A couple of hours had passed by the time they finished getting everything together and put where Kodi wanted it. Jalen had to admit her vision worked out perfectly. It looked good, and she was glad her little sister was happy with it.
Kodi walked them all outside, and they were saying their goodbyes. Jalen wished they could stay longer, but she had to go to work the following morning, and the drive would be long. She hugged Kodi and couldn’t help but sniffle a bit.
“I thought you weren’t going to cry, Jae,” Landon stated.
Jalen sniffled again. “I’m not crying. It’s allergies.”
She heard the men chuckle, and she knew no one believed her aside from the twins, possibly. She couldn’t help it. Her first baby was an adult now and starting college. She would be out on her own, and even though Kodi had been nothing but responsible and made good choices, Jalen couldn’t help but worry.
She finally pulled away so everyone else could say bye as well. Kodi hugged Rohan, and when she did, Jalen couldn’t help but shake her head slightly in amusement at her request.
“Take care of them while I’m away, okay?”
“You got it,” Rohan replied.
Jalen couldn’t help but smile. Here, Kodi was starting the next step of her journey, and she was still trying to look after them.
“There’s just one thing left to do,” Vega stated after Kodi released him from a hug. He held a key fob out to her, and Kodi furrowed her eyebrows.
“Why are you giving me the rental car keys?” she questioned, confusion lacing her voice.
“It isn’t a rental car,” Vega responded, and Kodi’s eyes grew wide before her attention snapped to Jalen.
“Did you know about this?”
“I did,” she answered.
Before purchasing the car a couple of weeks ago, Vega called her to discuss it with her. Jalen had been skeptical about it. Purchasing Kodi a car was a lot, and she hadn’t wanted him to feel like he was obligated to do so. Vega pointed out that Kodi would need to get around because public transportation may not always be an option, and Uber costs would eventually add up.
After the two of them talked it over for an hour, and Vega agreed not to buy her a brand new car, Jalen conceded, happythat he’d wanted to talk to her about it and didn’t just buy Kodi the vehicle.
Since she hadn’t needed to buy much of anything for Kodi, she’d used some of the money to pay Kodi’s car insurance for a year and set up the rest to deposit a particular amount into Kodi’s account monthly. Since Kodi started high school, she’d been setting aside one hundred and twenty-five dollars each month to help with monthly college expenses, and she still was. Kodi would also receive a monthly stipend from her scholarship. So, Jalen knew she should be okay financially.
Currently, she was saving money for Landon as well. On the chance that she didn’t want to go to college, Jalen would give it to her to do as she wanted with it.
“I know you’re an adult now, but this car comes with conditions,” she started. “Vega and I will cover the payment and the insurance as long as you keep your grades up.”
Kodi nodded. “Of course.” She turned to Vega. “Thanks, Dad. I am extremely grateful.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie.”
“Alright, everyone, let’s load up,” Jalen said. “Kodi, we’ll see you at Christmas.”
Jalen climbed into the passenger seat, and Kodi waved at them as they pulled off. She’d volunteered to drive since Rohan had driven them up yesterday, and Vega drove the other car, but Rohan told her it was fine. Jalen looked out the window as they passed theZenith Universitysign, reaching up and wiping the tear that rolled down her face. She wondered if she would feel like this each time one of her sisters, her kids, left the nest.
????????????
Rohan sat at the pool’s edge, watching his mother splash around with the girls. Jalen had to work, and school started in three days. He’d asked Jalen if it was okay for him to take them swimming while she was at work.
She wouldn’t get off until eight, so he made a day out of it. The girls had slept in, and when they’d woken up and gotten ready, he’d taken them to lunch before allowing Landon to drive them to his mother’s house to swim. Once they finished swimming, they would go to the store and get ingredients for a taco night.
Nathan, who wasn’t entirely confident in her ability to swim without her arm floats, approached him.
“Come play with us,” she requested before splashing him, and Rohan chuckled, sliding into the pool. He picked her up and tossed her a couple of feet. She shrieked but laughed after making a splash in the water.
“Can I have a turn?” Omari asked, swimming over.
“Sure, Bitty,” Rohan responded. He wasn’t sure when, but he’d picked up Jalen’s nicknames for them at some point.
