Page 95 of The Wedding Planner's Manny

My hands free, I opened Caleb's bag to find... Nathan's salamander. What was Donatello doing here?

He definitely hadn't escaped his terrarium and found his way into Caleb's bag by himself. Donatello was a lazy creature and he liked his terrarium--and Nathan was going to have a fit if he heard about this. I looked at Caleb, who chose to look at the ground instead of meeting my gaze.

“What's going on?” Ethan asked.

“Maybe Caleb can explain,” I suggested. “How did Donatello get into your backpack, Caleb?”

“I took him,” he admitted.

“Why?”

“Because you said I couldn't take Michel,” Caleb explained in perfect five-year-old logic.

“You can't take Donatello either,” Ethan spoke up. “Imagine what Nathan will say! You can't take his pets! And you can't bring pets to school with you.”

Caleb's gaze sank to the ground again. “Don't tell Nathan,” he pleaded.

“It's okay,” I said, “but Donatello can't come to school with you. You have to go by yourself, okay?

Like a big boy. We'll be back to get you in a few hours, and then I'll make your favorite food.”

Caleb looked up. “Chicken nuggets?”

“Yup. With lots of ketchup.”

A wide grin took over Caleb's face. “Okay, you can take Donatello. I'll be good.”

“Good.” I ruffled his hair. “Let's go then.”

I took the salamander out of Caleb's bag and held him safe in my hands as we walked into the school and to Caleb's new classroom. We'd been given a tour the week before and Caleb had been excited to hear he'd be in the same classroom where his big brother used to be, with the same teacher. He greeted Mrs. Sigal cheerfully when we reached the colorfully decorated room and then he was so distracted by all the children around him that there were no tears when we told him goodbye.

In fact, it seemed the whole thing was harder on Ethan than it was on Caleb. He sighed as we stepped out into the hallway again.

“That was almost too easy,” he said. “They grow up too fast.” He rocked Henry in his arms. “You won't do that to me, will you?”

Henry only looked at him with his big eyes until Ethan made to grab his nose, which caused him to erupt in giggles.

“I'm afraid he'll grow up too,” I said.

“Maybe we need to have more babies,” Ethan said, and I wasn't sure if he was kidding or not.

“Are you serious? They'll all grow up.”

Ethan sighed again. “Nature is cruel.”

I had to laugh at that. “Would you rather Caleb cried?”

“No, you're right. It's good he's gained some independence. I'm still a little sad, though. Nathan never looked back either.”

“It's going to be okay,” I said, draping an arm around Ethan's shoulders and leading him slowly back to the car. “Let's go back home and I'll help you forget your sorrows.”

“Yeah? How are you going to do that? You want to make more babies?”

“You really want more babies?” I asked, stopping to squint at him, because I couldn't figure out if he was messing with me or not.

“Maybe I do,” Ethan said in a serious tone of voice. “My business has recovered well and you're bringing in a nice side-income with your articles. We could afford it.”

Holy shit, he wasn't joking. “Leaving affordability aside, do youwantanother child? I mean, you're not only saying that because Caleb's in school now?”

“I'm most definitely not. I've been thinking about it for a while.” He met my eyes, and I could tell by the look in his that he was saying the truth. “Wouldyoulike another child?”

I leaned in, gave him a short kiss and spoke into his ear. “Why don't we just go without protection for a while and see what happens?”

“Sounds good.” A small smile appeared on his lips. I had to smile as well, feeling almost giddy. We were going to try for another child, to grow our family.

I couldn't wait!