Page 33 of Summer with a Single Dad

By the time we said goodbye to Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Sav, I was certain I made the right choice in relocating. Traveling took too much time away from Hudson. Now, I would work Monday through Friday while he was at school, and I’d be home every night to have dinner and tuck him into bed.

When the knock sounded at the door, my heart jumpstarted. Again, with the nerves.

Two lolling tongues and a bright, beaming smile greeted me when I opened the door.

“Something smells good,” Emily said.

On cue, Moose and Rufus sniffed the air.

“Chicken bacon ranch pasta,” I said, kissing her cheek as they entered.

“The boys are going to be so jealous.”

Hudson and Luke skittered over to us. “Hi, Emily,” he said before I had to remind him about how we greet our guests.

“Hi, Hudson. How was your day?”

“Good.” He patted Rufus and Moose on the head. “I was with Grandma and Grandpa, and Aunt Sav until they left. Now it’s just me and Dad.”

“And Luke,” I said.

“What did you guys do today?” she asked, instinctively focusing on the positive.

“We made pancakes for breakfast and went swimming.”

“That sounds like fun. Did Luke go swimming, too?”

“No.” He rested his hand on Luke’s head.

“Moose and Rufus love going in the pool.”

“They do?”

“Oh, yeah. Even at the beach, if I throw a ball, they’ll go chasing after it.”

“Can we take Luke in the pool, Dad?” His big, brown eyes shot straight through my heart.

“If Emily helps,” I answered.

Her eyes met mine for just a moment before she shrugged. “It would be my pleasure, Hudson.”

“Cool!”

The microwave timer went off.

“All right, guys. Hudson, why don’t you and Emily have a seat, and I’ll bring everything over.”

“We have to wash our hands, Dad.”

“You just washed them.”

“But you said we need to wash our hands after we played with the dog.”

“Let’s give them a treat. Then we can wash our hands,” Emily said, handing Hudson three treats.

“Thank you for a delicious dinner,” Emily said, standing at the door.

“Thanks for eating all of your broccoli first.”

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