The entirety of the house is in pure chaos. Layla is running around from room to room trying to find her favorite shoes. Apparently we can’t leave until she finds them. I honestly don’t remember if I was attached to a specific thing when I was a kid. The only thing I know I left with was map pencils and a sketch pad. I don’t know how my parent’s thought I was going to have a career that wasn’t creatively focused.
“Layla, did you find them?” I call from the living room.
She rushes to me with a frown on her face. “No. How am I supposed to walk without my shoes?”
I glance at her feet, but there’s no use arguing with her. She’s strong-willed, and I can’t wait to see the force of nature she’s going to be as she gets older. I think all of us will have our hands full.
“Why don’t you go ask your dad if he’s seen them? I’ll look under the furniture in here.”
“Okay.” She rushes off to her baby brothers room to find Jake.
Thank God I already have the bag ready to go with Asa’s stuff. It’s like moving when we go anywhere. I know my parents have stuff at their house, but I don’t want to dip into their supplies if I don’t have to.
My knees hit the rug with a soft thud, and I bend down until I can see under the sofa. Red glitter catches my eye, and I sigh in relief. We can avoid a meltdown with Layla. She got them after we took her to see a play put on by the local high school, and she’s refused to wear anything else since then.
Thrusting my arm as far as I can, my finger hooks on the back of the shoe. I pull it out before grabbing the other one. With that crisis averted, I make my way toward Asa’s room. Maybe we can get on the road sooner if I help.
“What in the he— world happened in here?” Various colors of pain are streaked across the wall. Modeling clay is smooshed into the carpet. I told Jake we should have ripped the carpet in here when we got the house. But nooo. He didn’t listen.
“A mini art explosion?” Jake glances back at me. “I was hoping to have it cleaned up before you noticed.”
“With only fifteen minutes before we have to go?”
He shrugs and smiles, “I managed to get Asa cleaned up.”
Asa is in fact clean and dressed. You can’t even tell he had a brush of paint on him. “I guess this means I finally get to redecorate this room.”
“Redecorate how?” His eyes meet mine and he he knows exactly what I plan to do the moment the smirk hits my face. “I’ll buy the chalkboard paint tomorrow.”
“And the carpet? It needs to go.” Since we bought the house, I’ve wanted Asa’s room to be a creative space for him. That’s hard to do when messes can’t be easily picked up.
“Well, I got most of the clay out of the floor. Layla started helping as soon as she saw what happened.”
Speaking of…”Layla, did you leave your art supplies where Asa could reach them?”
She glances up at me, tears welling up in her eyes. “I didn’t mean to. I was distracted with finding my shoes.”
That explains why she was eager to help Jake get the clay out of the carpet. Bending down next to her, I set the shoes beside me. “It’s okay, we just have to remember to put them higher.”
“Okay.” She looks back at the ground. The shoes much catch her eye because she jumps up. “You found them!”
“They were under the sofa,” I push them toward her. “Finish getting ready, and put your shoes on. We have to leave in a few.”
“Thank you, Charleigh,” she throws her arms around my neck for a quick hug before rushing out of the room.
“Well, at least one of us saved the day.” Jake chuckles as he puts the clay on the nightstand. He stands and helps me up. Leaning his forehead against mine, he whispers, “don’t worry about painting the walls. I’ll get up early and do it.”
“You act like it’s a burden for me to paint. I literally do it for a living.”
“On people’s skin. Not on walls.” He tips my chin up before moving his lips to mine. The kiss is a promise that he’ll make things better. Even if this isn’t a huge deal in the grand scheme of thing. “Let’s get Asa out of here before he can destroy anything else.”
Both of us turn toward our son, and rush at him. In that small amount of time, he’s managed to grab the clay from the table and mash it into the carpet again. “Asa, no.” The words leave my lips louder than I intend and he jumps throwing the clay somewhere behind him.
“Alright,” Jake says as he picks up Asa. “Looks like we’re getting rid of the carpet. Mommy is getting her way.”
“It’s not like I told him to do it again.”
“Or did you, Charleigh…”
“Shut up,” I roll my eyes and move toward the door. “We better get going before something else happens.”
He follows after me, and I am grateful he’s an attentive dad and husband. Even all these years later, he shows up for me. We’re lucky to have found each other.