Harris grinned. “Any idea what you’re going to major in?”
“Business,” Xander said firmly. “That way I don’t have to pay someone to handle my millions when the Mariners sign me.”
“That’s my boy.”
Jax appreciated his ambition but knew that Xander’s dreams would change about fifty times over the next few years. As for making it to the show in baseball—she had her doubts. While their son liked sports, he didn’t show the raw talent necessary to make it to that level. Just as important, he wasn’t interested in the hard work it took to build the fundamentals to get there. He was a better-than-average player on his team, but nothing more.
She looked at Harris, wondering if he would mention that Xander could sign up for the more intensive summer baseball camp offered. He’d brought it up a few times, but Xander had said he would rather go to skateboard camp with his friends. After that, Harris had let the topic go. Something she appreciated. Yes, he’d been a bit of a jerk when he’d announced he wanted a divorce and Lord knew he’d never been around for most of their marriage, but Harris was a good dad. He cared about his kids and he did the work.
After dinner, they cleared the table and did the dishes as a family. Harris collected his backpack, then hugged each of the kids.
“I’ll be in touch,” he told her. “And I’ll see you Thursday.”
She waited to see if there was more, but he only gave her a quick wave before heading out, no doubt to spend time with Shawna.
Surprise, surprise, she thought. She’d been braced for another fight with him about the whole “adult sleepover” thing, but he must have let the idea go. Or he was working on a different kind of argument. Either way, the handoff had gone smoothly and she was fine with that.
Xander collected the basketball from the garage and the three of them walked across the street to the big city park around the corner. They found an empty half-court and spent an hour burning off energy.
“Tell me about your budget project,” Jax said as she passed Xander the basketball.
He ran toward the basket, dribbled twice, then took his shot and missed.
“It’s hard, Mom. Not the math part, but figuring out how to spend the money they have. Mr. Badger had to go to urgent care for his back and that was a 180 dollars.” Xander sounded outraged. “It totally messed me up.”
“I told you to put some money aside for an emergency,” Gentry told him. “Things come up.”
“But it was Betty Badger’s birthday. I had to budget for a present.”
Xander’s third grade class was in the middle of a monthlong budgeting project. Each student had been assigned an animal family and given a monthly salary. They were responsible for coming up with a budget that didn’t put the family into debt. The challenge was every Monday, the teacher added a twist. Two weeks ago Xander had been thrilled when Mrs. Badger got a four hundred dollar refund. But last week, Mr. Badger had hurt his back and needed medical care.
“Stuff costs a lot,” Xander complained. “The Badgers need a raise.”
Jax ruffled his hair. “Welcome to the real world, kid. We all need a raise.”
“I guess.”
An hour later they were done with their game and walked back home. They picked out clothes for the week and made their lunches for the next day. By eight thirty everyone was in their pj’s and ready to wind down with some easy TV before bed. Jax opened her tablet and logged into the cameras at the now-closed bookstore. She touched the icon for Ramon’s room and saw the parrot was already in his sleeping cage. Her kids settled next to her on the big sectional. She pressed the button to unmute the mic then said, “Hey, handsome boy.”
Ramon flew out of his open cage to the perch by the camera. He stared directly at them.
“Hello, children,” he said, his voice sounding exactly like Cheryl’s. “Do you want to hear a story?”
Xander laughed. “I do.”
“No stories,” Jax said. “You need to put yourself to bed.”
“Hi, Ramon,” Gentry said. “I’m going to start putting my collage together this week. I’ll show it to you when I’m finished.”
“I am handsome,” he murmured.
“Mom just said that,” Gentry pointed out. “You’re kind of full of yourself.”
“As I should be.”
They all laughed.
“I miss you,” Jax said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
