Daphne woke, and immediately she knew it would be a good day. Niles woke a moment later. "I think you're more excited then he is," he said kissing her.
"I suppose so," Daphne replied. "But this is his first time going to the zoo with his class, and I get to go with him. Can you blame me for being happy?"
"No," Niles said. "Not when you look so beautiful. And David has no idea you're chaperoning?"
"I haven't said a word. I wanted to surprise him. I hope he won't mind his mum coming along."
"David loves you. He'll be thrilled. I have an early patient, so I have to get going. And you have a little boy to wake up." He kissed her once more. "I'm sure you'll both be anxious to tell me all about your day when I come home."
Although Daphne was looking forward to spending the day with her son, she hated to see Niles leave. But, before she could allow those feelings to overwhelm her, she remembered David. She went to his room, where he lay fast asleep in his toddler bed, with a large Mariners poster on the wall. David was a bit young to take a serious interest in sports, but he and his grandfather were best buddies. Martin was doing everything possible to instill a love for baseball into his young grandson.
Daphne bent down, gently touching her son's cheek. "Time to get up."
David's eyes flew open immediately. "Zoo day?"
"Yes, today's the day you're going to visit the zoo. You'll get to see all the animals from your picture books in person!"
In a matter of seconds, David was out of bed. For once, Daphne didn't have to tell him to hurry up and get dressed. As she made his breakfast, David chattered about what animals he might see, and whether he would be able to pet them. It was all Daphne could do to keep from telling him she would be right there with him. But she kept the secret.
As they got into the car, Daphne reflected on how grateful she was to have found a pre-school program like this one. Niles had insisted that, as an only child, David would need to interact with his peers as much as possible so that he would be ready for kindergarten next year. This meant Daphne had to give her son up for a few hours each day. At first, she hadn't liked the idea, but the staff were so nice that she eventually agreed it was a good idea. So, when the school called to ask for parents to volunteer for this field trip, Daphne jumped at the chance. Most of the other moms worked 9-to-5, but her schedule was free.
In what seemed like no time, Daphne had arrived at David's school. She barely had time to put the car into park before David was unbuckling his seatbelt. Usually, he made sure to kiss her goodbye and return her "love you" before getting out of the car. But not today.
Daphne couldn't help feeling her heart ache as David raced off to join his classmates. She drove away, planning to circle around the block before revealing her surprise. But she began to think of her nephew Freddy. Though she only saw the boy once a year or so, it was not hard to notice how quickly he'd grown up. Now the same thing was beginning to happen with David. Already he preferred his friends to her. Instead of returning to the school, Daphne kept driving.
It was several moments before she realized where she was heading. Toward Martin and Ronee's. With Niles busy at work, her father-in-law would be the best person for her to talk to. She pulled into their driveway, grateful that they were home. She knocked on the door.
Martin answered almost immediately. "Daph, what are you doing here? My therapy isn't till the afternoon."
"I know," Daphne sighed. "But I'm a bit upset, and I need to talk. Niles is at work. Can I come in?"
"Sure," Martin said, stepping back. "What's on your mind?"
'Well, I just dropped David off at school. Today's the day they're going to the zoo. I was planning to surprise David by showing up to chaperone. But now I'm not sure that's such a good idea."
"Why not?" Martin asked. "David's been talking about this trip all week!"
"I know," Daphne admitted. "I've never seen him so excited. But when we got there, he got out of the car without even saying goodbye, and he went to join his friends. He's pulling away from me." She looked at the ground.
Martin walked over to her. Despite his gruff-cop exterior, he reached out and took her hand. "He's just excited about this trip, that's all. He loves you."
"Yes, but what if he thinks I'll embarrass him in front of his friends? I know what it's like to have a mum show up when she's not wanted."
"You're worrying over nothing. Yes, David's going to grow up, and he'll probably want to be with his friends more. But not right now. He's a little boy, and he's crazy about you. Just like his father."
At that, Daphne looked up. Niles had always paid attention to her, even when she didn't know it. "I suppose you're right. And I did volunteer for this, so they're probably waiting for me. I got meself all worked up over nothing. Thanks, Martin. I owe you one," she said, hugging him.
"It was nothing," Martin said dismissively. "Unless...you'd like to call off therapy."
"Nice try, old man." Daphne kissed his cheek before heading back out the door. She drove as fast as she could to David's school. The children were still outside.
As Daphne walked up, she heard one of the teachers say to David, "We'll leave in just a minute. We're still waiting for another adult."
"I hope I'm not late," Daphne said. David's face lit up when he realized she was standing there.
"Mommy, what are you doing here?" David asked as he hugged her tightly.
"I'm going to come with you and your friends to the zoo….if that's all right."
Seeing the way David was beaming at his mother, the teacher looked at Daphne. "I don't think that will be a problem."
Daphne knew then that her prediction from earlier had been correct. It was going to be a good day.
The End