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“Because that means more than you think it means, and I’m sure that message wasn’t the one you wanted to get across.”
“The message that I see this going somewhere past the seven weeks we have left in the session, you mean? Or the message that outside the academy, at least, I want us to look like the five of us are a package deal?”
“Five?”
I can’t see her face, but I know her mouth is in a perfect circle and her eyebrows are nearly touching her hairline.
“Well, he’s not a full grown person yet, but I’m still counting Leo as a person,” Wesley says as if it should be obvious.
Jamie and I are nodding in agreement from the back seat.
“You’re including him?”
“Why wouldn’t I? You two are a package deal. Where you go, he goes.”
“I didn’t realize you—do all of you feel like this?” she asks.
I reach forward to touch the back of her arm.
“If we didn’t see this as something worthwhile, something to invest our time in, we wouldn't be having dinner together every night of the week that we can manage it. We wouldn’t be having him over for barbecues, and we certainly wouldn’t be meeting your parents if we only saw this as something casual.”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Jamie adds.
“I—”
“We there now?” Leo asks, breaking the tension.
“Maybe five or ten minutes left, Buddy.”
“But Mr. Fip, I want to play.” He starts to pout.
“It’s Mr. Phillip, Sweetheart, and we’ll be there very soon. I promise,” Avery says gently.
“F—Fill?—”
“It’s fine, Avery.” I look back at Leo. “I actually rather like Mr. Fip,” I reassure him. “How about I tell you all the fun things we’re going to see there today, and maybe by the time I’m done, we’ll be there?”
Leo sighs dramatically. “Okay.”
Is this kid actually two or is there a teenager trapped in that little body?
I list out everything I can remember reading on the website when I picked this place.
“Planes?” His eyes widen to the size of dinner plates.
“That’s right.” I nod. “We can make our own paper planes and launch them across the room. There’s also somewhere we can learn how to make shadow puppets.”
“I think there’s also a station where we can make finger puppets too,” Jamie chimes in.
“We can do a show!” Leo claps his hands excitedly.
“It sounds like we’re going to have so much fun, Little Bug,” Avery says. “And guess what? We’re pulling into the parking lot right now.”
Leo starts fiddling with his chest clip, and I cover his hands with my own.
“I don’t think that’s very safe. How about we wait until the car stops? Then you can do your clips, okay?”
“Okay.” He nods earnestly.
