Page 21

CALLIOPE

C rew wasn’t happy sitting in his first-class seat between me and Kelsey before takeoff.

After boarding the plane, he took turns bouncing between my lap and Kelsey’s, but we had been asked to have him seated in his own seat for takeoff.

While he was still young enough to be in a lap and didn’t need his own ticket, apparently, he had to be in his seat if he had one on takeoff and landing.

“Hey buddy, I know you have big boy pants on because you’re a big boy, right?”

“Des, Kiwi, I a big boy.”

“Well, big boys need to sit in big boy seats until the plane gets in the air.”

“Watch Bluey?” He asked Kelsey.

“Shoot, I didn’t download any episodes, and we can’t stream until we get to cruising altitude.” She looked at me in near panic. “Ugh, what a dumb mistake.”

Crew’s face started to crumble as he realized he couldn’t watch his favorite show.

“It’s okay,” I said. “I put a couple of shows on my tablet.”

Kelsey gave a massive sigh of relief, and Crew clapped and reached for my tablet.

As part of my orientation to the family, Kelsey, Sam, and Tom had laid out screen time limits that they had agreed on for Crew.

The only time there was no limit was during airline flights.

They all agreed that a flight was tough on a little kid, and restricting something that could provide entertainment and comfort would be unnecessary.

I left that meeting and immediately downloaded as many toddler-friendly shows as possible.

Crew quickly settled into his own seat and held onto my tablet with a death grip. I cringed when I realized why parents bought giant rubber cases for their kids as the corner of my tablet slammed into the seat back.

“Sorry,” Kelsey whispered. “We’ll replace it if anything happens to it.”

“It’s okay, I have two,” I said, pulling another tablet out of my carry-on bag.

Crew was quiet until after we’d taken off and started to get a little restless.

“You tired, bud?” Kelsey asked.

Crew rubbed his eyes and loudly declared, “I am not tired, Mama.”

“Do you want to walk around?” Kelsey asked.

“Yeah!” He answered.

Kelsey stood, and once I realized she planned to walk him up and down the aisles, I stood up and picked him up instead.

Her baby bump had gotten more noticeable in the weeks since my interview, and while she carried her son easily, I wasn’t going to sit and watch her bounce and hold him until he fell asleep.

The little dude was solid, thanks to his father’s genes.

It didn’t take long before his head dropped to my shoulder, and his eyes fluttered closed. He didn’t stir when I retook my seat. Kelsey offered to take him back, but I shook my head and held him while he napped.

I watched as Kelsey dug into her carry-on, producing a paperback novel. Ohp.

“Do you like that author?” I asked.

“I do, though I probably shouldn’t be reading this out in public.”

“Yeah, we passed that book around my friend group. I loved it until I learned the author was my mother.”

“What?!? Your mother is D.D. Dark?” She asked, thumbing through the pages.

Judging by her placeholder, she’d already read the infamous scene where the main character discovers her stalker’s hidden video and puts herself on display.

Growing up, we’d heard evidence of our parents’ very active sex life, but this book was black-and-white evidence that my mother knew about nipple clamps and spreader bars.

“Yeah, she’s an author and has had immense success with mainstream women’s fiction. She publishes Diana Douglas under her name, too. She started writing dark romance and self-publishing under her pen name as a way to experiment. She’s sold more copies under her pen name than her given name.”

“That’s awesome. I’ve always wanted to do something with my writing but never seem to be able to finish anything I start.”

“I’m sure that has nothing to do with chasing after a busy toddler or traveling all over the country.”

Kelsey smiled wryly. “I’m not sure what you know about the specifics of our story, but before I met Sam, I was bartending, driving an Uber, and raising this guy on my own. Am I busy now? Yes. But it’s nothing like before. I need to buckle down.”

“Well, I confirmed this with Monica, but your new house in Concord makes you neighbors with my parents. My mother loves mentoring fellow writers. I’m sure she’d be happy to support you.”

“Are you kidding? They’re going to be our neighbors?”

“Yup. The entire neighborhood is waiting patiently for that house to be finished.”

“So you’ve seen the interior?”

“Uh-huh. When I was ten, I thought it was amazing. But as an adult, the carpeted walls and ceilings are just offensive.”

Kelsey laughed, “The bones of the house are good, and I absolutely love the neighborhood. I used to think I would stay in the city for life, and we’ve been looking in Concord for ages.

Even with all the cosmetic work, the house is exactly what I wanted.

Sam would have preferred something move-in ready but was willing to give the house a chance. ”

“It’s a great neighborhood. And you’ll have as much privacy as you want. We’ve had other professional athletes live in the neighborhood, and no one ever bothered them.”

“That’s reassuring,” she said. “We both want to raise our kids with as much normalcy as possible.” Kelsey’s hand dropped to her belly, and her gaze fell to Crew.

“He doesn’t wake up with noise, huh?” I asked.

“No. It’s a side effect of spending the first year of his life in a sling or baby carrier. He’s out like a light if you walk around with him and can tolerate most noise, including a cheering crowd.”

“Does he understand much about the games?”

“Not exactly; he recognizes Sam and some of the other players when he’s pitching.

He barely remembers being at Tom’s hockey games, but we have been watching last year’s games on replay.

I’m not sure how many of Tom’s teammates returned this year, but one of the WAGs, Mariana, has two kids, and Crew loves them.

They played together a couple of times. Mariana is also great at welcoming newcomers.

Keep an eye out for her. She’ll be a valuable resource.

I grew up in Boston, with a built-in support system.

I can’t imagine living in a foreign country with Sam away for weeks at a time. ”

The pilot came over the loudspeaker and announced that passengers needed to return to their seats. We both looked down at the sleeping Crew and then at the seat between us, not looking forward to disturbing him.

“I’m going to keep holding him until someone makes me put him down,” I said.

“Good plan.”

The more time I spent with Kelsey, the more I wished I had met her outside of as an employer.

I estimated that we were the same age, which was insane.

I couldn’t imagine being a mother at my age; even in the few days I had spent with Crew, I had left exhausted.

Yes, I’d have free time, but would I have the energy to take advantage of it?

The flight attendants either forgot about us or realized that allowing Crew to sleep on my shoulder was better for everyone on the plane.

He was still asleep when we touched down but lifted his head when he heard the commotion of the other passengers as they grabbed their bags from the overhead compartments.

“Dada?”

“Yes, bud. You’re going to see Dada soon.”

Crew’s smile and excitement to see his father were contagious. Watching him, I almost forgot that I was moving cross-country. The more time I spent with him, the more attached I became. I was fully aware of the level of trust that this entire family needed to bring me into their lives.

I carried Crew while Kelsey negotiated the airport with their carry-ons.

We had decided not to check bags and stuck with the smallest bags possible.

The movers had brought most of my belongings to Colorado ahead of our flights, which allowed me to travel lighter than I was used to.

We went directly to the pick-up area to meet Tom.