“You know I’ve been eating your eggs for twenty years?” Jason muses as he runs a hand along the back of my neck. “Twenty years of Erika’s eggs.”
“Aren’t you sick of them?” I say it as a joke, but there’s a tiny part of me that’s serious. After all, Jason spent the last year getting in great shape. He’s gotten a lot hotter. All he needs is a shiny new car and contacts to replace his wire rimmed glasses, and he’ll be in full on middle-age crisis mode.
“Hell no.” He pulls me to him and presses his lips against mine, which totally interrupts the egg cooking process, but I don’t mind. He hasn’t shaved yet and his chin tickles mine. “I hope I get to eat your eggs for another twenty years.”
“Gag!” Hannah coming down the stairs interrupts what had been a very nice little moment between me and Jason. She’s dressed in blue jeans and an oversized T-shirt with her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. She’s probably going for stylishly messy, but it’s just messy. “You two need to get a room.”
“Um, this is our house.” Jason raises his eyebrows at her. “If you want to start paying rent, then you can tell me when I’m allowed to kiss my sexy wife.”
Hannah just rolls her eyes.
“All right, Hannah,” I say. “You’ve got to get a move on. The school bus is going to be at the corner in…” I look down at my watch. One minute ago. “Damn it.”
“Oh no. I guess you have to drive us.”
“Gosh, funny how that worked out…”
Hannah hates the school bus with a passion. From the moment she wakes up every weekday, she’s plotting a way for me to drive her to school. We’ve already agreed that when Liam gets his license, he can drive the two of them to school every morning. Of course, he’ll be in college in less than two years. And the thought of Hannah being behind the wheel is nothing short of terrifying.
I finish cooking Jason’s eggs and reluctantly pile Hannah and Liam into my green Toyota 4Runner. I never thought I’d be the sort of mom who drove an SUV, especially one so freaking big. I held onto my little Honda Civic even after we had Liam. But then Jason pointed out how hard it was going to be to strap two car seats into the backseat of the Civic, and I knew it was time to upgrade. So we got the SUV. I know this sounds melodramatic, but the first time I saw it parked in my garage, I almost burst into tears. But now I’m used to it. It makes me feel safe, which is important when you’ve got your kids in the car. That’s why when Jason took Liam out for a driving lesson last week, he used the 4Runner.
Hannah has called shotgun, which is unfortunate, because it means that she’s going to be controlling the music in the car. She’s very much partial to music from young men who don’t look like they’re capable of growing facial hair yet.
“Can we please listen to something different?” Liam complains about two minutes into the drive. I have to agree. “Anything else?”
“You know,” Hannah says, “Justin Bieber is an incredibly talented singer.”
“Oh, is he?”
“Yes, he is!” She adjusts her messy ponytail. “He has a phenomenal vocal range.”
Liam smirks. “Sure. That’s what you like about him. His vocal range.”
“So I think he’s cute. So what? It’s not like you’re interested in Olivia for her intelligence.”
Olivia? Who is Olivia? I glance in the rearview mirror just in time to see Liam’s entire face turn red. He has become incredibly skilled at masking his reactions to things, but he couldn’t hide it this time. But when I look away for a moment and check the mirror again, he’s regained his composure.
The car skids to a halt at a red light. “Who is Olivia?” I say as casually as I can manage.
Liam looks out the window. “Nobody. Just a girl.”
But thank God Hannah is in the car with us. “Just a girl?” She snorts. “Liam is totally in love with her.”
He laughs. “No, I’m not.”
“Oh my God, you so are. Don’t even deny it.” Hannah gives me a look, like I’m her new confidante. “You should see the way he looks at her. He’s totally into her.”
“Whatever.”
I glance in the rearview mirror one more time to look at my son. Liam is the most composed sixteen-year-old kid I’ve ever known. That’s why he’s so good at debate, in addition to his natural intelligence and his diligent preparation. He never loses his cool. He never lets anyone know what he’s thinking. But I’ve known him long enough that I can usually tell. Usually.