Page 88 of Crazy Love

“How about we put whatever we want on top and then eat them over there.” I point at the table behind us.

“Sounds good. Thank you, Addy,” Sam says.

“Yes, thank you,” Penn whispers. He puts his hands on my hips and nuzzles into my neck, and when he pulls away, his eyes are searching mine, trying to assess if I’m really okay with all of this.

I smile at him and then move closer to the island to see if Winnie needs help with her plate.

Sam has put a couple pancakes on there and lifts each topping, waiting to see if she’ll nod or not. So far, she’s got a pretty great combo going.

“I asked my parents to come meet Winnie too,” Penn says. “And then we can talk to them after the kids go to bed,” he adds softly. “Has she said anything yet?”

I shake my head.

We keep up the chatter during dinner, especially Sam. A few times, there’s a twitch of a smile from Winnie and it bolsters Sam up to keep going. He’s doing an amazing job of helping her relax. And the little thing can put away the pancakes. She finishes up her plate and I ask her if she wants more. This time, she doesn’t look at Sam but nods at me. It feels like a win.

Margo and Jeremy come and meet her and I can tell they’re just as taken with her as we are. There’s something so fragile about her.

After dinner, we turn onFrozenand Winnie falls asleep watching it. When it’s time for Sam to go to bed, he carries her upstairs and we go with him, tucking her in.

“Tomorrow, we’ll tackle a bath,” I say.

“She’s normally really chatty,” Sam says sadly.

“It might take time for her to get used to us,” Penn says.

Sam nods, and I leave the bathroom light on so the glow is faint in her bedroom. We leave her bedroom door slightly ajar and hug Sam goodnight in the hall.

“Thank you for doing this,” he says, before he goes into his room. “Um, you guys…I’m big and I’ll be okay. If you’re only able to keep one of us…I think you should keep her.”

Penn and I are struck speechless at first and then we both surround him again.

“I’m not sure yet what’s going to happen with Winnie, Sam,” Penn says. “The little Addy and I have been able to talk about it, we’ve agreed that as long as the court allows us to keep her, we will. I have some calls to make tonight, and we need to talk to my parents, just to make sure we can cover all the bases. But Sam, you are still our priority.”

Sam looks down at his feet. “I just think it’s more important that she’s taken care of. You see how small she is. Pretty soon, I’ll be old enough to live on my own. I can handle a few moreyears doing what I’ve been doing.” His shoulders straighten and he looks at us. “I’ll be okay.”

Penn puts his hands on his shoulders and ducks to meet his eyes. “How about you let me worry about all this, okay? I’m not abandoning you, buddy. Not a chance. It’s important to me that you’re taken care of, and now that I’ve met Winnie, I want to make sure she is too.” He studies Sam for a moment. “Okay?”

“Yeah.” Sam swallows. He nods when Penn lifts his eyebrows, checking that he means it. “Okay.”

He sounds tired and I reach over and hug him again. “Get some sleep. We’ll be working on all this. Don’t worry.”

He nods and goes into his room.

“He’s too young to carry all of this on his shoulders,” Penn says.

“I completely agree.” I sigh.

We go downstairs and sit with Penn’s parents, trying to figure out a plan. They are so in, it’s almost overwhelming. Margo starts talking about helping with meal prep and then goes into school drops-off and even bedtime routines. Jeremy offers to be part of all that too, adding that he can look into some fun after-school activities for them to do together.

“This is a big deal, you guys,” Jeremy says. “You’ve jumped from marriage to a preteen and a five-year-old practically overnight. Are you sure you’re not taking on too much?”

“Well…it’s why we really need your help too,” Penn says sheepishly. “But I feel like I’m asking way too much from all of you.”

“We’re all in, Penn,” Margo says. “We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t believe this is what we should be doing. I encourage you and Addy to really discuss it, though, because the first year of marriage is already an adjustment. It doesn’t help that we’re going into football season, and Addy, you’re also adjustingto a new job. I don’t want you to get burned out and your relationship to suffer.”

“It is a lot,” I agree, “but this is where I want to be.”

I look at Penn when I say it and he exhales and then reaches out to take my hand.

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