Hanging With The Kids

I knew that if I didn’t from Josh by Thursday there was a pretty good chance that I wouldn’t hear from him before Sunday night at the earliest. It was hard not to be disappointed when I didn’t hear from him but I tried really hard to not let it get to me. He needs some time; he told you that, you can’t expect him to suddenly start to feel that your betrayal wasn’t so bad; even if it could’ve been a lot worse.

Thankfully work kept me busy until Saturday when I had my date with the best four year old I know. That’s right, my nephew Conner.

Since my brother didn’t say when would be a good time to go over to his place that morning, when I got up I showered and packed a bag for the night then headed in town. I debated stopping off to grab some breakfast before I went to Chad’s but I knew if I did that, they would offer me something to eat and be a little upset if I didn’t eat with them.

It was almost 11 by the time I got to my brother’s house, I was certain that everyone would have been up for hours by this time but when I knocked on their door, I realized that there didn’t look like there was a sign of life anywhere in the house; all the curtains were still closed and there wasn’t any sounds of life behind the door.

I turned and was about to head back down their front steps when I heard the click of the front door unlocking. “Hey!” I looked over my shoulder to see Chad squinting in the sunlight.

“Hi sis,” he mumbled and moved aside so I could go in. “What are you doing here?” he looked a little confused. When I reminded him that I was spending the day with Conner, he nodded slowly. “Right, I forgot that was today.” He made his way to the living room and collapsed on the couch before telling me that everyone else was still asleep.

“What? It’s almost 11, why is everyone still sleeping?” I stared at him as he rolled onto his side and faced the back of the couch. “Chad?” I frowned. “Is everything ok?”

“Just tired Anna,” I barely heard him as the couch muffled his voice. “We let the kids stay up and watch a movie last night; they didn’t settle down and go to sleep before midnight.” He groaned and turned to face me again. “It’s the last time I rent a movie for them when it’s after 8!”

We got to talking about the kids, what’s been going on since I last spoke to him and work. Chad was half asleep as he told me about Susan’s latest doctor’s appointment. “I still can’t believe that we are having another baby,” he stared at me through half closed lids. “I didn’t think that we would have any more after Conner was born, Susan said she was happy that she had a boy and a girl.”

“You don’t want another one?” I asked him, about to tell him it was way too late if that was the case.

Chad shook his head, “No, I’m really excited that we are having another baby, I just can’t believe it happened.” He paused for a moment and then laughed. “Then again, I never thought that we would be living back here again either! You have no idea how great everything has been between Susan and I since we moved.”

“You guys were having problems?”

“Well,” he sighed. “Things weren’t as great as they are now, her family was stressing her out, putting all their issues on her and she was feeling so helpless and stressed all the time. And snappy, that’s why I’m glad that we moved when we did, it’s been a lot better lately, and the kids are really happy.”

I told him that we were all glad that they were back in town, “I’m sorry I’ve been so caught up in my own problems that I haven’t been around much.”

“It’s ok Anna you are here now and that’s all that matters.” Chad gave me a smile, “And I have one little boy upstairs who has been talking about nothing but you coming over today.”

It wasn’t long after that we heard footsteps on the stairs moments before Conner poked his head into the living room. “Morning daddy,” he said sleepily as he made his way over to the couch to get up with Chad. He was lying down with his daddy before he spotted me and jumped up again. “Aunt Anna!”

Chad laughed as Conner ran over to me and hopped up with me. Conner snuggled up with me as he asked what we were doing today. “You are sleeping here tonight, right Aunt Anna?”

I told him I was and then told him I wanted to take him to KidZone, “If that’s alright with your parents.”

Chad told me it was ok with him at the same time that we heard, “That’s not fair! I want to go too!”

We all turned to see Krystal standing in the entrance of the living room in her nightshirt, she was looking at her dad with this sad, left out look on her face. “Can’t I go too daddy?” Chad told her that she had to ask Conner and me. “Can I Aunt Anna? I haven’t been there yet and I hear it’s so fun! I’ll be good and listen to you. I’ll even play with Conner! Please Aunt Anna?” She held her hands together as she gave me a pleading look.

Since Conner seemed excited that his sister wanted to play with him, I told her that she could go with us; not that I wasn’t planning on taking her too.

Sometime between the time I told Krystal she could come with us and the time we finished dinner, I ended up having more than a car load of kids to take to KidZone; somehow Conner ended up inviting Natalie along and she told her sisters where she was going so they wanted to go too.

“I don’t have that much room,” I told them when Zack showed up with the girls in tow, telling me that he was told I was taking them for the day.

“That’s ok,” Chad told me as he held out the keys to Susan’s van. “I’m sure Susan wouldn’t mind driving your car while you are entertaining her kids for the day.”

I think I was hoodwinked! My brothers both had similar grins on their faces when I pulled out of Chad’s driveway.

The drive to KidZone took about a half hour since it was in the next town. When we arrived, I gave Cassie some money for tokens and asked her to make sure her sisters and cousins got inside ok as I went to park the van.

KidZone was owned and operated by the owners of the Eleven Hotel in town, so it shared a parking lot with the hotel. I was walked from the van heading back towards KidZone when I happened to glance across the parking lot.

Who I saw as I glanced over at the entrance of the hotel made me stop short.