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“Mm-hmm.”
I eye him. “Teeth brushed? Clean underwear on?”
He grimaces and races back to his room. I shake my head. Kids.
I clean up the living room before heading to my en suite shower. Our house is old. It’s a work in progress to be sure, and my pink bathroom is plenty of evidence to show how far we still have to go. Cody and I have been working on it for the past few years. I’ve almost gotten our main living areas updated. It hasn’t been easy. I’ve learned a lot and made plenty of mistakes. I’m also getting close to maxing out my skill level. I want to redo my bathroom, but it’s daunting, to say the least. I can’t afford a plumber to move everything around where I’d want them just yet, so for now, I have a Pepto Bismol-pink bathroom.
A quick shower and a set of overalls later, I’m ready to take my favorite boy out for a breakfast date.
Ugh. I would never tell Cody this, but going out to eat for breakfast is the worst because now I have to figure out what to make for dinner. I’m too tired to make my brain come up with something that’s both well-balanced and delicious.
“C-man! What do you want for dinner? Mom’s brain is fucking fried.” I mumble the last part to myself.
“That’s a dollar in the swear jar,” Cody says as he walks into the kitchen.
I grimace. Dammit. “We’re going to have to work on those listening ears. I think they work a little too well.”
Cody makes a face at me. “Said no mom ever.”
I snort. “Fair enough, kiddo. Although, I think you’d be surprised.” How many stories have I read about kids walking in on their parents having sex because they could hear them?
He struggles up onto the tall barstool that sits under our island. “How about hamburgers for dinner?”
I dig around in the fridge. “We’ve got everything but buns…”
He scrunches his nose. “Never mind.”
“Deconstructed burgers are basically tacos, just with different seasonings,” I muse.
“That doesn’t even make sense. How can a taco be a burger?”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ve got tortillas, so let’s do tacos.”
Cody shrugs. “Fine by me.”
The doorbell rings, and I frown. “Are you expecting someone?”
Cody scoffs. “I’m nine. I can’t do anything without talking to you about it first.”
I point at him. “You’re not nine yet, and you’re damn right, you do.”
“Swear jar.” His brown eyes sparkle.
“Bah. At this rate, I’ll have your college tuition paid before you’re in high school.” I stride around the corner of the kitchen and into our foyer. To my left is our living room, and if I kept going left, I’d end up back in our kitchen. The rest of our split-level house has three bedrooms and a lower-level bar area that’s packed with shit I’ve been storing for too long.
When I open our front door, a teenager stands on our porch. “Hey, I’ve got a delivery for Katie.”
I tilt my head in confusion. “I didn’t order anything.”
“Uhhh. Well, it’s all paid for, so here you go.” He hands me the bulging plastic bag as if it’s a bomb and then sprints back to his car.
I take the bag back to the kitchen, where Cody is reading his book at the island. The bag crinkles when I set it on the counter. The first item out of the bag is an aluminum container of something that smells suspiciously like Mexican food. I pull out the rest of the containers until the bag is empty, and I stand there flabbergasted.
“Where the fuck did this come from?”
“Free pass, since I’m guessing you didn’t order us dinner.” Cody frowns at the food in front of us.
“Nope.” I look around the room to find my phone. It’s sitting by the sink, so I grab it to make sure that I didn’t actually order food and just forgot.
