Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 47804 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 239(@200wpm)___ 191(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47804 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 239(@200wpm)___ 191(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
Easily securing the iron and double checking the roof, knowing I can trust my sons to stay put and do what’s asked of them while I do it.
I take my time and get mostly soaked in the process.
But it’s little things like this. These little adventures that we share that I know will make these boys fine young men someday.
Max and Jake would stay out here all night if I let ‘em. But their mom might have something to say about that, so once the roof’s repaired, we all file back inside.
Trying to keep quiet as we hang up our dripping jackets, but managing to wake Mrs. Corbett, who looks like she can’t sleep.
Moving into the kitchen and flicking the lights on out of habit, she doesn’t need to ask what we’ve been doing.
And we don’t even try to stop her when she tells us she’s making us all hot cocoa with marshmallows.
Listening to the boys while she gets to work, as they tell her all about the extreme danger we all just faced in going outside to save the stables from certain destruction.
Max embellishes the facts, just a little. And by the time he gets to the made-up part where it was he who climbed onto the roof to replace the whole sheet of iron himself, his mom appears in the doorway.
The side of her mouth creased, and little Stacey fast asleep against her chest.
“Coming straight back to me, huh?” she quizzes me.
Smiling over at Mrs. Corbett and asking if there’s any leftovers from dinner.
“Och! You know there’s always plenty to eat,” Mrs. C. smiles back. Already clanging some pots and pans.
Announcing she’ll reheat some soup and toast some bread if anyone’s interested.
Which we all are.
Tina sets Stacey down in her crib by the table, tucking her in, and we both marvel for a second at how this little girl could sleep through anything.
The boys are already arguing over who’s having the red bowl, and Mrs. Corbett’s kind gray eyes seem to mist up with more than just tiredness as she sighs with contentment.
Knowing she’s as much a part of our life, part of our family as she was to all those who aren’t with us anymore.
I curl my arm around Tina’s waist, and like seeing my sons helping with the stable roof, I feel nothing but pride and love for each of them.
For baby Stacey, Mrs. C., but most of all, for the love of my life.
Tina.
“How are the girls?” she asks, squeezing me tight as she stretches herself on the balls of her feet.
Sighing the words without worry now, because of her man. Her men of the house have already taken care of it.
“They’re fine,” I assure her, kissing her neck. Making Max groan and mumble something about us being ‘gross’ again.
But I don’t hide my affection for any of them. Least of all, the love I have for my wife.
“We’re fine,” Tina echoes back to me.
“And we always will be,” I remind her, kissing her forehead and whispering just how much I love her.
All of us dragging out the heavy wooden chairs to sit elbow to elbow around the thick wooden table.
The storm still raging above us, but with more than just hot soup and bread for our bellies. We’ve got everything we need right here to weather any storm that life throws our way.