The Divided

Chapter Nineteen

We could see from the daycare parking lot that the younger kids were out playing on the playground. The two to four year olds were running around and screaming—as most little kids tend to do. As Iris and I stepped out of her car, I spotted Hadley sitting in the dirt with a little girl, toward the fence around the play area. He had his superhero action figure out and she was holding a Barbie doll. He said something that made the little girl laugh.

"Do you see him anywhere?" Iris asked me, scanning the large playground.

"He's over there flirting up a storm," I said, making her laugh.

The adult watching over all the kids spotted Iris and joined us as we walked into the playground. She was tall and had long brown hair. "I'm Lori, the owner of the daycare," she introduced herself, shaking my hand.

"I'm Mel—a family friend."

"How was he?" Iris asked her.

She clasped her hands in front of her. "He was great—as usual. He was interactive with the other kids and participated in every activity we had for them," Lori said, sounding quite fond of Hadley.

"Good."

"Hadley! Your mother is here!" Lori called. After the four-year-old spotted us, he waved goodbye to the girl and joined us.

"Did you have fun?" his mother asked him.

"Yeah, I want to come back tomorrow!" he shouted excitedly. I couldn't help but smile at him.

"We can make that happen," Iris said, mirroring my smile.

After saying our farewells to Lori, we walked Hadley back to the car, and I climbed back into the passenger's seat while Iris helped Hadley buckle into his car seat. Once Iris was done, she closed the door and started walking around the car to her door. "Why aren't you with Dean?" Hadley asked while we were alone.

I wondered why he just assumed that I would always be around Dean. "Dean is helping your dad with some work," I replied. "Your mom invited me to join her."

He nodded while Iris opened the driver's door and climbed in her seat. "What's for dinner?" he asked.

"We are picking up a pizza on the way home."

"Yay!" he cheered. "Can we have a game night?"

Iris smiled as she pulled out of the parking lot. "That sounds like a great idea," she said glancing at him, through her rearview mirror. "Mel, would you like to join us?"

I grinned. "I'd love to, but I have to be home by eleven."

Iris nodded. "That's fine. We will have gone through plenty of games by then."

After we picked up the pizzas, Hadley eagerly volunteered to hold them on the way home—hoping to get an early taste, no doubt. I have to admit—they did smell amazing.

Once we reached their home, the boys were already there and laughing at something Grandpa Arthur had said. We were all smiles as we socialized and ate every bit of the two boxes of pizza. After a while, Reagan brought out the board games and I got to see just how competitive all of them were. It was a very enjoyable experience—one that I had never experienced in a family atmosphere. I loved every second of it.

Hours later, once I'd lost game after game, I noticed it had gotten dark outside and glanced at the large clock on the back wall to check how much time I had before I needed to leave. I still had about an hour before my time there was done.

We played one more round of Trouble before Hadley brought out his iPod and starting playing the radio. I didn't recognize the song, but it was upbeat and the four-year-old started dancing. Soon, Dean joined him. Smiling from ear to ear, I laughed as I watched Dean grab his little brother's hands and spin him around. It was just a minute later, when Reagan and Iris joined in, with one arm around each other, and the other clasped in each other's other hand. I just laughed and clapped at their moves. At one point, Dean reached down and pulled me to my feet by my hands and spun me around. We danced together while Reagan and Iris danced, along with Arthur and Hadley. It was one of the best nights of my life.