get peanut butter and jelly if it meant he’d go to school the next day. That was an easy deal to make.
* * *
K ENDALL PULLED THE covers up under Simon’s chin, making sure he was tucked in tight.
“Love you,” she whispered before giving him a kiss good-night.
“I love you more,” he replied quietly.
Switching off his bedside lamp, she smiled. “Impossible.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Trust me, someday when you have kids, you’ll know just how impossible it is. Now, get some sleep.” She paused at his door and blew him one more kiss. When she was his age, she had no idea she could love someone as much as she loved him. Forget about to the moon and back. Kendall’s love for Simon was infinite.
She padded down the stairs and found Lucy drying and putting away the dishes. The small kitchen was her favorite room in the house. It reminded her of the one in the house where she grew up.
The kitchen was where all the big and little events happened. Everyone used to crowd around the small table at dinnertime and talk about their day. Their dad would share funny stories about what happened on the construction site, Lucy would try to rally everyone to take up her latest cause, and Emma and their mom would discuss how they were going to save the world. It was at that same table that she told her parents she was engaged and, a few years later, that she was pregnant. Her mom was standing in the kitchen when she called Kendall to tell her they had found a lump, and they celebrated around the table when the news came back that the cancer was gone.
Life-changing moments could happen in a kitchen like this one.
Trevor would have hated it. He would have wanted
Similar Books
