Henry

"School's out!" Zola shouts as we run through the halls, "I think Mama is picking us up today!"

"When do we leave for Disneyland?" Sofia asks grinning.

I spin in a circle while I run then I sing, "Tomorrow, tomorrow!"

"We're going to Disney, tomorrow!" the girls both sing.

I join in as we run through the doors of the school, "It's only a day away!"

"Hi, guys!" Mama waves to us from her truck and the three of us ran up to her, "How was school today?"

"It was awesome!" Zola exclaims, "We didn't have to do any work since it was the last day before spring break."

"We're so excited about Disney!" Sofia squeals.

I nod, "Our friend, Jasper, said that he and his family are going to Disneyland too!"

"Oh, wow!" Mama exclaims as we climb into the truck.

I wave to baby Ellis in her carseat then I sit down in the back next to Bailey, "Hey, dude."

"Hey, dude," he smiles handing me his handheld, "help me beat this level."

"Sure, thing," I nod.

Mama smiles helping us in, "Maybe we'll run into them there and you guys will be able to hang out?"

"That's the plan!" Zola smiles handing Mama a piece of paper with Jasper's mom's number on it before she closes the doors behind us.

She walks around the car then hops into the driver's seat, "Oh, you got his parent's number?"

"He gave it to me," she grins.

Sofia giggles, "I think she likes him!"

"Nuh uhn," Zola giggles as her cheeks turn a little red.

Mama smiles through the rearview mirror as she begins to pull out of the parking lot, "You like a boy at school, Zozo?"

"I don't know," she shrugs then she giggles, "he's really smart."

"Yeah, and he has long curly hair and he wears glasses," Sofia goes on and on about him. It makes my stomach hurt a little… I don't want Sofia to like Jasper.

Mama grins again then she asks, "So… does he know you like him?"

"I don't know," Zola shrugs.

Mama smiles, "We don't have to talk about it right now, Zo… Do you like anybody at school, Sof?"

"No, not at school," Sofia shakes her head.

That probably means that she doesn't like me… but I really like her. I know that she likes horses and that her favorite color is blue and that when she grows up she wants to be an astronaut. Her birthday is in May and I want to get her an Astronaut Barbie because she said that was her favorite barbie but she doesn't have one yet. I know everything there is to know about Sofia so I really don't know why she doesn't like me.

"What about you Henry?" Mama asks and I turn to look up at her, "Do you like anybody at school?"

"No," I say quietly then I turn back to the game.

The girls quietly chat and I help Bailey with his game until we make it to the house. When we get there, the girls hop out immediately but Bailey and I take our time. I'm trying to help him defeat this level. He wants to finish before we leave for Disney tomorrow so he can work on beating the rest of the game on the ride there.

We're spending the night at Mama's then we'll head out all together in the morning. Sofia's and my mom are working late but Mama got off early to pick us up. The twins and Everett are still at the hospital daycare so they're coming home with Mommy and Auntie Callie.

We play for a couple of hours outside until the streetlights come on then we head inside for dinner. We have baked chicken, green beans and macaroni and cheese. I'm a little surprised the food is so yummy. Zola makes it seem like Mama is a bad cook. Speaking of Mama, I'm surprised my mommy hasn't stopped by yet. She must be working on a tough case. Daddy would say Mommy stayed up all night with her patients because she was dedicated. Mommy would say Daddy would always be making house calls for the same reason… I say, his dedication is the reason he didn't come home that day. I watched him walk out the door one morning and the cops at my door that night… my mommy falling to the ground in tears and my daddy never walking through those doors again. I want so much to forget that.

Luckily, after dinner, it's time for bed. We all make our way upstairs to the bathroom to brush our teeth before I head off with Bailey to his room. Right before I close my eyes, Mama walks into the room talking on into her phone, "Hold on, here he is."

"Hello?" I speak into the phone as it's handed to me.

My mommy's voice speaks quietly from the other end, "Hi, sweetheart."

"Hi, Mommy," I smile through the phone, "Are you on the way to me?"

"No, I'm sorry. I'm still at the hospital," she pauses then says something far away from the phone, "I'm actually in a surgery right now."

"Go save lives," I whisper into the phone.

She sighs, "I will. I just wanted to hear your voice before you went to sleep."

"I'm okay, Mommy," I chuckled, "I'm going to bed. See you in the morning."

"I love you," she says softly into the phone.

I smile softly closing my eyes, "I love you too."

"Good night, Henry."

"Good night, Mommy," I smile handing the phone back to Mama and as she leaves the room I say, "Good night, Mama."

"Good night, Henry," she says softly as she closes the door behind her.

The next morning, we're all up in Zola's room helping her pack for the trip. Mama packed Bailey's things and Zola was supposed to pack up two days ago but she couldn't find her bathing suit so she unpacked everything looking for it. Now Mama is rushing her to finish before everyone gets here so we're helping her. Mommy, the twins, Everett, Auntie Callie, Auntie Zona, Auntie Melia and Uncle Owen are coming! And while we're in L.A. we're going to see Mason, Georgia, Caroline, Rachel, Auntie Lotte, Uncle Coop, Auntie Vi and Lucas! Mommy says they may even come to Disneyland with us! I can't wait to get there. I miss them all so much.

We ate breakfast before we packed so now that we're finished, it's time to get dressed! Sofia and Zola have matching outfits that they picked out at the store last weekend and Bailey and I are going to match too! We have red shirts and baseball caps to go with our khaki shorts and sneakers. Our moms picked them out for us but it's okay because they're Power Ranger shirts.

We finish getting dressed before the girls and when we walk into Zola's room, Sofia and Zola are arguing over whether or not to wear tights with their dresses. Sofia loves dresses but not tights but I know Zola loves dresses and tights. She has all sorts of tights with different designs and colors. They go back and forth for a little until they finally decide not to wear them. They came to the conclusion that it's going to be hot in L.A. so tights aren't really needed.

The doorbell rings. That means it's time to go. We raced down the stairs to the door but Mama beat us to it. When the door opens revealing the rest of my family I squeal, "Mommy!"

"Hi, love," she bends down to hug me as the twins run past waving, "I missed you."

"I missed you too!" I grin as I pull away, "But I had a lot of fun and we're all ready to go."

"We are too," Auntie Callie says walking up to us while holding my baby brother, "Hi, Henry."

"Hi, Auntie Callie," I smile hugging her then Auntie Zona as she walks up, "Hi, Auntie Zona."

"Now we're just waiting on―" Mama trails off as a trunk pulls into the driveway, "Well, there's Amelia and Owen."

"Time to go?" Zola asks as she walks up.

Mama nods, "Go grab your suitcase."

"Are we there yet?" Bailey asks as we walk through the terminal.

Mommy shakes her head, "Not quite."

"We still have to get on the plane, Bailey," Zola laughs, "Then we have to fly there. It's going to be three more hours, right Mommy?"

"Right," she nods.

"Are we there yet?" we hear Bailey ask from behind us and we all snicker.

Mama shakes her head, "Almost."

"Ugh," Bailey sighs.

I stare out the window in my seat until Sofia taps me on my shoulder, "Whatcha looking at?"

"Just the clouds," I shrug. I've been on a lot of planes and it was only fun the first time.

Sofia nods, "Who do you think lives down there?"

"People," I answer shortly.

Sofia giggles, "No, silly. That's not how you play the game."

"What do you mean?"

"You're supposed to make up a story," she shrugs, "My mama and I used to do it every time we fly."

"Oh okay," I nodded looking back out the window, "See that patch of green surrounded by the little river?"

"Yeah," she smiles as she leans over me to look out the window.

There's a funny feeling in my tummy but it's a good one I think so I smile anyway, "Well, a unicorn named Stella lives down there…"

"Oh, a unicorn!" she gasps, "They're my favorite."

"I know," I smile, "Anyway, Stella lives near the river so she can hang out with her friend, Mia the Mermaid."

"You must know Mermaids are my favorites too," she gushes.

I even know her favorite cereal is Whole Grain O's and her favorite thing to do in the morning is to pick out her outfit. I smiled to myself, "I do. I also know that Mia and Stella have the time of their lives. Everyday's an adventure for them. They ride the river in the mornings then come midday, after lunch, of course, they're flying above the trees. They eat dinner by the campfire and at night they sleep under the stars."

"That's amazing," she said wrapping her arm around mine then resting her head on my shoulder, "I wish we could live like that."

"Me too," I smile closing my eyes. I want this moment to last forever.

"Guys, wake up," I heard a voice call out. I slowly opened my eyes and I notice Sofia is asleep on my shoulder. I smiled to myself as everyone else starts waking up.

Bailey stretches up, "Are we there yet?"

"Yes, actually. We are," Mama smiles over to us.

Zola exclaims, "Yes!"

"Let's look out the windows!" Bailey suggests.

We all turn to look but all there is are planes and concrete… Sofia sighs, "I thought this was supposed to be magical."

"Okay, so we're not totally there yet," Mama explains.

Zola pouts, "But you said only three more hours."

"Just one more after this then I promise we will be there," Mommy answers this time.

Zola sighs, "Fine."

"Are we there yet?" Bailey asks not even looking up from his tablet.

Zola squeals, "Look out the window!"

"It really is magical," Sofia squeals right along with her.

I look up to see Disneyland written in big white letters on a huge rollercoaster. I tap Bailey on his shoulder to get him from looking at his game and for him to get a chance to see everything. He looks up in awe. There's this huge ferris wheel peeking out over the top of a hotel. I think that's our hotel. It's lit up in red lights reading Paradise Pier Hotel. We pull in and get parked. Bailey says we look like very important people since we have three cars. Mommy, the twins and Everett in one, Auntie Callie, Auntie Zona, Auntie Melia and Uncle Owen in another then the rest of us are riding with Mama. I'm so glad we're finally here. Bailey can stop asking are we there yet now.

"Here's our suite," Mama says opening up the door, "There should be like 5 bedrooms and the couch is a pull out."

"Wow," I say walking over to the huge glass wall. Looking out, I can see almost the whole park! We even have an awesome view of the pool!

Sofia twirls, "This is amazing!"

"When can we go to the park?" Bailey asks.

Mommy answers, "Let me make a couple of calls first then we can either head down to the pool or head out to the park."

"Pool!" we all scream at once.

We can go to the park later while it's not so hot and there will be fireworks but the man at the desk downstairs said we could see them from our room. I'm sure it'll be even cooler from the actual park. In the morning, we're all eating breakfast in the castle with the princesses and princes. The girls are super excited about that. They even packed ball gowns and tiaras. I brought my special suit and I think Bailey has one too.

Zola tugs on my shoulder, "Come on! Let's go get on our bathing suits!

After playing all morning at the pool, we ate, bathed and got dressed to go out to the park. We rode the huge ferris wheel but only Zola, Sofia and I could ride the rollercoaster because Bailey wasn't tall enough. There were a lot of other rides that we all rode together, even Parker and Peggy. Now, the parks are about to close and the parade is about to start. There's so many people lined up here on the street. I'm glad we were able to get here in enough time to have good seats on the very edge of the sidewalk.

Once the parade starts, Sofia scoots closer to me then whispers, "This is my favorite part."

I know… I wish I could tell her how she makes me feel but I don't even know how she makes me feel. I just smile instead, "Mine too."

"Mmhmm," she sighs leaning closer into me.

When the fireworks start unexpectedly she sort of jumps into my arms then pulls back blushing as she giggled, "Sorry, it spooked me."

"It's okay," I smile and she takes my hand in hers.

My tummy starts to tingle again when she turns to me and smiles, "You're my knight-in-shining armor."

I just blush. I don't know what to say. She turns back around to watch the parade but I can only watch her… the way she brushes her hair out of her face, the way she smiles, the way she jumps every time a firework goes off but still loves them… then the fact that she never let go of my hand. She's my best friend. She helped me not be so sad about my dad. I want to say something. I'm going to say something.

As I'm about to open my mouth, Sofia turns around to me, "Henry?"

"Yeah?" I clear my throat.

She smiles then leans in slowly closing her eyes. I close my eyes too, then I feel a small brush against my lips. I think I just had my first kiss. I opened my eyes slowly to see Sofia smiling at me. I blush.

"Henry, I like you… Like, I like like you," she says.

I smile hard, "Really? Cause I like like you too… I just thought you didn't like like anyone at school."

"At school..." she emphasizes then smiles, "I see you at home and at school."

"Oh," I laugh.

She looks up to me, "Do you wanna be my boyfriend?"

"Sure," I nod.

She smiles, "Great."

"What do we do now?" I ask.

She shrugs, "I don't know."

"Well, um, I like sitting here holding your hand," I explain, "My tummy feels a little weird but I like it."

"Then we can continue doing this," she smiles but jumps as soon as another firework goes off.

"... and he's really funny too," Zola says as I round the corner into the girls' room. They got the last bedroom and Bailey and I sleep on the pull out in the living room.

Mommy is in here braiding Zola's hair. She responds, "He sounds like a catch. Does he know that you like him?"

"Yeah, he likes me too," she smiles while braiding her doll's hair, "He gave me his mommy's cell phone number so we can meet up in the park."

"What does he like about you?"

"He says that I'm cool and funny but he really likes me because I'm the smartest girl in school," she beams.

Mommy smiles, "I know what that's like. I was the smartest girl in school too. All the little boys and girls wanted to be my friend."

"I have lots of friends," she corrects, "Sofia and I do."

"I can imagine," she finishes, "All done."

"Yay, now I'll be the most beautiful girl in the castle tomorrow," she beams twirling as she looks at herself in the mirror, "Well, Sofia and I will be."

"Mommy?" I ask finally butting in.

She looks up to me and smiles, "Hey, Henry. You all ready for bed?"

"Yeah," I nod as she gets up from the bed. I really came to see Sofia but I think she may be in the room with her moms.

Mommy reaches for my hand and I gladly take it. On our walk back towards the living room, I ask, "So, if you're a boyfriend, what do you have to do?"

"Well, boyfriends are super nice and supportive," she starts, "They are almost always gentlemen and they're patient with their girlfriends. A boyfriend has to be compassionate, understanding and definitely not selfish."

"Do you think I'm all those things?" I ask.

She smiles down to me, "And more… You'd make an amazing boyfriend one day."

"Good," I smile nodding to myself.

Good.

If you'd guys like to see more of their fun times at Disneyland and guest appearances from our favorite Private Practice crew, drop a review or PM me. I would LOVE to write more about their vacation in California. I hope you're enjoying the read.

❥ Kae