Chapter 32
Avidya
“Do you have everything?” Krissy asked as she looked over the many boxes that were packed into the small U-Haul that was now attached to the dark red SUV that Zachariah was determined to buy. I really didn’t have that much to take with us. Only a few boxes were filled with Joshua’s clothing and blankets. His swing was folded up between everything, along with the bassinet that Krissy demanded that I take with me.
The portable crib like bassinet that Taylor had gotten me was also packed in there somewhere, too.
“I think it’s all too much,” I laughed. “But yes.”
“Call me when you get in,” she demanded.
“Of course,” I replied. “We’ll be just fine. May take us twice as long to get there, but we will.”
“Do you have to leave?” Catrina asked, again for the twentieth time.
“I do,” I said, bending down to her level. “My family misses me and would like to meet Josh now that he can travel.”
“But can’t you come back?” she asked.
“You’ll get to see me again in a few months,” I promised. “I’ll call you as often as I can.”
“I don’t want you to go,” she cried, flinging her arms around my neck.
“Neither do I,” Krissy said, running a hand over the top of the girl’s red hair. “But her family misses her. She’ll be back. If not, we will go to her to see her.”
“Promise?” Catrina asked.
“Pinky promise,” Krissy smiled.
“Okay,” she sighed, seeming to be okay with that as she pulled away from me. “Mommy?”
“Yes?” Krissy asked.
“Can I have a baby brother now?” she asked, her head cocked to the side.
“No,” Krissy said, hiding her laugh. “Maybe when we find a daddy first.”
“He can be our daddy,” Catrina said, pointing to my husband.
“Sorry, Miss,” Zachariah said, winking her way. “I’m only a daddy to one little boy.”
“Oh,” Catrina said, feeling dejected. “Guess I’ll have to find one then.”
“Good luck with that,” Zachariah laughed. “Are you all set?”
“Yep,” I answered.
“Good. Josh has been fed and changed, and strapped into his seat,” Zachariah said. “Just have to lock up the house.”
“Will it stay empty?” Krissy asked.
“Probably for a week or so,” Zachariah answered. “But you can expect someone else to move in sometime in the future. My family aren’t total monsters. We do help people in need.”
“It better be someone more social than Taylor,” Krissy laughed.
“No guarantees,” Zachariah laughed. “But I can keep that in mind.”
“I really like him,” Krissy staged whispered to me, causing me to laugh. “You have to keep him around.”
