She shook her head. “I don’t think we should do that to my parents.”
“Why not? Isn’t that what grandparents are for? Dumping kids?” I sidled up next to her, placed a pair of my old running shoes inside my suitcase. Then I moved in behind her, wrapped my arms around her waist, kissed her on the neck. “Besides, we could use a night alone. We’re about to have two restless kids in our bed for the next week.”
She smiled. “That’s true.”
I kissed her again, went back into our bathroom.
“You packed our passports, right?” Taylor called after me.
“Of course,” I replied. Then I doubted myself. “I’d better double-check,” I said, crossing through the bedroom again.
She rolled her eyes at me. “Yeah, you’d better. I’d hate to make you drive all the way back here tomorrow by yourself.”
Walking through the living room, I smiled at my girls, who were dancing in front of our big fireplace while Joe and Carol sat on the sofa and watched. Olivia and Nicole begged me to also stop and watch, but I told them I had to keep getting things together for our big day tomorrow. I was also excited about bringing them down to the orphanage. We had done several family trips together the past couple of years—Disney World, skiing in Colorado, the Bahamas—but this was something entirely different. I had high hopes that being with less-fortunate kids their age might help my girls realize how blessed we were as a family. Life had been so good to us the past couple of years. We needed to share that goodness with others. I was also glad that Joe and Carol had wanted to come with us. Joe had a big heart for those in need. I had a good feeling about this trip.
Stepping into my home office, I walked around my desk and pulled open the middle drawer. Sure enough, I’d forgotten to pack our passports. They were sitting in the drawer wrapped up in a rubber band. I shook my head, rolled my eyes at myself. Saved again by my wife—story of my life. I pulled them out, checked to make sure I also had the girls covered, and then closed the drawer.
Joe stepped inside my office with me. “Wow, the girls are really wired tonight.”
I laughed. “You think?”
“You want them to stay with us? Carol has a way of getting them down more easily.”
“You mean bribing them with sweets?”
Joe smiled, shrugged. “Whatever it takes, right?”
“You read my mind. I just mentioned that possibility to Taylor.”
“Great. I’ll start rounding them up and get them out of your hair.”
I began to move past him into the hallway, but Joe stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. “Hey, are you sure about this trip? I’m second-guessing it.”
I pitched my head. “Why?”
“Maybe Taylor is right. It can be dangerous across the border. Maybe we should reconsider. Plus, I’ve got a case I really need to work on here this next week.”
“Come on, Joe, I think we’ll be fine. But if you need to stay back to work, it’s no problem. I can take care of everything myself.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. But you’re going to have to tell the girls yourself. They’re going to be crushed that you’re not coming with us. They’ve been looking forward to it for weeks.”
Joe sighed, rubbed the back of his neck for a moment. “Who am I kidding? I can’t be away from the girls for an entire week.”
I smiled. “I’m glad to hear you say that. We’re going to have fun.”
“It was dumb of me to even think about it.” His forehead wrinkled a touch. “But just as a precaution, I’ve shown you where I keep all of my personal financial info at the house, right?”
“Yeah. Top drawer of your file cabinet.”
He nodded. “Right. And you know to go see Craig Kinney if anything was ever to, you know, happen?”
“Yes.”
“Good. One more thing. Have I ever mentioned my, uh, old friend Ethan to you?”
“I don’t think so.” My eyes narrowed. “Joe, what’s up? Aren’t you being a little paranoid? We’re not traveling to a war zone. We’re going to be fine.”
But my father-in-law didn’t get the opportunity to expound because Olivia and Nicole had tracked him down. The girls grabbed him on both arms, trying to drag him back to the living room to keep watching their performance. My girls were a force to reckon with when they wanted something.
Joe looked at me, forced a smile. “It’s nothing, really. It can wait.”