Page 110 of Ryder

“Uh, manners,” I remind him.

Aidan giggles. “Please!”

Manny ruffles his head as Aidan picks the cookie up and places it on the plate Manny sets down next to him.

“What about Dad?” I give him a chin lift. “Does Dad get one?”

“Chocolate,” Ade declares. “Daddy likes chocolate.”

“Oh yeah, he was insistent,” Manny tells us. “Wehadto make cookies for Mommy and Daddy coming home today.”

“Yes!” Ade laughs, waving my cookie around dangerously.

Manny rescues it before it ends up on the floor, hands it to me and I take a big bite. Crystal is alreadyoohingandahhingover hers. I’m pleased to say, it tastes every bit as good as it looks.

“Mmm, these taste amazin’,” I say around a mouthful of cookie.

“Tell them the best part.” Manny nudges Ade with his elbow.

He looks at Manny blankly until Manny swiftly reminds him in a whisper; “The clean ingredients.”

“The clean ingredients!” Ade shouts. “No sugar, organic flour and something else… I forgot…”

“No preservatives or colors.” Manny gives us a wink. “Well, as clean as we could get ’em… we went all out on the chocolate chips.”

Aidan grabs one, as if to prove their point, and takes a big bite.

“If the chef eats them, then that’s a good sign.” Manny smiles. “I think we should have a cook-a-thon at least once a month. Deal?”

“Deal!” Aidan laughs as they high-five.

It doesn't seem like our child has missed us all that much, and I’m glad he’s been occupied during our absence. One of his favorite things to do is hang out with Manny in the kitchen.

“Indi just stepped out,” Manny tells us. “She won’t be too long.”

“Did you hear anything else about the baby?” Crystal bounces on her toes. “Audrina stopped texting back, and I’m assuming it’s because she’s busy giving birth.”

“Last I heard from Lace was she’s in labor, but nothing since,” Manny says.

“Mommy?” Aidan pipes up.

“Yes, honey?”

“Can we go see the baby?” he asks.

Crystal walks toward the bench top, ruffling his hair. “As soon as the baby is born, yes we can go meet her.”

“It’s a girl?” Aidan looks confused.

“Yes, honey.”

“How do they know?”

“They have this special machine that the doctor uses on Audrina’s tummy to look inside,” she explains.

He looks utterly confused, scratching his head in the most adorable way. “How does the baby get in there?”

Uh, oh.

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