Page 81 of Faded Rhythm

He hands me a bag, and I already know it’s the bacon, egg, and gouda sandwich. Another favorite.

“Those are for the girls,” he says, setting the tray on the nightstand. “I’ll be outside for a while working in the yard. Don’t come out. Okay?”

“Umm…okay…”

“It’s nothing bad,” he rushes out. “Don’t worry. It’s just a surprise.”

I smile at that as I take a bite of my sandwich.

“All the guns are locked away, so feel free to roam around the house.”

“Thank you,” I say. “For everything.”

He just winks and walks out. A man of mystery.

A man I’m starting to be able to see myself with.

I get the girls dressed and downstairs to eat, then I hand them their tablets and help them pull up their assignments. For a while, it’s just like a normal day. A strange house, but they’re with their mommy doing their homework at the dining room table. It’s strange how easy it is to forget that we’re hiding.

The sliding glass door opens, and Julian pokes his head in.

“Come outside real quick.”

Despite having no idea what’s going on, the girls squeal and bolt from their seats like they’ve just been let out of a cage.

“Shoes!” I shout after them, laughing.

Then I follow them out.

And stop in my tracks.

There’s a gigantic princess castle bouncy house on one side of the lawn. Next to it, there’s a large inflatable water slide, already glistening with beads of sunlit water. A small sandbox shaded by a rainbow umbrella sits next to the slide with buckets and shovels planted in the sand. There’s even a table with build-your-own snow cones and colorful syrups lined up in a row.

“What did you do? Did you do all this? By yourself?” I ask, but nobody’s listening to my inane questions. The girls are busy screaming and sprinting full-speed across the yard, leaping straight into the bouncy castle with wild, joyful abandon. And Julian…he’s busy watching. And looking proud of himself.

I give him a chaste Christian side-hug. “Thank you,” I murmur, staring into his eyes. “You’re so sweet to do this for them.”

He shrugs. “I felt bad that we had to run out of there yesterday. Before they got their snow cones,” he adds. “Wasn’t easy putting all this shit together by myself though, I’m not gon’ lie.”

I laugh and press a kiss to his sweaty cheek. “I’ll have to think of a way to thank you properly.”

His eyes meet mine. “Yes, you will.”

I move away from him. I have to. Then I call out to the girls to come out of the bouncy house.

The whines are on the tip of their tongues as they approach, but I cut them off.

“Since King put all of this together for you, don’t you think he should enjoy it, too?”

They cheese up at him, grabbing his hands immediately.

“Wait—“

“Let’s go!” I yell, moving behind him. “Everybody into the bouncy house!”

“Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!”

“Hold up. Chill,” he protests, but it’s too late. The girls are pulling, and I’m behind him with my hands on his back, pushing him. His shirt is drenched with the sweat he worked up doing something nice for my babies. That has a lot of weight behind it.

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