Page 38 of Schooling Little Sage

“Here you go. Why don’t you color or watch TV while I make dinner.”

I forgot Devon had texted me. I found a cartoon to put on while I answered him. Texting was fun and I’d gotten pretty good at it. Devon showed me how to find all the silly emojis and sometimes we just sent those back and forth. He didn’t respond right away so he was probably busy at work again.

“Daddy, when are we moving?” My toys had taken over the living room. No matter how clean I kept them it was still a lot.

“Great question. After dinner I’ll see if housing emailed back.”

I didn’t feel like doing much, so just curled up on the couch with my stuffies and watched TV. I was almost asleep when Daddy hollered that dinner was ready.

“Sleepy boy. It’s gonna be an early night for us. Not sure you’d even make it through tubby time. I think a quick shower after dinner then a movie to fall asleep to.”

There wasn’t enough energy left in my body to argue, not that I would anyway.

“Sage, did you hear what I said?”

“Oh, no. Sorry.”

“Poor boy. That was a long week for you. I’ll hurry and clean up then we can shower.” Daddy took my plate and I crawled onto the couch and waited for him.

After our shower, I barely remember Daddy curling up in bed with me and saying goodnight. This week had kicked my little hiney.

“Rise and shine, sweet boy,” Daddy covered my face in kisses. “I love hearing your giggles. I have a special day planned for a very special boy. Time for breakfast.”

He must’ve hopped out of bed right when the sun peeked out. Daddy was dressed and far too full of energy.

“Daddy set out a comfy outfit for you.”

“Good, one less thing I have to think about today. My brain is all brained out.”

“Well then”—he was all kinds of kissy this morning—“Daddy will play the role of his boy’s brain today. You just sit back, have fun, and enjoy the ride.”

“Ride?”

“Metaphorically speaking. We’re not leaving the Ranch for our journey. Now, get dressed, breakfast is waiting.”

Huh, thought I’d seen everything here. Maybe we’re going to Reese’s or the arcade. Better make sure there’s nothing hanging off my clothes for the goats to eat. Lost a shirt that way and Daddy had to get me new shoestrings too. I felt sorry for those goats’ tummies.

“How’s this, Daddy?” I spun around the kitchen, so he saw my whole outfit.

“Perfect. Pretty soon we won’t be able to do much outdoors. Before long it’ll be too cold so let’s get all the outdoor time in that we can.”

I wasn’t looking forward to winter, although using the tunnels kinda sounded fun. Too much snow ruined outdoor time, and all the bugs and animals hid away from the cold. It was hard to remember this winter would be different and I wouldn’t be stuck inside with people who hated me and we had the tunnels to get to all the fun indoor play areas.

“Thank you for breakfast, Daddy.” My tummy was full of eggs, bacon and toast.

“You’re welcome. Grab your backpack and we’ll head out.”

But it wasn’t empty like I had left it. “What’s inside?”

“A surprise for later. Keep it zipped, no peeking.”

Daddy and his surprises. I think he enjoyed giving them as much as I liked getting them.

“There won’t be any room left for us in the apartment with all the stuff you keep buying.”

“That reminds me. I heard back and they can move us to a bigger unit at the end of the month. They’re gonna drop off boxes and tape later for us to start packing.”

“What about the furniture?”