Page 9 of Big Bad Single Wolf Dad

Ethan quickly snags the ball out of the air. “What’s hidden fetch?”

“It’s where you throw and I keep my eyes closed. I’ll sniff out the ball, using my nose to retrieve it,” I explain.

It’s not the first time I’ve played hidden fetch in the backyard, but it is the first time the children throwing the ball were not my own.

“Okay, close your eyes!” Mia says excitedly.

“Wait!” Ethan jumps up and down. “What are the rules?”

“You throw and I seek, but if I peek, I have to reek,” I quote from memory.

“Reek?”

“Of whatever concoction I’m forced to roll in, mostly mud and pesto sauce. The kids know I hate it.”

“What!” I pause as Mia and Ethan share a look. Did they just hear me right?

“Which is why I’ve only ever peeked twice.” I cross my arms proudly. “I’m that good.”

“You need another sniff of the ball?” Ethan asks, stretching his left arm to throw.

“What am I, eighty? Of course, I got the scent. You’re looking at a wolf in his prime,” I reply, my eyes tightly closed and both my hands over my face. I turn around for good measure, just to make sure they don’t suspect me of cheating. “Throw it far.”

I find the first toss easily. Ethan has thrown it clear across the open grass overlooking my private gardens.

“I realized I should have thrown it somewhere hidden once it left my hand,” the boy says, blushing as his sister hides a giggle behind her hand.

“No problem.” I toss the ball high in the air, knowing his coordination is good enough to catch it. “Try number two.”

“Not fair!” Mia yells and I smirk.

“Why, you’re right, Mia.” I tap my chin and look off playfully. “Try number two out of three.”

“That’s even worse!” she giggles, sensing I’m only playing. “I’ll never get a turn. It’ll take forever.”

“Those last sentences, my dear, have entirely two different meanings,” I quip.

“She knows. She just likes the sound of her own voice,” Ethan teases.

“I’m persuasive,” she huffs.

“Agree to disagree,” Ethan retorts, shooting me an excited look. “This one’s gonna be good. I can feel it.”

“Me, too.” I spin around and close my eyes, doing my best to block my ears from picking up the ball’s trajectory.

I know it’s somewhere between the rose bushes and hydrangeas. His throw was loud, and the dirt housing the garden is particularly bouncy. I’m certain the ball didn’t hit the grass, but I sniff around a little copse of trees just to make the chase good.

Ethan and Mia giggle behind me, and I stifle my own laugh as I get further and further from where the ball actually landed. Still chatting and laughing, Sarah waves at me and continues whatever conversation she and my children are having. I wonder if it’s about me and suddenly grow cold. Why would I be worried about what they have to say?

Or how she’ll take it, the more judgmental part of me says. For the most part, I got rid of that guy a long time ago. But seeing as how I’m pretty keen on Sarah already, it’s not a shock to me that he is, once again, rearing his ugly head. I try to push my own negativity out of my mind.

“You’re getting colder!” Mia yells from her spot near her brother.

“Don’t tell him, Mia, geez!” Ethan chides.

“I want my turn, I’m sorry!” she pleads.

I take the moment to surprise them both by rushing to the gardens and snatching the ball. I trot over the siblings casually, shrugging as I toss the ball up at Mia.

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