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“Jealous?”
“Yeah.Cause I have a cool dad.”
Milo turned back to him. “Um, thank you. But I’m sure the other kids have cool dads too.”
Caleb thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Can we eat now?”
“Yeah. Let’s eat.”
Wilda handed Caleb a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Then she gave Milo one with roast beef and Swiss cheese. She held out the bag of chips. “Chip?”
Milo smiled at her. “Yes, please.”
Caleb took a couple of bites of his sandwich, then ate a chip. “If you’re my dad now, does that mean you and Mom are gonna get married?”
“Hmm. I think that is another question for your mother.”
Caleb turned to Wilda. “Do you want to marry Milo?”
She looked at Milo. “Yes. I believe I do.”
Caleb drank some of his apple juice. “We learned about pool tides.”
Wilda laughed. “About what?”
Milo put a hand on Caleb’s shoulder. “Tide pools.”
“Yeah, that. Starfish and an…anem.” He scowled.
Milo interjected again. “Anemones.”
“Yeah.”
Wilda nodded. “That sounds very interesting. What else did you learn today?”
Caleb spent the next thirty minutes giving Wilda a play-by-play of his day, and anyone listening would never have believed that up until a couple of hours ago, the child had barely spoken a word in almost two years.
When he stopped to take a breath and finish his sandwich, Milo laughed. “I believe the speech floodgates have opened.”
Wilda dabbed her damp eyes with a napkin. “The best sound in the world.”
Caleb finished off his juice, sucking in the sides of the box to get every last drop. “Can I sleep in my room tonight?”
Wilda took the box from him. “We’d have to move your bed.”
“Can we do that?”
“I believe that is a question for Milo.”
Caleb moved closer to Milo and smiled sweetly. “Please move my bed.”
“Wow. How can I say no to that? Tell you what. If you help, we’ll move the bed, and you can sleep in your new room tonight.”
Caleb jumped up and ran around the room. “Do it now! Do it now!”
Wilda got up, intercepted him, and picked him up. “Can you calm down just a little bit?”
“Yes, Mama.”
