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Milo went to his car and drove home. The smell of spaghetti sauce reached him before he went through the door, and he went straight to the kitchen. Wilda was there, making a salad.

“Spaghetti?”

“Yes. I hope you’re not sick of it.”

“No, I love it.”

“Caleb would eat it every night if I let him.”

“Where is he?”

“Out back playing with the tire swing.”

“Playing with it?”

“He can’t swing himself, so he’s pushing it. But he seems to be having fun.”

Milo took Wilda’s arm. “So, it would be safe to kiss you?”

“Yes.”

He kissed her, then stepped back. “I’ll go push Caleb on the swing until dinner is ready.”

“Thank you.”

He set his things down, then went back outside. Caleb ran to Milo when he saw him.

“Milo!”

“Hey, Caleb. Would you like me to push you?” Caleb held up his arms, and Milo lifted him up and put him on the swing. “Okay, hold on tight. Here we go.”

“Higher! Higher!”

Milo pushed him a little higher, but not as high as his father had. Like Wilda, it had scared him a little. Frenchie chased the swing back and forth, barking until he got tired. Then he lay in the shade under the tree, panting with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth.

Milo was about to join Frenchie when Wilda came onto the back porch and called to them. “Time to come in and wash hands for dinner.”

Milo gave the tire one more big push, then let it slow until it stopped. “Alright, kid, let’s go eat some spaghetti.” He lifted him to the ground, then they went to the house with Frenchie lagging behind, still panting.

They both washed their hands, then sat at the table. Wilda set a sliced loaf of bread next to the spaghetti and the salad, then sat down next to Caleb. “Okay, don’t be shy. Dig in.” She fixed a plate for Caleb, then got some salad while Milo went straight for the spaghetti.

“This looks great, Wilda. Thanks.”

“I started painting the dining room today.”

“I’ll check it out after dinner.”

After dinner, Milo helped Wilda with the dishes, then he went into the dining room to see what Wilda had done while she gave Caleb a bath. She’d painted as high as she could reach with the extendable roller, but she still left a foot around the top of the walls that she couldn’t reach. Even though she’d opened the big window on the outside wall, the smell of paint was strong, so Milo moved the fan they’d brought into the room to the window and turned it on. The switch plates were still removed, and a box of new ones sat near the paint cans. Milo busied himself by installing them. He was on the last one when Wilda came into the room.

“How do you like the color?”

“It’s great. I can come home right after work tomorrow and get the part you couldn’t reach.”

“Thank you. I considered dragging in the ladder, but I don’t really like perching on ladders.”

“Yeah, please don’t. I’ll do it tomorrow. Is it book time?”

“Yes. Do you mind?”