“Who said that?” Angie jokes, turning in circles, looking everywhere but at Oz. “I thought it was my special little Oz, but I haven’t seen him today.” She puts her hand over her eyes as if she’s looking far away.
Josh laughs behind his hand. “He’s over there, Mummy. You’re silly.” He giggles while Oz throws his hands in the air.
“Here I am!”
“Hey, little fella.” Angie dances towards him and gives him a hug while I say hi to Josh.
Ozzie jumps onto her crouched lap, and he nuzzles against her with a tiny squeal, making her laugh even harder. “Hello, beautiful boy. Have you got any of those scrummy cakes you made with Josh yesterday?”
Oz shakes his head. “They’re all in here.” He opens his mouth and points down his throat.
Angie tickles his tummy. “You mean they’re all in here?” Oz giggles in that super cute way he does.
She turns back to Connie. “Are you sure you’ll be okay with these two? They’re quite a handful when they’re together.”
“Believe me, I’ve dealt with worse. We’ll be fine,” Connie says, clearing the breakfast plates away.
Angie touches her hand. “Thank you. You have no idea how much of a help this is.”
“No problem, Mrs Knox.”
“Call me Angie.”
Connie smirks towards me. We’re both thinking the same thing. Formality was something Chelsea wouldn’t budge on. “Thank you, Angie. I will.”
“Okay, Josh, you have five minutes to get your things together for school.” Angie claps her hands, indicating her son needs to get a move on.
“I can take him today if you’d like,” Connie offers.
“Are you sure? He needs to be there by eight-thirty.”
“Sure. It’s no problem.”
“Then, yes, please. That would be amazing.” Angie sighs out a relieved breath.
Connie swings straight into action. “Ozzie, let’s get your shoes on, and don’t dilly dally. We’ve got to get Josh to school on time.”
“Aww, it’s not fair. Why do I have to go to school and Ozzie stays at home?” Josh moans with a pout.
“We’ve been through this, Josh,” Angie says. “Ozzie’s pre-school in America breaks up earlier, which means he’s already finished for the summer. You don’t have long left of this term and then you get to spend more time with him. Okay?”
His bottom lip juts out. “Okay.” He gives his mum a hug.
“Now, off you go and get your things together.” Angie turns her son around toward the door.
“I’ll help you, Josh,” Ozzie says, all excited. My little dude idolises him, and my heart near enough explodes while they make bets on who can be ready first.
Angie opens a kitchen drawer and soon finds what she’s looking for. “Here’s the spare key to the house, Connie, if youdon’t mind picking up his bag. It’s by the stairs and ready to go.”
“Sure.”
“And you might as well hang on to the key, seeing as we’ll be working together now. I’ll get another one cut for Calla.”
Connie grins. “Of course.”
Ozzie holds his palm for me to high-five. “See you later, little dude.”
“Bye, Dad.” He raises his hand to Angie as he leaves. “Bye, Angie.”
