The long day started early. Even though Nate usually went to work earlier, he had postponed it to eight not to overexert the kids and Lara. He could also work from home in the afternoon and avoid keeping Lara in the office without the need to.
However, to make it in time, they still needed to wake up early.
The first alarm to ring was Lara's. She turned it off after a whole five minutes of ringing. She rolled out of bed and collected her clothes with one eye closed. She was still sleeping when she walked out in the hallway.
Nate was waiting for her in the hallway, to check if she would feel disoriented after waking up in a foreign place and so early. The pups were still sleeping while she looked left and right, not sure where to go.
«Here,» Nate said, showing the direction to the bathroom.
She looked up at him, and her eyes swept over his body from head to toe. Only when she had taken a long and attentive glance, she walked away.
Nate lifted a brow, following her silhouette until she disappeared behind a door. He opened the door to Jaden's room and went to wake the first pup. Scarlet wouldn't have accepted his help to wear clothes or wash her face. She was still in an uncertain phase; sometimes she would trust him, and, some other times, she would run away embarrassed.
«Good morning!» he exclaimed, moving the curtains away.
Jaden turned in bed and showed him his back. He moaned and covered his head with the cover.
«Hey, are you hiding?» Nate chuckled, sitting on the bed. «It's time to get up.»
«I don't want to,» Jaden whispered. «I want to sleep.»
«It's time to go to kindergarten.»
«Just five minutes more.»
«You don't know how long five minutes are, Jaden.»
«But you do...»
«Let's get up now. You can sleep in the car. Also, this afternoon, your beds will be waiting for you.»
«I don't want to get up...» he repeated. «It's better here.»
«I see... Then your mother and I will go alone.»
Hearing those words seemed to dispel any slumber. Jaden opened his eyes and turned to Nate. He stared at the man's serious expression for a few seconds before moving the covers and getting up.
«What do you want to wear today?» Nate asked, opening the wardrobe for the boy.
«My mommy always knows what I should wear,» Jaden pointed out.
«Ah, I see. Indeed, you're still a little boy.»
«Enough to be pampered by my mommy.»
After losing the first battle of words in the morning, Nate sighed and grabbed random clothes from the wardrobe. Scarlet would have told him straight away what she wanted to wear and how. Jaden seemed easier to take care of, calmer and more composed; yet, he knew how to make things complicated as much as, if not more, than his sister.
«Where is my mommy? Why isn't she here instead of you?»
«She just got up, Jaden. Leave her five minutes to wake. She deserves some time for herself. And it would be a pity if she had to sweat around two kids when I'm here to help.»
«Why are you suddenly so kind?»
«I'm not suddenly kind. I would have done it earlier if you had let me. But you and your sister are stubborn and possessive.»
«We are not. Our mommy says we're good children.»
«And she's right. But you wouldn't let me help. Now, for some reason, you do.»
«We do this because you can protect mommy better than us. But if she starts neglecting us because of you... Then we won't like you anymore.»
«Really?» Nate chuckled. «Lara would never neglect you. She loves you too much.»
«But she has less time for us since you appeared.»
«Really? But she's less tired, isn't she?»
«Indeed,» Jaden admitted with a pout. His mommy would always be so tired before, always hurrying to keep the house in order and the dinner cooked. It was odd, but he had never thought his mommy would prefer being helped.
Only after seeing her smile next to Nate, he had realised how much he and his sister weighed on Lara's shoulders.
«You can help my mommy,» he decided. «But you can't give me goodnight kisses instead of her.»
«Of course. That has never been my intention.»
«Just so you know. In case you want to stop mommy from kissing us.»
«I won't. You can have goodnight kisses from both of us, can't you?»
«Two kisses? Every night?» Jaden said. He narrowed his eyes, thinking hard about it. It sounded like a trick.
«Exactly.»
«And what do you get in exchange?»
«Nothing, Jaden. You can't give me anything in exchange.»
«You don't want my mommy, do you?»
«Not in exchange for anything. She's a free person, Jaden. She can decide for herself.»
«Hmm.»
«You don't look convinced,» Nate murmured.
He helped Jaden get rid of the pyjamas and wear the clothes for the day. Once finished, they peeked in Scarlet's room and found it empty.
«Your sister must be already having breakfast,» he guessed. Lara could be fast at taking care of the pups even when she was half-asleep.
They reached the kitchen hand in hand, and they found Melanie and Scarlet conversing. The pup was informing her grandma about her tastes, what she liked to eat and what she didn't.
Melanie chuckled when they started talking about sandwiches.
«You don't like tuna? Oh, your father loves it.»
«I like ham more, grandma.»
«And what about salad? Tomato?»
«Mommy says it's good for our stomachs.»
«It is. I can make you a sandwich for a snack this afternoon. Pups are supposed to eat often either way, right?»
«You would?» she exclaimed, her eyes shining content. She nibbled on the cookie in her hand after dipping it in the milk.
«Of course. I can cook you many delicious things.»
«Oh, you're daddy's mommy,» she realised.
«I know how to raise pups. I can help your parents with small things like snacks.»
«I see...» Scarlet muttered, sipping her milk.
Having a grandma was a little odd, but she liked her cookies very much.
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