Page 80 of Feels Like Home

“What is wrong withyou?”

“Nothing! They’re so much fun! The unexpected, the constant wondering when someone’s going to jump out at you. The thrill of wondering if you’re going to peeyourself?”

“You’re not selling it,” hechuckles.

“We’re really going? Tomorrownight?”

“Yes.” He sighs. “If wemust.”

“Wemust.”

“I have a feeling you three are always going to gang up on me,” hemurmurs.

My entire body warms at hiswords.

“And then I get you to myself. You promised me another date,remember?”

“How could I forget? Prettiest ugly cake I’ve ever seen in my life got you unlimited datenights.”

He chuckles, but it soundsdistant.

“Are you okay?” I ask him, directing us back to his initial reason for callingme.

“I am. I hate it for the boys. She gave me letters for them. I haven’t read them, yet. I’m not ready, and neither are they. I need to tellthem.”

“But…”

“How do you tell your boys that their own mother doesn’t wantthem?”

I choose my words carefully and speak barely above a whisper. “Well, it’s not like they don’t know. They already heard it from her,” I remindhim.

“Yes, but this is final, youknow?”

“I know. So, you do it like you’ve done everything the last several months. With gentleness, honesty, and love. You make sure they know it’s her loss, that it has nothing to do with them. And at least you get to tell them that she changed her mind about thecabin.”

“Silver lining,yeah?”

“Exactly.”

“I would ask you to be therebut…”

“No. You’re right. You need to do thisyourself.”

“That doesn’t botheryou?”

“Why would it? It’s not about me,Andy.”

“I’m lucky to haveyou.”

“Feeling’smutual.”

“So, I’ll see youtomorrow?”

“Youwill.”

“Can’twait.”

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