Page 103 of Unbreakable
I looked at him for further explanation, and he was beaming. “We’re going snow tubing!”
“What’s snow tubing?” Alice asked.
“It’s like sledding in a floaty tube thing like you ride at the beach. Doesn’t that sound fun?”
The kids cheered and Dylan came to stand beside me. “Sound good, Mommy? All of us having a day out together.”
My protective hackles were up, but I tried to moderate my mama bear tendencies. “Is Bella old enough?”
The twinkle in his eyes dimmed the tiniest amount. “The website says it’s at the discretion of the parents. I think it’s okay.”
“Can she hold on that long?” I asked.
“We’ll give her a test run. Okay? Or I’ll stand with her while everyone else goes down. We’ll keep her filled up with hot chocolate.”
I nodded. His comment about me treating him like one of the kids was a bit of a wakeup call. He was their parent too, and I needed to trust him to act in their best interest, even if activities like those made my stomach churn.
My agreement earned me an excited smile and a kiss. “It’ll be so fun, I promise.”
I pinched his tight sides, however much you can pinch a sheet of muscle. “Cinnamon rolls?”
He knew I’d outlawed them in our house because the kids’ sugar crash was never worth the glee they brought.
“I’ll deal with the fallout,” he assured me.
He’s not one of the kids. He can make decisions for the kids too.
It was great to look around and see the kids so excited, and I liked that parts of The Plan included them as well. As much as I’d love to have five big activities dedicated to me, I’d feel guilty continually getting treated without them. I felt guilty enoughabout the spa day mixup. This would be a way to make it up to Bella.
And I was working on not being such a stick in the mud.
But I had to admit, Dylan went out of his way to make the day fun. He made a playlist for the car with all our favorite Christmas songs. He packed snacks, which is usually a big weakness of his. He’ll take the kids somewhere without me, not pack snacks or water, and then wonder why they start whining. A professional athlete of all people should know the power of snacks.
But no, I’m the snack captain. I’m the one who makes sure no one gets hangry, Dylan included. Don’t forget, I’m the one who set up his fancy bento boxes after games.
Though I couldn’t complain this day, because he’d seen his own shortcomings and actually planned ahead. Perhaps he was learning something from implementing The Plan.
The ski resort that had tubing was an hour away from our house, though, and he forgot to factor in that Greyson gets carsick for any car ride over twenty-five minutes. Yes, it is that exact. Under twenty-five? No problem. I legitimately map out distances to see how many minutes we’re in for and whether I need to pack extra bags for him to puke in.
So sure enough, on minute twenty-six, I’d lost track of time, and it hadn’t even crossed Dylan’s mind. We had bags in the car, but I couldn’t get them fast enough. Guess who was holding out her hands for her eldest child to vomit in?
After a pit stop at a gas station where I requested multiple plastic bags and bought a ginger ale, we were back on the road. Thankfully, Dylan thought ahead and got us tubing reservations.
The air was fresh and cold on the ski mountain, and I'll admit, I was pretty excited. Something fun and wintery to do with the kids that didn’t involve hours at the rink? Sign me up.
Once we had the kids sufficiently bundled, they found the first open patch of snow, flopping on their backs and making snow angels. Dyl and I took a minute to watch them having fun.
“We got the best ones,” he said.
I leaned my head onto his shoulder. “We really did.”
“And I got the best wife.” He turned to me with a smirk.
“Oh, you old flirt,” I said, pinching his cheek through my glove. “I love you.”
“I love you, Jeannie. So much.” He bent for a short and sweet kiss.
They say some people are natural bucket fillers. They make everyone around them feel full and cherished and valued. This moment reminded me that Dylan is a bucket filler in his heart. He was such a good team captain in L.A., and his leadership and positivity was noticed in Ohio. And the way he looked at me right then filled my bucket right to the top. Those warm brown eyes always had a way of making me feel like I was someone special just because he thought so.
