We have some logistics to workthrough, she texted her ex.
I’d like us to talk before Ryleigh’s barbecue.
She paused and thought about potentially awkward moments if he didn’t show up alone.
Is Shawna coming over with you?
A few minutes later, he answered.
It’ll just be me. And I need to talk to you.
She would guess he wanted to finalize the details of the road trip he would take with the kids. Which added another question to her list. Was Shawna going to join them on the trip? In the past he and the kids had always shared a room with two double beds and a rollaway cot when on the road and then had rented a VRBO for their destination. But with Shawna in the mix, things got complicated. Jax couldn’t see the four of them sharing a hotel room, and Gentry and Xander weren’t old enough to have their own room in a hotel.
They agreed he would arrive at two thirty instead of three, then she told the kids they would be getting an extra thirty minutes of screen time.
“Is Dad in trouble again?” Gentry asked.
“No. We just have to work a few things out before we goto the party. Summer’s coming up soon and I have some questions about the road trip.” Not to mention her plan to tell him he had to get Shawna and her mother to back off. His engagement shouldn’t be creating work or problems for her and it was doing both.
“No fighting,” Xander said earnestly. “It makes the transition yucky.”
“No fighting,” she promised. “I’m not mad and your dad isn’t, either.”
The kids exchanged a look that that reminded her that they’d been scared by the arguing—a truth that still made her sick to her stomach. She wanted to reassure them that she and Harris wouldn’t start yelling but decided it would be better to show them.
Their father pulled into the garage right on time. Jax pushed the start button on the electric pressure cooker. The chicken seasoned with Mexican spices should be done about the time she and Harris wrapped up their conversation. She would leave him with plenty of shredded chicken for tacos and enchiladas later in the week.
She followed the kids out to the garage and watched as they raced toward him. He hugged them, keeping his arms around them as they walked inside.
“Hey,” he said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Thanks for letting me come over early.”
“Of course. We have a lot to get through.” She pointed at the stairs. “We’ll call you two when we’re done.”
Gentry and Xander raced up toward the second floor. Gentry paused on the landing.
“No fighting,” she called. “You promised.”
“I did and we won’t.” She waited until she heard them thunder into the family room, then turned to her ex. “Apparently they’re concerned we’ll start yelling at each other and according to Xander, that makes the transition yucky.”
She expected Harris to make a joke, but instead he seemed concerned. “You’re mad about something?”
“What? No. Like I said in my text, I have a list of logistics we need to work through.”
They settled at the kitchen table. Jax opened her phone and studied the items she’d typed. Best to save the Shawna issue for last, she thought, as she passed over several emails she’d printed out.
“Summer camp,” she began. “We have confirmations on all the sessions they wanted to take but Xander’s baseball practice ends an hour before the weeklong cartoon drawing class. It’s not much time to get him from the baseball field to the community center, and he’s going to need lunch. Technically that happens during your week, but I can help out a couple of the days so you’re not stuck the whole week.”
Harris studied the papers. “I thought he’d have at least two hours between the practice and the afternoon session. If practice runs late, we’ll be scrambling.”
“Agreed, but he’s excited about the cartoon class and it’s only a week.”
“So we’ll be grabbing burgers every day.”
“I was going to pack a lunch for him to eat on the way.”
Harris slumped. “Okay. I thought summer would mean a break from having to make lunches, but I guess he shouldn’t eat fast food every day.”
She smiled. “Fast food a couple of times that week won’t hurt him.”
