Page 200 of Five Summers

“Good. When are you coming home?” he asks eagerly.

“I’m flying out tonight, so I’ll be home tomorrow.”

“Guess what? I have a surprise for you?”

“Really? What is it?" I ask, grinning.

“No, I can’t tell you it’s a surprise.”

"Hey," Poppy says, leaning on Alex's shoulder to get a good look at me.

"Hey, Princess," I say, checking out her gorgeous face.

“I’m looking forward to you coming home,” she says.

“Me too.”

"Me and Mom are gonna go for a swim soon," Alex says.

It brings me joy to know that they’re enjoying the house and making it their own. It was my intention all along when I had to leave - I wanted them to feel like it’s their home just as much as it feels like mine.

“You know what? Maybe I'll join you for a swim tomorrow,” I say.

“Yes. I’ll show you my cannonball and how much water I can splash on Mom,” says Alex.

“I'm dying to see that. Then I'll show you mine and you'll see how much more water I can splash on Mom,” I say.

With a mischievous glimmer in his eyes, Alex turns his head towards Poppy, letting out a giggle.

"Oh yeah. Well, you better prepare to get wet when I show you how much I can splash you guys,” Poppy says, with a big grin on her face.

"Sure, Mom," Alex says, rolling his eyes. “You hardly got me last time.”

Their playful banter brings a smile to my face.

Lifting my head, I catch sight of Kit standing not far from me, it’s time for me to join the band in the green room.

"Well, I gotta run," I say, feeling sad about all the moments I'll be missing with them. “I’ll see you both tomorrow. Love you,” I say, the words just now effortlessly flowing out. Every day, I make sure I tellthem that.

"Love you too," they both say, and it never gets old hearing them say that.

I hang up, put my phone in my pocket, and walk toward Kit, who’s watching me.

"We're almost home," she says, and I can sense she understands how much I long to be with the people I hold dear, especially with all the times she's been fetching me to come to the green room this week.

As I sit on the flight back home, I’m constantly glancing at my phone, counting down the hours until we reach our destination. But it feels as if time is crawling at a painfully slow pace.

Just trying to kill time, I strum a few chords on my guitar, but my thoughts are elsewhere. Theo looks restless like he's trapped in his thoughts again. Chatting about random stuff has proven to be the most effective way to help him clear his mind. Since that day at the zoo, I’ve discovered the secret to helping him unwind.

“Let’s write a song together when we’re back home,” I suggest.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, why not?”

“What if it turns out shit?”

“No big deal. We’ll just write another one. I’ve got a bunch of crappy songs that will never get recorded.”

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