Then Noah announced that we needed to make something special for his mother.
“Mommy’s been sad,” he told me.
That hurt to hear. “What did you have in mind?”
“A cake.”
Oliver raised both hands. “A giant cake!”
Lily wanted pink frosting.
I told them we could make cupcakes when Emily got home.
I needed to check what ingredients she had before promising anything.
Noah looked disappointed but agreed.
Around 2:30 p.m., a delivery truck pulled into the driveway.
I was expecting a package containing a replacement lamp, so I stepped onto the front porch to meet the driver.
The delivery took longer than expected because the label had been damaged and he needed to confirm the address.
While we sorted it out, I heard laughter from inside.
I assumed the children had returned to their fort.
I was outside for no more than 10 minutes.
When I walked back into the house, I stopped so suddenly that I nearly dropped the package.
