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“Miss Ree!” Daniel cried from the front door when she pulled into the driveway. He waited until she was parked before he ran to grab her legs. Reaching down, she picked him up and carried him inside to find his uncle surrounded by what looked like every toy in the place.
Laughing, she sat Daniel down. “Need some help?”
Luke looked up to see his graceful princess striding in wearing a glittered tank and cropped pants looking beautiful, while he was pretty sure he smelled like Camilla’s latest diaper. “Umm... we’re deciding what we needed to pack.”
Laughing Hillary nodded, but turned to Daniel and Magda and said, “Pick your favorite coloring book and one other toy and meet me back here as soon as you can. One, two, three... Go!”
The kids ran off giggling, and Luke felt swindled. “How did you do that?”
Picking up a few stuffed animals to put in the toy chest, she smiled and said, “I told you I’ve done this before – I’ve been babysitting since I was sixteen. The trick is to give them limited choices. It doesn’t always work, but you’ve got some great kids.”
Nodding Luke watched as a few minutes later, they came back with their two items. Daniel with his dinosaur coloring book and T-rex toy, while Magda chose a Disney princess coloring book and a first-grade primer about learning letters she had been working through with Hillary. She had the most to learn before school started, but was eager and a joy to teach. A quick learner, Hillary was hopeful with all the one on one help Magda would be getting all summer, she would be ready to read on her grade level, if not higher.
Looking at Luke, who had risen from the mountain of toys, she asked, “Is Camilla ready?”
“Yes, she’s been awake most of the morning, and should sleep for the car ride. I’ve got her bag ready but should pack a bag of snacks for the kids.”
“I’ve got a snack bag I keep for them in the kitchen.” She started to walk away, but paused to ask, “The grounds at the Tellus are good for a picnic. Do you want me to pack a meal for us to eat outside? It’s been nice for the first time in weeks with all the rain. We could sit under the pavilion and the kids could run around before we drive back home.”
Luke’s whole face lit up, “I think that’s a great idea.”
She nodded with a smile and continued to the kitchen. Magda came with her, and Hillary had her grab the bag while she decided what to pack for lunch. “What would you like to eat later? Sandwiches, or something else? I did make bread yesterday.”
Magda stood for a moment and then went to the fridge to grab the hummus the little girl had helped her make.
“Perfect! We’ll have sandwiches and some hummus with veggies. Want to help me pack?”
The little girl nodded, her long braids swinging back and forth. She was smiling, and it made Hillary’s heart squeeze with happiness. She truly wanted this little girl to be happy, and whole again. She’s still too quiet and reserved, which is unnatural for a six-year-old. The counselor had told Luke it would take a while for her to come out of her shell, and the glimpses of the happy little girl she could be were rare. The child always seemed afraid.
“I think all we need now is a blanket for our picnic.”
Magda didn’t say anything but ran out of the kitchen up the stairs to the bedrooms. She came back with a ninja turtle blanket and Hillary hid her laugh. “That should be fine if you think Daniel won’t mind sharing it.”
“No, it’s roto.”
“Roto, roto... Oh yes, it’s torn. Then it’s perfect Magda.” In the evenings, after the kids had been put in bed, and Luke wasn’t around, she had been re-learning Spanish. She knew some but wasn’t fluent by any means, and noticed Magda and Daniel were using the Spanish words more and more often. Even their uncle spoke in Spanish, often when he was frustrated with his studying or the few times the kids were difficult and he was unsure what to do. She had quickly learned, yo no sirvo para esto is ‘I don’t know if I’m cut out for this’ in Spanish. He never said it in front of the kids, and she understood instant fatherhood for three was a challenge.
“Let’s go find everyone and pack up. Are you excited about our field trip? We’ll be going to my hometown.”
“Sí.” Magda took her hand and they both walked to the living room to see the rest of the family packed and ready to go.
Hillary didn’t realize until just this moment it would be the first time she would have been back to Cartersville since she moved. Oh, Lord, don’t let me run into anyone I know. Since I don’t teach in the city, I might be okay, because the town has grown so much.
Once everyone was in Luke’s SUV, he turned on the radio and the drive passed quickly, everyone singing to the local Christian radio station. Hillary pointed out landmarks along the way, and before long they were pulling into the parking lot. Daniel was as excited with the prospect of seeing dinosaurs as he was with fire trucks, and was unbuckled and moving to climb out the door.
Luke’s deep voice sounded, “Daniel wait before you open the door.”
“But Wuncle Luke, the dinosaurs...” he wailed.
Chuckling, Luke said, “Little man, they’ve been around for hundreds of years. They’ll still be there in ten more minutes.”
Daniel paused, hovering over his seat. Hillary got the back door open and unbuckled Camilla who had slept for most of the trip. Carrying her in her arms, she slung the diaper bag onto her other shoulder and turned to Magda. “All set?”
Magda nodded, but her eyes were huge taking in the large trucks outside, and the crowds of people milling around. She grabbed the side of Hillary’s pants, but was smiling. Glad the child seemed excited, she turned to Luke, who was staring at her when Daniel grabbed his hand.
“Ready, Daniel.”
Daniel nodded, which broke Luke’s stare and he started walking to the front entrance. Following the small crowd, Daniel was asking questions, “When will we see the dinosaurs? What did they eat? Did it hurt when they all died? Was dinosaur poop really big?”
Luke caught her eye, and they both smiled at the antics of small little boys. She wondered if Luke was like that when he was little. I know he practically raised his little sister, because their mother worked three jobs to support them. She quickly decided, he was more like Magda, the little serious caretaker. Aching for the big boy, as well as the little ones with her now, she shook her head determined to make sure this family had a wonderful time.
Since they already had tickets from someone through the church who had an unexpected sickness, they went straight to the front to show their tickets and explore the museum. Daniel was able to see a large dinosaur from the ticket area, and he pulled on Luke to move faster. “Wuncle Luke, come on.”
The unique family moved into the atrium to see a large dinosaur that seemed to stretch the whole hall. “What is it?” Magda asked, a little tremor in her voice.
Squatting down to her level, Hillary adjusted a sleeping Camilla to her other shoulder, and said, “It’s an Apatosaurus. They were herbivores which means they ate leaves and ferns.”
Luke raised an eyebrow in question as Daniel looked at her with awe.
Smiling with a shrug, she said, “Third grade field trip every year. Dinosaurs are a big deal in third grade.”
“I want to go into third grade, not Kittergarten.”
Luke ruffled Daniel’s hair and said, “You’ll be in third grade before you know it.”
Daniel walked over to another display that needed a quarter and the family joined him. Daniel asked, wide eye, “What does it do?”
Luke put in a quarter, and as they watched it spin, he read off the plaque. The kids were fascinated, except for Camilla who politely snored through the whole experience. The family moved through the displays, and read the plaques for the two children as Hillary explained words and phrases they didn’t understand.
While the two kids walked around the cars on display, Luke leaned toward Hillary and asked, “Do you want me to hold Camilla for a bit?”
“No, she’s fine. She’s not that big yet, and I want to hold her while I can.”
Luke looked at her funny, and Hillary realized her statement held a long-term connotation. Clearing her throat, she said, “The kids are having fun.”
He turned to keep watching them and said, “Yes, I’m glad these tickets fell in our lap. I know they’ve never gotten the chance to do this kind of stuff before. They hadn’t even been in a pool until a few weeks ago when we went over to Carl and Krissy’s house one Sunday.”
Listening to the two kids laughing, he sighed, “I want them to have a well-rounded life, fun and laughter, learning, and being raised in church, all the things Marissa and I couldn’t have.”
“You’re doing a great job, Luke. They’re happy, healthy, and getting a lot of love and care from a lot of people. The church’s been amazing too, you’re doing a great job.”
“Thanks.” Ducking his head, he said, “And thank you for coming today on your day off. I know the kids missed seeing you. Daniel was a little put out with you not being there at breakfast.”
Hillary smiled, “He just likes my cooking.”
Luke looked her straight in the eye and said slowly, “No, he likes you. You’re good for both of them, plus you’re better at explaining all of this stuff at a level they understand.” He reached out and touched her hand, “That’s been the hardest for me, explaining big subjects to small minds.”
Feeling that touch all the way down to her toes, she struggled to speak. “Yes, I understand that, they’ve had to learn about hunger and death much earlier than other kids their age.”
His relief at her understanding showed in his eyes. “Exactly.”
“Wuncle Luke, what’s this?”
Luke dropped her hand and moved toward the kids. Hillary followed, thankful Luke had seemed to have moved past his anger toward her.