Page 30 of Designs on You

“What’s going on out there?” Hazel asked.

“Sean. He bought a go-kart for Christopher.”

“Really? That’s kind of cool.”

Natalie frowned. “What? It’s dangerous. He’s five, Hazel. Not fifteen.”

“I don’t know. It looks appropriate for his age. Sean bought him a helmet to go with it. And he’ll have a lot of fun driving it around the cul-de-sac. And Cammie can drive it, too.”

Natalie groaned and walked away, went to the window where all of Christopher’s little friends were gathered around the go-kart, shouting excitedly. Sean, Eugene, and Linc stood around grinning like a triplet of asinine fools.

Ugh.

Obviously it was some kind of conspiracy. Couldn’t everyone see that her baby boy had no business riding around in that death trap?

When everyone piled inside, she decided to push away thoughts of the evil machine and focus instead on Christopher’s party. They played games, had pizza, let the kids run around on the playground, then had cupcakes. By the time they cleaned up and she took the kids home and unpacked the car, she was utterly exhausted, and the kids were on an epic sugar high, but at least they were outside. All she wanted to do was hide in the bathroom and cry.

And then the doorbell rang and she wanted to kill whoever was on the other side of that door.

She opened the door, surprised to see Eugene there.

“Why are you here?” she asked, knowing her words came out bitchy, but she was just so tired.

He held out a bag. “I stayed behind to chat with Linc and Inoticed you left this behind at the clubhouse, so I thought I’d deliver it to you.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

He handed the bag to her. “Well, you look tired and I’m sure you have a lot to do, so I’ll let you go.”

With a sigh, she realized she was behaving terribly. “Would you like to come in? The kids are outside running amok. I’m sure they’d love to see you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’m sure. We’re going to have hot dogs and macaroni and cheese for dinner. Nothing fancy.”

He shrugged. “Sounds good to me. Thanks.”

• • •

After spending an hour hanging out with the kids and with Natalie outside, it became clear that Natalie was utterly exhausted. He couldn’t blame her. It had been a long day, and kids would go and go until you forced them to sit still for five minutes. He’d been an active kid himself and never allowed himself any downtime because as soon as he sat still he might fall asleep.

He took over grilling the hot dogs from her and suggested some veggies to toss on the grill as well. Maybe the kids wouldn’t jump on the veggie train but Natalie had smiled at that idea, so he grilled them both while she made the macaroni and cheese. She hollered for the kids to have their baths while he finished off grilling, and then they came out looking fresh and freaking adorable in their pajamas.

“Did you have a good birthday party today, Christopher?” he asked as they all gathered at the table to eat.

“The best. I got lots of presents and my friends came to my party.”

After setting applesauce on the table, Natalie took her seat. “You had lots of friends there.”

“And Jack has a birthday next weekend and I’ll get to go to his party.”

“Fun.” Natalie gave Eugene a tired smile.

After dinner, they cleaned up while Natalie told the kids to get books and get in their beds.

He laid the dish towel on the counter. “Mind if I read to them?”

She gave him a questioning look. “You. Want to read to them.”

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