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Brooks steps in and gestures for me to hand over the baby. “Alright, it’s Uncle Brooks’ turn.”
I place Bradford gently into his arms. He coos and baby-talks to him. Brooks will make a great dad. Someday. Once he grows up a little.
After a few minutes, Brooks walks over to David. “Okay, Uncle David’s turn!” David stiffens and holds his arms out straight like Brooks is handing him a platter of hor d'oeuvres.
“Not like that, you dope! Curve your arms more, pretend he’s your neighbor’s cat.” Brooks scoffs, like he’s some kind of baby expert.
“I would never touch that monstrosity of an animal,” David spits. But he cradles his arm to support Bradford's neck and cuddles him into his chest.
After we’ve all passed the baby around and gotten in some newborn snuggles, Odette releases a loud yawn. “Alright, I have unmentionable places that are sore and tired and I need to go home and sleep for about thirty hours.”
I giggle at her comment. When Odette is well-rested, she would never make a comment about unmentionable places. That just goes to show how delirious she is.
“Alright, sweetheart. Let’s get you home,” Madden says before placing a kiss on top of her head.
She points at me and Drew, her eyes half-closed. “You two invite us to the wedding, okay?”
Drew takes her comment in stride. “Don’t worry, you’ll all be invited.”
He winks at me. He doesn’t seem even remotely phased to be talking so openly about marrying me. He’s just standing there grinning like he loves the idea. My stomach does a flip-flop and my heart flutters in my chest. It feels like there are about a million butterflies doing some kind of gymnastics routine inside my body.
I really like the idea of marrying Drew.
The next day, life goes back to normal. School is back in session after a long weekend and Drew is back at work.
At the end of the school day, I’m on pickup duty at the front of the school, making sure each kid gets into the correct car in the pickup line. All the cars are nice, shiny, and new. The parents are all well-coiffed, usually coming from work to pick up their kids. Some have nannies that pick up instead. But every child who attends Heartland Academy is from at least a semi-wealthy family.
Heartland strives for excellence, so the coursework and homework can be grueling. But by the time the students graduate, they’re well prepared for college. Watching all the fancy cars pull up and then pull away leaves an ache in my heart. This is such an amazing school, but middle and lower-class families would never be able to send their kids here. We have a few scholarships, which is how my sister-in-law, Odette, attended high school. But I wish we had more available.
Another shiny black SUV pulls up and I open the door so a first grade student can hop inside. “Bye, Ms. Miller!”
“See you tomorrow, Caroline.” I smile and close the door and wait for the next vehicle in the line of cars.
As a military family, Sam and I never would have been able to afford to send Samantha here. But there are so many advantages, not only the after-school courses like STEM lab and art classes, but a speech therapist as well.
I wonder if there’s more we could do. Perhaps running fundraisers to give us the ability to give more scholarships. Since most of the families associated with Heartland have plenty of money to donate, I wonder why we’re not doing more to help the community. It’s something I’ve pondered since starting my job here. When I attended this school as a child, I never even thought about it. But after meeting Sam, he opened my eyes to the way things are for other families and the financial struggles that can leave you with very few options.
Bradley Vanderven’s black Mercedes pulls up next. He rolls down the window and gives me a salacious grin.
Peter comes up beside me. “See you tomorrow, Ms. Miller.” He gives me a shy smile.
His behavior in class has greatly improved now that he takes me seriously and knows I’m not going to shy away from talking to the headmaster or his father.
“See you tomorrow, Peter.” I open the car door for him and he scoots inside.
Bradley slides his designer sunglasses down his aristocratic nose. “Surprised to see you here today, figured you were grounded.” He winks.
I inwardly hold back a groan and an eye roll. “Nope, everything is just fine. Thanks for your concern.”
I wave before closing the door in his smug face, forgetting he had rolled the window down. It didn’t have the dramatic effect I was hoping for. He chuckles, and it sounds cold and fake, unlike Drew’s.
I actually feel bad for Peter. His dad is such a twerp.
The girls and I arrive home an hour later. I hustle them both inside and turn a show on for Samantha so I can help Penny get her homework done.
Penny beelines to her room the moment she gets inside. She’s always ready to change out of her school uniform and into comfy clothes. While she’s changing, I open up her sparkly pink backpack. She has so many key chains attached to it, it jingles when I pick it up. The zipper is way more difficult to slide open with all the flare she’s added.
Sliding out her homework folder, I open it up to see what she needs to do this evening. There’s a note on top from her teacher, so I read it, assuming it’s a note about her homework for tonight.
