Page 10 of Stolen Kisses

How can I resist? I kiss Teddy, his teddy bear—I know, such an original name, right? He snuggles down under his blankets and his sleepy eyes drop closed, as I whisper, “Love you more than all the waves in the ocean.”

His little mouth curves up in a sleepy smile. “Love you too, Mommy.”

I move across to Lachlan and spread out his weighted blanket, then lay next to him, half on top of him, supplying the additional pressure he needs to fall asleep. We lay together quietly for a long whilebefore I whisper to him, “Love you more than all the waves in the ocean.” That’s his cue that I’m going to leave him to sleep on his own.

He sleepily whispers back to me, “Love you, Mommy. Night.”

“Goodnight,Buddy.” I kiss his forehead gently before carefully moving off of him. Turning on the overhead fan for white noise, I leave the boys’ bedroom.

The bedtime routine we have has been fine-tuned to work out the best approach. It doesn’t mean that Lachlan will sleep all night, but it does guarantee me at least four hours of uninterrupted sleep if I get my act together. I quickly make our lunches ready for school tomorrow, tidy up, and make sure the morning can run as smoothly as possible.

–three–

–theo–

“Happy birthday, Son.” Dad’s voiceis sure and strong on the other end of the phone. “Why don’t you bring Kennedy into the restaurant tonight so we can celebrate?”

“Thanks, Dad. That’d be great. We’ll come in around five-thirty,if that’s okay. I’m learning that Kenny needs to eat her dinner around six before she gets too tired to eat.”

Rumbling laughter sounds across the phone. “Oh yes, she gets grumpy by six-thirty. I also fed her dinner early, followed by a nice, calming bath. Then we would read a story in bed together before I tucked her in for the night.”

“Yeah, that’s what we’ve been doing. It seems to work for her, then she’s up at the ass-crack of dawn, ready to take on the world again.” I scrub my fingers through my short beard—probably need to give it a trim. I really don’t know what I’m doing in terms of looking after a four-year-old girl. “I think we’re doing okay.”

We started as strangers last Saturday and over the past five days, Kenny’s burrowed her way deep into my heart. I loved her purely because she’s my sister’s daughter, but getting to know her has changed and deepened my affection toward her. She’s a sweet little girl with a heap of energy.

Actually, that reminds me.“Ah, Dad. I’vegottago. I haven’t heard a sound from Kenny since I’ve been on the phone with you. I’ve learned that means trouble. The last time she went quiet, she decided to draw ‘pwetty’ flowers on one of her walls,” I chuckle as I remember her little face when I caught her, “because it looked boring. I made her help me wash the wall while I explained it wasn’t okay to draw on walls. Then we went out and bought a pile of scrapbooks so she could draw flowers to her heart’s content. I plan to take her to choose some floral wallpaper to decorate one of her walls since she likes flowers so much.”

The front screen door slams as Dad says his goodbye and little footsteps come running up the hallway. Kenny almost knocks me over as she barrels into me, something gripped in her hand. She pulls back from my body, thrusting her hand upward.

“Happy birthday, Uncle Theo.” Her smile is wide, blue eyes twinkling in mischief. “I got you some flowers.”

I pick her up to kiss her soft cheek. “Thanks, Munchkin.” I kiss her other cheek. “Where did you get these flowers? We don’t have anything like this in our garden.” I have a sneaking suspicion where she got them from, but I want her to tell me.

“I picked them fromEmma’s garden. She has thepwettiestflowers.” She shoves them under my nose and I snap my head back out of the way to avoid them going up my nostrils. “Smell them.”

I smell them and then shift her to my hip so I can take the posy from her. “Thank you for the birthday wish and flowers, Kenny. Let’s go put them in a jar with water.” I don’t think I own a vase.

As I fill the jar with water, I think about how to explain to Kenny that she can’t take flowers out of other people’s gardensorleave the house without my knowledge. Picking the flowers for me was really sweet and I don’t want to be a grouch and ruin her thoughtful gesture.

As she helps me situate the flowers in the water, I decide now would be the best time. “These flowers are really pretty. Thank you.” She smiles at me. “But … Kenny, it’s not okay to pick flowers from our neighbor’s garden without their permission.”

“But Emma said I could. She even helped me.” Her bottom lip’s wobbling and my heart rate picks up speed as I prepare for her little girl tears. I could never handle it when my sister cried or was hurt; it’s part of the reason I stayed away when she got sick. I’m a fucking coward because I couldn’t stand by and watch my sister go through what my mother went through. The black hole of regret I feel for my selfish choice will forever swallow me. I shake myself out of my own head so I can reassure my niece.

“Oh, well, that’s okay then. I didn’t realize Emma helped you.” I kiss the top of her head. “I’ll have to remember to thank her for the flowers when I see her next.”

“She said she might see us this afternoon.” Her eyes widen and her little cheeks rise. “I made a newfwiend.”

This doesn’t surprise me in the least. Every time I’ve taken her to the park at the end of the street, she strikes up a conversation with someone different. “Oh yeah. Where did you meet this friend?”

“Nexdoor. His name’s Austin. Emma’s his mommy. He said he would come to the park after schoolwivme.”

“That’s great, Munchkin.”I wonder if that means Emma will come to the park too?I muss Kenny’s hair and she quickly pulls her head away.

“Don’t mess up my hair.” She frantically tries to smooth it back down, but it’s a lost cause. I need to figure out how to tame this kid’s hair. Maybe I can get online to search out some instructional videos.

I raise my hands to show my surrender. “Sorry.” I place the jar of birthday flowers on the kitchen table. “Hey.” I make sure I have her eyes on me. “It’s really important that I know where you are. Please don’t leave the house without telling me next time. Okay?”

She looks down at her feet. “Okay, Uncle Theo.”

---