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I grab it at the last second, tuck it between two T-shirts, and push the suitcases into the hallway.

“Bug, come on, I need your help.”

I hear Milo let out a loud yawn, tracking his tiny feet walking through the soft rug on his floor. He opens his door before giving me a grumpy look. “I’m sleepy,” he says as he stands by my side.

“I know you’re tired, baby. You can have a nap later at Nana’s, come help me with this and then I can make you breakfast, okay?”

He decides to shrug as I hand him one of my backpacks to carry.

Great. This will be fun.

After a few minutes, Milo is sitting at the dining table with his head resting in the crook of his arms. We really struggled to get the heavy luggage downstairs, at least now I know to never do that task again with a sleepy child and a wide-awake cat running around us.

I serve up scrambled eggs and pull the bread from the toaster, blowing on my fingers as I split it between our plates. Blue gets his own bowl too. I set it down before placing our food in front of Milo, gently nudging him back into the world of the awake.

“Food is ready, sleepy head,” I tell him with a soft tone as my hand runs down his soft curls.

He lets out a small sigh before sitting up straight. I see him blink up at me, and just as I’m about to sit in the chair next to him, he gives me his ‘I’m going to annoy the hell out of you’ smile.

“Can I have jam on my toast, please?”

“Since you asked me so nicely,” I reply, making my way to the fridge to grab the jar of jam off the top shelf.

“Is Dad not here, sissy?” He asks as I bounce the fridge door closed with my hip.

“No, it’s just us.”

He glances around the kitchen as if our father would suddenly appear from nowhere. “Can we play some music?” He says, smearing the jam onto his bread.

“Of course.”

I lean forward, turning on the radio sitting in the middle of the table. Our favorite song comes on, and he immediately starts smiling, tapping his feet under the table. We hum along while eating and for a little while, I let myself forget everything else.

“I’m going to miss you,” Milo says softly as the music seems to drown out any other noises around us. I smile at him before reaching over to poke the tip of his nose.

I’m doing all of this for you.

We stayed home for an hour after this, and I unfortunately had to start packing the car.

Blue is in his little cage with a blanket to cover him up and Milo’s hand is in mine, his small backpack bouncing lightly on his shoulder as I carry the bigger bag.

“Are you going to come and see me during the week?” He asks as we walk toward Edna’s house.

“I’ll try, I promise. Are you going to be a good kid with Nana?”

He nods and smiles, “Of course! Don’t worry, sissy.”

After a few minutes, we arrived at Edna’s place. Hayzel has all her things outside, and she’s just smiling like the proudest girl ever at the entrance. “Look at that, Reya and Milo are finally here! Woman you were supposed to be here an hour ago!”

Milo runs toward her with his arms open and I follow.

“Hey, little man,” Hayzel says as she hugs him tight.

“Hey, little shit!” He replies and I can’t help but laugh.

Hayzel pushes him softly away before hugging me as I lay there with my arms stretched out along my body. “Did you teach him that, Reya?”

“Pretty sure he just heard me call you little shit last time and he kept it,” I reply.