Page 21 of A Little Spilled Milk

Ten minutes later there was another knock. “I need the charger for the tablet.”

“In the drawer under the TV.”

This went on for an hour until I sat him down and explained I couldn’t concentrate with all the interruptions. We agreed I’dcome out every hour and he could ask me anything. “Other than that, only interrupt me in an emergency.”

I hid a smile, thinking an emergency might be “The plants need water” or “The sun had been hidden by clouds.”

When five o’clock rolled around, I was about to turn off the computer when an email dinged in the inbox. It was an invitation to speak at a conference on the weekend. They’d had a last-minute cancellation, so I was way down their list of preferred speakers, but they were paying for the hotel, so why not. It was a three-hour drive but easily doable early Saturday morning and returning on Sunday.

I was checking hotels when I emerged from the office, and Vinnie bounded up, telling me about a movie he’d watched.

“Whatcha doing?” He peered at the phone, and his face fell. “Daddy, you’re leaving?”

Damn, I should have spoken to him about the conference before he saw me booking a hotel. But there was a bigger issue to deal with.

I sat on the couch and pulled him onto my knee. His heart was galloping. “I would never up and leave without an explanation.” Perhaps his reaction had more to do with past relationships than fear that I’d leave him. “Got anything planned this weekend?”

“No.” His voice was muffled against my chest.

“Wanna come away with me?” Perhaps we could leave Friday after work and return Sunday night.

Vinnie sat up. “Where?”

I held up my phone and explained about the conference.

“You want me to come?” His wide eyes searched mine.

“Yes.” We needed to work on our communication, but he was upset, and I let it go for now. “Very much so.”

“Yippee!” He raced around the room. “I need PJs, and I have to buy more toothpaste. And will there be a pool? I don’t have any swim trunks. And my favorite T-shirt is dirty. I have to do a wash.”

He tore out the door but was back within a few seconds, saying he’d forgotten his key. There was a banging from next door, and moments later, Vinnie raced in, a half-filled suitcase in one hand.

“I’m so excited.”

“Really? I couldn’t tell,” I deadpanned.

“Emory, I can sense when you’re joking.”

“Good to know.”

Vinnie flung his arms around me, and we kissed. We scrolled through the hotels together and chose the one where the conference was being held. It was on the river and had a pool and a gym. I’d only be busy for a few hours, and the rest of the time we could spend together.

“We’ll go shopping tomorrow after work.” I held up a hand. “But for the rest of this week, I’ll need to write my speech in the evenings.”

Vinnie smacked his lips. “Let me guess. I have to occupy myself while you work.”

“Correct.”

The following day, we drove to the mall. We’d made a shopping list and whittled it down to absolute necessities. But he needed swim trunks, a better cap that wasn’t covered in food stains, and pajamas.

Vinnie preferred swim shorts rather than a skimpy pair,

“Apart from revealing everything, I worry they’ll slip down when I dive in,” he said as we searched through rows of swim shorts.

Even though he loved pink, he chose more muted-toned pairs to try on. The sales assistant glared at me and went to refuse me entry when I accompanied Vinnie into the changing room, but he waved me through after I gave him my best smile.

We squeezed into the tiny changing room, and my boy tried on navy, dark green, and charcoal pairs. While none were extravagantly priced, he checked the tag of each one, saying he preferred the cheaper one.

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