Page 112 of Three Not-So-Little Words
"No, but my relationship with Mom was way different than mine with Eve. And I don't want Eve to turn out like me. I don't want her to have a baby as a teenager."
"I don't think you have to worry about that."
"God, I hope not. I'm too young to be a grandma "
She gets lost in her thoughts for a moment before changing the subject.
“So, things are good with you and Drew?"
"Yeah, I think so. I'm trying not to jump into anything too quickly, so I don't get spooked."
"Is that why you're redecorating his kid's room? Because you're taking things slow?" She winks.
I know she has a point.
But I don't give a shit. I'm going to do it anyway.
forty-one
Incredible
Drew
Colton and I walk through the front door after a day of work and school to find Ronnie anxiously waiting for us.
"Hi!" She greets
"Hey, beautiful. Is everything okay?"
The past two days, she's been working almost non-stop in Colton's room. Last night, she even deemed it off-limits until she finished. I'm not even sure how much she slept.
I look her up and down. She wears an old pair of jeans and a black t-shirt, her hair is pulled into a messy bun, and I'm pretty sure there is paint in it.
Her attention turns from me to Colton. "Hey, little dude, do you want to see your new and improved bedroom?"
Colton's smile spreads from ear to ear. "You got it done?"
“You bet I did. I wanted you to be able to enjoy it all weekend since you're going to be home," she says. "Do you want to see it?”
He gives an excited nod.
"Okay. You have to close your eyes so that you're surprised."
Colton immediately squeezes his eyes shut and holds up his hand for Ronnie to grab. She looks at it for a moment as if it is a foreign object. I'm fully prepared to take it, so she doesn't have to, but she surprises me when she grabs it and heads for his bedroom.
It makes me happy to see her doing her best to form a connection with my son.
She pauses for a second before opening the door. When she does, I feel like I'm going to have to pick my jaw up off the ground.
She has taken his Spiderman-inspired room and turned it into something incredible.
Colton opens his eyes and screams, "Whoa!" He starts darting around the room as we both try to take in everything.
The first thing I notice is his bed. She took his race car bed frame, painted it black, and put string lights all around it to make it like webs. The same lights are also draped along the top of all the walls.
Speaking of walls, on one of them, she has hung a giant board with hooks methodically placed to hold every one of his NERF guns. There's also a multi-story racetrack and garage for all of his toy cars. His action figures are displayed on a small bookshelf.
I am shocked at how much work she put into this. It's incredible.
