I checked the time on the small clock sitting on my dresser. How was I always late? No matter how early I got up, I was always in a rush. I put on my earrings while walking into the kitchen. “Jace!” I said. “Jace, are you up?”
“I’m right here, Mom.”
I yelped and jumped back when I saw him standing not six inches in front of me. “Oh! You scared me! I didn’t see you.”
He dumped cereal in a bowl. “I’m not invisible.”
I laughed and ruffled his dark hair. “No, I guess you aren’t.”
I grabbed the milk from the fridge and poured it for him.
“Mom, I can do it.”
“Yes, you can, but I just want to help.”
Truthfully, I wanted to avoid cleaning up spilled milk. He was eight and just a little small for his age. I had no doubt he was going to end up being just as big as his father one day. Unfortunately, he hadn’t quite hit that growth spurt yet.
“Can I go to work with you?” he asked. He stood at the counter and took a bite of cereal. Milk dribbled down his chin.
“Why would you want to go to my boring work?” I asked and popped a K-pod in the machine.
“Because I don’t like school.”
“You have to go to school so you can get smart and get a job when you are a grownup.”
That didn’t make him happy. He carried his bowl to the table and flopped down. “I don’t want to get a job.”
I smiled and shook my head. “Nobody does, but it’s just what you do.”
“Why?”
I didn’t think the standard excuse of because I said so was going to work. “Because you need to pay a mortgage and buy food. You need electricity and water and maybe even a car.”
“I’m just going to live with you,” he said matter-of-factly.
I wasn’t going to burst his bubble that I wouldn’t be around forever. “All right, finish eating. Joss is going to be here any minute.”
There was a knock followed by a series of little knocks. I went to the door and opened it for Joss and her daughter, Caitlyn. Caitlyn and Jace were the same age but not in the same class unfortunately. I would have loved for him to have a friend in class.
“Hi, guys,” I said.
“I’m hungry, Mom,” Caitlyn said.
“Cereal is on the counter,” I said as she walked by, heading straight for the kitchen.
“I’m sorry,” Joss said with a shake of her head. “She ate a pop tart. She just likes your cereal better. I will buy you a box.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said as we walked into my kitchen that was flooded with morning sunlight. “Do you want coffee?”
“I’m good.”
I nodded. “Thanks for taking them again today. I swear I am going to start picking up the slack. I just feel like I’m running at Mach speed all the time.”
“It isn’t like I have anything to do,” she answered.
“You have a lot to do. Working from home is no joke.”
“But my schedule is flexible,” she said with a laugh. “Are you guys getting busy?”
I nodded. “I always encourage my clients to get a jumpstart on their taxes. I would prefer they start in May or the minute after their taxes are filed. Do you think they would ever listen?”
“No one wants to get a jumpstart on taxes,” she groaned. “They suck.”
“But they don’t go away if you ignore them.”
“Spoken like a true CPA,” she joked.
I wasn’t really a CPA. I was, but I rarely did anyone’s taxes. I was a tax director, which meant I did everything when it came to planning taxes and how to best manage the tax burden of a company. I had employees that did the paperwork.
“Jace, don’t forget to give your teacher the envelope in your backpack,” I told him. “You have to turn in that slip.”
“I know, Mom.”
Joss smiled at the kids. They were talking and shoveling cereal into their mouths. “Don’t you wonder when they turned into full-grown kids with personalities and attitudes?”
I slowly shook my head. “When they are keeping you up all night, all you can think about is the day you can put them to bed and go to sleep for eight hours. I don’t think any new parent realizes that every step forward on the road to independence is a step away from you. I miss my baby boy.”
“Me too. Do you ever think about having more?”
I looked at her with wide eyes. “I’ve heard there is a trick to