229.

Caroline's beige living room carpet was barely visible through all of the paper and ribbon she and Noah were using to wrap their Christmas gifts to the rest of the family. Noah was not yet superbly skilled in the craft and used far too much tape, but once the boxes were placed under the tree, there was no discernable difference between his work and Caroline's. Between finishing one present and tackling another, he helped himself to festive, frosted sugar cookies arranged on a melamine snowman platter.

"Gramma," he said with his mouth full, "This is da best day ever."

"The best?" Caroline asked without looking up.

"Yep!"

Students at Noah's school had the day off for parent-teacher conferences, and he specifically requested to be placed in Caroline's care for part of the day. The plan worked out perfectly. While the twins were at preschool, Ed and Olivia went to Noah's school and later would travel to Riverdale where they'd stay for the rest of the afternoon and through dinner.

"Well I am flattered, dear boy," Caroline said. She smiled at him and placed the last piece of tape on the cylinder. "Let's see…we're almost done here. Two more each. Are you going to be hungry for lunch or did you fill up on cookies?"

"Gramma! I only had-" Noah grimaced as he counted the blank spaces on the tray, "-uh…I had a lot," he reported, giggling.

"No matter," she said, "What happens at Grandma's stays and Grandma's. You know what that means, right?"

"Uh-huh. It means we don't have to tell everything."

"Right. We keep some things between us."

"Dat's what Sare Bear says."

"Because I taught her."

Noah smiled as he mentally connected the dots. "Yeah," he said, "Makes sense."

Caroline chuckled. "What do you and Sare Bear know that everyone else doesn't?"

"Gramma," Noah replied, "You're trying to make me tell!"

"Can't get anything past you, dear boy."

"Nope!" Noah started wrapping another gift-accessories for a larger art table Ed and Olivia bought for the twins. The machine projected images onto paper and the kids could trace the outlines and fill in their own colors. "Well, I can tell ya one thing."

"No, no," Caroline said, "You keep your secrets. Unless…someone could get hurt?"

"Oh, no," Noah replied, "Dis is a funny secret."

"Well…maybe you should tell Gramma then."

"Ok." Noah inched closer to her and lowered his voice. "The time before Sare Bear picked me up and Mia came and we had mani-pedis-"

"-oh, I didn't know about that."

"-dat's not the secret," Noah said. "Da time before, it was really rainy so we dropped off my backpack and changed clothes and then we took a taxi to a place with skee ball and pinball and video games!"

"Sounds fun!"

"S'was, but," Noah grinned, "We were only there for a little bit when a worker came and said we had to get out!"

"Why?"

"Cause no kids allowed!"

Caroline laughed.

"But there was no one in there so Sare Bear n'gotiated for me to stay till there were ten people at da bar. But there never were ten! So we stayed and then got hot dogs at Crif."

"Ah, so you were in the East Village," Caroline said.

"You know Crif Dogs?"

"I know the whole East Village. Remember? Grandma lived in Manhattan for a long time before she moved here."

"Did you move here because you didn't like Manhattan anymore?"

"No," Caroline said, "We moved here for a little more space. A little more quiet."

"Yeah…s'loud in Manhattan, but in some spots it's quiet."

"Was it quiet where you went with Sare Bear?"

"Um, yeah, outside it kinda was. But inside we kept winning in skee ball so it was bloopity bloop all da time!"

"The next time I'm in Manhattan you'll have to take me to play skee ball with you."

"I will," Noah said, "Dere's a place by where we live and they let kids in all da time."

"What about Grandmas?"

Noah giggled again and replied, "I'm pretty sure Grammas are always allowed!"

…

Olivia nudged Ed and gave him a pointed look. "Relax," she mouthed to him as they turned from one school corridor down another. Though Ed professed having the utmost respect for teachers and anyone working at a school, conferences made him uncomfortable. The meetings always felt too formal, too practiced, and totally at odds with the welcoming classroom decor and elementary school in general. Ed also admitted he and Olivia rarely had anything to worry about on these occasions, especially since teachers were now required to share what seemed like every moment in the classroom with parents. It was completely different compared to how school worked when Sarah and Brooke were younger.

Ed collected himself and shot her a sugary sweet smirk as they walked into the classroom and muttered something about how they better have regular sized chairs. Olivia rolled her eyes.

The group of teachers greeted Ed and Olivia with smiles and cheerful hellos. The chairs, thankfully, were adult-sized. Noah's primary teacher began by pouring on the accolades. Noah was smart, curious, engaging, expressive…she was getting carried away at one point when the science teacher jumped in. "He's really a special kid," he said, "The kid you get only once every few years. Thank you for sending him to us."

Olivia waited for Ed to say something. She couldn't get a good look at him to assess his reaction, but she sensed he was so overcome with emotion the accolades rendered him speechless. "Thank you," she said softly, "We…gosh…I was about to say we try hard, but, I'm not so sure we try any harder than any other parents."

"Has he always been so wise beyond his years? So…precocious?" One of the teachers asked. She pronounced the final word slowly as if she weren't totally sure she chose the correct term.

"No," Olivia replied, "In fact, his speech was delayed. I was worried. Around two, almost three though, he blossomed." Olivia moved so her arm grazed Ed's. "It happened almost overnight."

The lone male teacher at the table grinned and said, "There's no shortage of words now!"

Everyone laughed knowingly.

"I hope he doesn't drive ya crazy," Ed finally said, "We kinda let him…let it rip." It was true. Ed couldn't remember a time when he or Olivia or anyone else asked Noah to be quiet.

"He takes turns," A third teacher said. "He's incredibly respectful and makes sure everyone gets heard. We did have to remind him a few times at the beginning of the year to let others speak for themselves-he would say so-and-so wants this or that-but he's gotten out of that habit."

Olivia laughed softly. "He does that with his brother and sister. And then his brother and sister repeat what he says…so…you can imagine our house."

"It sounds like a lot of fun," the guy said.

"It is," Olivia replied.

The conference lasted another twenty minutes with each teacher highlighting Noah's accomplishments and previewing what the second semester had to offer. They predicted some challenges, especially as the curriculum shifted toward third grade preparation, but no one at the table believed the rigor was cause for concern. If anything, they suspected Noah would enjoy a little bit of productive struggle.

On the way out, Olivia patted Ed on the back. "See?" She said, "That wasn't so terrible."

"No, it wasn't," Ed replied a little too quickly.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." Ed shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and looked around, "Want to grab a drink before we get the twins?"

Olivia glanced at her watch. It was not yet eleven a.m., but they had time before they had to pick up the twins and Ed seemed suddenly off. "Sure, why not," she replied, "It'll be like old times." She took Ed's arm. "Where to, Captain?"

Ed nodded toward the east. "Let's go over there," he said, "You mind a little walk? It's closer to Alphabet City."

"Not at all if it's with you," Olivia replied, trying and succeeding to be extra flirty, "As long as we get Maggs and Wyatt on time."

"No problem. We'll Uber." Ed peered curiously at his wife who was chuckling as they walked down the street. "What?"

"There are some things you say that make me laugh."

"Ubering makes you laugh?"

"You saying 'we'll Uber' does."

Ed shrugged and leaned into her. "You know I love making you laugh."

"I know," Olivia replied, "So, why were you so weird in there?"

After a conciliatory shrug, Ed replied, "It got really heavy for a minute. Thinkin' about Noah…how worried you were about him, uh, developmentally, and where we were back then…everything turned out better than we could've imagined."

"Yes it did," Olivia hugged his arm and put her head on his shoulder, "And I know the feeling…I don't know why I didn't get it today."

"Probably because you were worried about me being nice to the teachers."

Olivia chuckled. "Yes," she said, "Probably."

…

Wyatt smiled at his phone and jumped to his feet. "Hey," he called to Noah and Maggie who were throwing around a baseball in the yard, "Mom said we could order lunch on Uber. They're still at Costco and they know we're hungry!"

Maggie groaned, "They always spend forever at Costco!"

"Yeah," Wyatt murmured, "I used to like it."

Noah smiled and threw the ball back to his sister. He still loved going to Costco, but he and the twins had slept in that morning and were lazy about joining them. Plus, Costco wasn't the only errand of the morning, so he offered to stay home and supervise his tween siblings. "I'll go next time. They were getting boring stuff this time."

"SUPER BORING!" Maggie said of the list which included toilet paper, toiletries, and pantry staples like olive oil. "No snacks, no Maggie."

Wyatt grinned as he tapped in the Uber Eats app. "What do we want?"

"Tacos!" Maggie said.

Noah nodded. Tacos were fine with him.

Wyatt didn't need to verbally chime in. Tacos were always okay in the Tucker house at any day and time. He read the menu aloud and placed the order. "It'll be here in thirty minutes," he announced and picked up his baseball glove. "Wanna play home run derby later on the beach?"

"Yup," Noah said.

"Then sunset cruise."

"Yup," Noah said again. Maggie's throw hit his glove with a smack and he pretended it hurt his hand.

"I hope the boat starts up!" Maggie said. She was undoubtedly thinking of last year when they arrived at the marina only to find out the pontoon hadn't yet been serviced and its battery was dead. This time, Ed made sure to get the dates straight with the staff.

"It will," Noah said with confidence, for he had overheard his Dad on the phone with the marina several times over the past few weeks.

The kids became absorbed in their game of catch and conversation and they lost track of time. Their hunger subsided. And the delivery person had to round the house to the back in order to drop off the food after receiving no response from the front door. The three Tuckers turned around at the sound of gravel crunching and all three reacted with giggles and gasps.

"Wyatt, what did you order?" Maggie asked before jogging over to the woman who was holding two large bags at her sides. She took one of them and lifted it, testing it's weight. "Holy…."

Levelheaded Noah asked if she had the correct house.

She did.

"I, uh…" Wyatt stammered. He estimated there had to be twenty tacos in each bag. "I added some extra for mom and dad just in case, and…maybe…I guess the drop down thing…"

Maggie managed one Sarah-esque "omigod" before erupting into laughter.

Noah laughed and took the other bag. He thanked the lady and she trudged back to her car. "Well…let's eat," he said.

"I'm gonna be in trouble," Wyatt moaned.

"It was an accident!" Maggie insisted. "You're not gonna get in trouble for an accident!"

"A very…" Noah paused to check the receipt, "Pretty expensive accident. But it's okay. No one was hurt."

Wyatt screwed up his face. Of course no one was hurt. That didn't change the charge on his parents' credit card.

Noah cupped the back of his brother's head and pushed him toward the porch. "C'mon. It's funny. It'll be okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Noah replied and nudged him again, "We'll just make sure to check your work from now on."

Wyatt rolled his eyes and smiled, but he was annoyed with himself. Even at his young age, he recognized he wasn't inclined to make the same silly mistakes most kids made. But, his sister and brother were unwrapping the mother lode of tacos, and he wasn't going to make this blunder more miserable by not partaking.

"Did they at least get the kind of tacos right?" He joked.

"Sure did," Maggie said with her mouth full. She stretched her legs out and took the entire loveseat for herself. "Tacos at the beach," she said, "What a wonderful life."

…..

When the Tuckers reunited at home that evening, Noah didn't waste time asking his parents about the conference. "So," he said, climbing on a stool at the island, "What did my teachers tell you?" He tapped his fingertips on the countertop and waited patiently for a reply.

Ed smirked. "Whaddya think they told us, bud?"

Olivia grinned. In a gentle, non-threatening way, Ed was IAB-ing their eight-year-old and the expression on Noah's face suggested he was on to the strategy.

"Oh, well, prolly that I'm good in class and I do all my work and we have another field trip comin' up."

"Close," Ed replied. "But, no, they didn't say anything about a field trip."

"It's to the Met," Noah said. He pronounced Met as if it were the most important, prestigious location in the world.

Olivia rounded the island and gave Noah a hug and a kiss. "Your teachers love you and so do we," she said, "They said you were a great student and a wonderful boy, but…" she paused for effect, "...they also said the work is going to get harder in the spring."

Unaffected by the news, Noah continued on the subject of the trip. "At the Met we're gonna be able to use their studio and our art might be in da regular museum! We're gonna do sculptures."

"Sculptures, huh?" Ed winked at Olivia.

"Yeah, dat's kinda like pottery but bigger."

"Oh."

"And has more details."

"Got it."

"You want me to make a sculpture of you, Daddy?"

"Nah," Ed replied, "Make one of Mommy. She's prettier."

Noah turned and smiled at Olivia. "Yeah," he said, "You're right."

…

Ed put his feet on his coffee table and stretched his arms across the back of the sofa. It was an invitation for Olivia to come and sit by his side, but she continued pacing across his living room. "You know," he said, "I've been to that restaurant, Farhidi's, once or twice. Good food. No booze. But good food."

"Hmph."

Ed assumed he didn't have her full attention, but she quickly added that she thought she had seen a wine list. "Maybe they got a license recently," he replied. "What's, uh, what's on your mind?"

Olivia shrugged. Earlier, when Ed suggested they get together she accepted the invite with the stipulation they do something other than sit in a bar but now she wished they were in one of their regular haunts so all Ed's attention wasn't zeroed in on her. But, then again, she appreciated the attention, she craved it now, and there he was, in front of her, waiting patiently for whatever it was she wanted to say.

"I guess…" she ran both hands through her hair then looped her thumbs through the belt loops on her work pants. "I always get like this after…I don't know, I think the stress, the question marks around the adoption, and now it's all over, that weight is gone, or it should be gone, but it's not."

"If it's the weight of being a parent, it might never fully go away."

Honesty never was a problem with Ed Tucker, that was for certain, but she almost wanted him, just this once, to lie, to fake it for her. Then again, he was right.

"Or," he continued, "Are you scar-worried-the bottom's gonna fall out?"

Olivia stared at him until tears welled in her eyes. "Scared," she finally croaked. "And I can't shake it. I can most of the time, but…"

She trailed off and Ed darted over to her. Wrapping her in a tight embrace, he let her cry on his shoulder. Ed had seen and heard Olivia cry before, but this was different. There were tears, but she was mostly taking deep, steadying breaths. She needed, for once, to catch her breath, so he held her until it happened.

"Ugh," she sighed and dabbed her face with a tissue Ed had given her. "I think…I feel better." She smiled at him though a few residual tears still lingered in her eyes. "Here I am feeling sorry for myself, worrying, being scared, and my son is with the babysitter."

Ed pursed his lips, tilted his head back, and held her at the waist. "I'll take ya home," he said softly.

"Come with me," she said in a firm, confident voice, "Unless you have other dinner plans?"

"I'm free."

"Alright then," she replied, "I'll order on the way."

…

On the way to school, Ed and Noah stopped at a pharmacy to get medicine for the twins who were both showing early signs of a cold. Ed made the purchase and got forty dollars back. He was low on cash and always liked to have some in his wallet even though most places, even some street carts, were going digital. They continued on-Ed striding and Noah walking alongside in his half-skip gait.

"Daddy?" He said, "Where do you get all your money? Jus' from da machine? How does it get on da card?"

"Well, bud, the money's actually in the bank account and the card kinda represents the money we have in the bank. And when we need actual dollars, we can get 'em."

Noah nodded, satisfied at the explanation, but quickly screwed up his face. "How's da money get in da bank? You and Mommy don't work!"

Ed chuckled. "Mommy and I worked before, remember? At police?"

"Oh yeah…" Noah murmured. "And now you're tired."

"Re-tired."

"Re-tired," Noah repeated. "So they jus' give ya money now?"

"Yup. When we worked we always had some put away to save and that's what we get now."

"Ohhhh." Noah watched a pigeon tearing at a discarded slice of pizza until he could no longer turn his neck far enough. "And Mommy gets money from her book, right?"

"That's right." Ed peered down at his son. "Don't worry about us having money, bud. We have plenty."

Noah giggled and replied, "I know, Daddy! I'm jus' tryin' to figure out how to get money so I can have a card! A real card!" He had a few old cards from closed bank accounts in his wallet, but they didn't bear his name and, of course, had no value.

"You'll get a card soon enough pal. And you have a lot of money. Cash money. That might be better than a card."

"Gramma says to keep some under my mattress."

"I'll bet she did."

"Is that a good idea, Daddy?"

"Well, bud, the best idea is to diversify. So, if you want to keep money under your mattress like Grandma says, that's fine. But have a little in your wallet and have the most in the bank."

Noah smiled and nodded. "Okay Daddy."

Ed smirked and nudged him. "You think we oughta look under Grandma's mattresses the next time we're over there? We might find a fortune."

"Yes!" Noah exclaimed.

"What'll we buy?"

"Daddy!" Noah said in a scolding voice. "Dat's Gramma's money!"

"If she gave the fortune all to you, what would you buy?"

Noah considered this for at least a half a block. "Well," he said, "Prolly I'd wanna buy da subway."

"The subway?"

"Yeah!" Noah said brightly, "Then it'll be fixed and nice and clean and I could even drive da trains!"

Ed smiled and jostled his head. "Good plan bud," he said, "One day I think you could make it happen."

"Yeah," Noah replied, "Me too."

….

#Tuckson