Page 8 of Stolen Kisses

“I missed you too, Baby. Were you a good boy forNanaand Poppa?” Not that I need to ask; he’s usually a pretty good kid.

He screws up his little nose. “I’m always a good boy.” I tickle his side in response, inciting giggles and wriggles in my arms. “Well, most of the time anyway.”

I tap his cute little button nose with my forefinger, pressing my forehead to his. “That sounds about right.” I kiss his forehead before he wriggles to escape my hold. “Where’s your brother?”

I’ll know how well he’s doing, depending on where he is. If he’s in their bedroom, it means he’s feeling overwhelmed.

“He’s in the kitchen withNana, Aunty Sarah, and Mona.” He takes off with the energy of a five-year-old boy, before running out of the back door, probably to hang out with Max and Dad.

Standing in the kitchen doorway, I watch some of my most favorite people in the whole world. Lachlan is sitting at the kitchen table, headphones on, focused on his iPad. It looks as though he’s using hisMagic Fluidsapp. He uses it when he feels as though he needs to settle, but he can’t be feeling too bad considering he’s sitting in the kitchen and not in the bedroom. It took a lot of work with various therapists for Lachlan to identify when he’s beginning to feel overwhelmed. When he notices the signs, he puts his headphones on to create quiet and focuses on the swirly patterns he can create within the app. I move forward and ever-so-lightly brush his hair with my hand. He won’t acknowledge me right now because he’s so focused, but he knows I’m here.

“Hey, Mom.” I step over and hug her tight. “Thanks for taking the boys for me.”

“Hi, Em. It’s always our pleasure to have the boys.” She nods across to my sister. “Your sister stayed over last night.Sothe boys had an extra adult to see to their every whim.”

I kiss her cheek before moving over to my sister. “Hey, Sarah. Thanks for helping Mom and Dad last night.” I wrap my arm around her shoulders, giving her a side hug, which she returns. I may be the eldest and she may be the baby of our family, but we’ve always been close. I used to practice braiding her hair when we were younger and we’d spend many a night talking about boys,once she was old enough to notice they existed.

“No problem, Sis. I needed to get my nephew fix.”

I lean my backside against the kitchen counter. “Hey, Mona. How are you?” She won’t say hello of her own accord, she always waits until we acknowledge her first.

“Hello, Emma.” Her eyes haven’t strayed from her fingernails as she stands at the counter, painting them with some awful colorthatlooks a lot like baby diarrhea with glitter. “I’mfineI guess. Spending my Sunday afternoon here instead of at the mall.”

Sarah and I look at each other, rolling our eyes. I don’t understand what my brother sees in Mona. I mean, I get she’s gorgeous, with her long platinum hair, big blue eyes, and model-worthy figure, but she’s vapid. Max seems oblivious to her shallow demeanor. I’m thankful she doesn’t come to Mom and Dad’s every Sunday.

I move overnext to Lachlanand crouch down beside his chair, carefully uncovering one of his ears. “Hey,Buddy. I missed you.” I shift his hair out of his eyes with a gentle glide of my fingers.

“Missed you too.” His eyes remain focused on his iPad as one of his arms reaches around my neck to squeeze me.

Standing up, I replace the headphone, kiss the top of his head, and then step outside to say‘hi’to Max and Dad. They’re sitting on the back deck with a beer each, watching Austin play on the trampoline with Archie, Mom and Dad’s chocolate and cream Dachshund. His little boy giggles along with doggy yaps and squeaky springsfillthebackyard. Before my boys, it had been a long timesincethis yard hosted the play of children. I’m surprised Lachlan’s not out here jumping on the trampoline. He loves jumping on his mini-indoor tramp after school most days.

“Hey, Dad. Hey, Max.” I step into each of my favorite men, embracing them tightly as I kiss each of their cheeks.

“Hey, Sis.” Max returns my hug, lifting me off of my feet.

“Hi, Em. How’s your weekend been?” Dad asks as he wraps his arm around my shoulder, drawing me in close to his body, before kissing the side of my head. “I hope youmanaged torelaxa little.”

“It’s been interesting. I met my new neighbors, did some gardening … Oh,” I catch my brother’s eye, “would you have time to stop by and take a look at my lawnmower? It broke down after I cut my front grass and the back really needs doing.”

“Sure. I’ll check my schedule and let you know when I can stop by.” I know Max is always busy with his business, which he runs on his own. I keep telling him he should hire an office manager at least, so they can handle the bookings, ordering, and account keeping tasks, so he doesn’t have to do it when he gets home at night.

“Thanks. I’d appreciate that. Maybe you could stay for dinner when you come?”

“Sounds good, I’ll message you and set it up once I check what I’ve got on the books this week.”

We spend a few minutes catching up before Mom calls out that lunch is ready and it’s time to wash up. I collect Austin from the trampoline and we all head inside to stuff ourselves silly with a delicious roast lunch.Mom madea special effort with Lachlan’s meal. His roast beef is sliced extra thin and he’s got raw carrots, red peppers, and broccoli because he loves the crunchiness of the vegetables. Mom placed each item in a separate section of his plate, ensuring none of the foods touch each other—just the way he likes it.

All discussion ceases as we dig into Mom’s delicious roast. Once we’re about halfway through the meal, chatter starts up again as Austin asks Max about his latest car.

“I just got in a beautiful ’64 Ford Falcon Sprint. I can’t wait to get started on it. I’m taking it back to the original color, but I’ll improve it with modern enhancements in the engine. Your mom will have to bring you boys to the workshop, so I can show it to you.”

Austin looks at me, excitement in his eyes. “Can we go look, Mommy? Please?”

“Sure, I don’t see why not. Maybe next Saturday morning? How does that sound?” I look to my brother for confirmation.

Mona sighs loudly, drawing our attention to her. “Another weekend, Max. Really? When doIget to do what I want on the weekend? Huh?” Her face twists up as though she’s constipated.

“It’ll only be half a day, then I’m all yours.” He gives her a forced smile which she doesn’t bother to return.

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