“Anytime. You’re family now, right? Or will be officially soon, I hope?”
“Soon,” I assure him.
“Life’s too short to let the good things pass you by.”
“You know what, Carl, you might be the smartest man I know.” I laugh.
“Tell my wife and daughter that, will you?” he says, his own laughter filling the room.
“What’s going on over there?” Sloane calls over to us.
“Baker just told me I was the smartest man he’s ever met.”
“Oh, brother,” Nancy says dramatically. “Thanks, Baker, now that’s all I’m going to hear for weeks,” she says, playfully rolling her eyes, but there’s a smile on her face.
“Anks, Baker,” Camden says, mocking her, and we all laugh.
“That’s Daddy to you, young man.” I walk over to him and bop him on the nose.
“We should head home,” Mom says. “I know this little guy will be napping soon, and you’ve got practice in the morning, right?”
“Yeah, we play Sunday.”
“I know. I wish we could stay and catch the game, but we’ve got a meeting with a realtor to put the house on the market.”
“It will be so nice to have you close,” Nancy says. Those two have become quick friends today.
“It’s time,” Mom says. “We should have done it before Cam was born, but Jared was still working at the time.”
“Stubborn,” I say, coughing the word into my hand, and everyone laughs. “I’ve been trying to get him to retire for years.”
“We don’t want your money, son,” Dad speaks up. “I made a good living.”
“I know, but I have enough for both of us.” He just shakes his head. This is a discussion we’ve had many times, and we never seem to agree.
“We’re going to go, too.” Nancy stands. “Camden, can I have a hug?”
My son rushes over and goes down the line, giving hugs to all four of them. Sloane lifts him onto her hip as we walk them to the door. “Thank you for coming.”
“Thank you for having us. We’ll see you soon,” Dad says, opening the door and motioning for the others to go ahead of him. With another wave to each of them, I close the door, and it’s back to the three of us.
Sloane peers up at me and smiles. “Thank you for this, Baker. Today was more than I ever could have imagined it would be. Our parents hit it off like old friends, and this little guy, he was so good all day.”
“Cam, good.” He grins, smacking his little hands against his chest.
“So good,” she praises, and kisses his cheek. He wiggles to get down, and she places him on his feet.
“Come on. Let’s go relax,” I tell her, placing my hand on the small of her back and leading her to the couch.
We both sit, and I’m about to pull her onto my lap and snuggle her, when my son runs over to the couch with his new truck in his hand, and when he’s about three feet from Sloane, he says, “Mommy, wook!” He keeps coming, crashing into her legs and climbing onto her lap to show her his truck while dropping a truth bomb neither of us is expecting.
I’m frozen in time as the moment settles in my heart. His mother, his biological mother, gave him life. She loved him enough to bring him into the world. She was good to him when she was around, but now, she’s gone. She died a tragic death that I wouldn’t wish on anyone, definitely not my son's mother.
“B-Baker, I—I.” Sloane tries to speak through her tears, but the words won’t come.
“Mommy, wook,” Camden says again, holding up the truck.
Sloane’s cheeks are wet from her tears, and she smiles through them. “I see, baby,” she whispers brokenly, then those sad brown eyes find mine.
