Just In Time (The Santa Clauses)

Highlight of My Day

"Carol?" Scott leaned back to look out of the kitchen. I took in the distinct smell of garlic and onions lingering in the air as I slipped off my shoes by the front door. As I got closer, I realized he had made spaghetti sauce as I wrapped my arms around his waist.

"Something smells good." Letting my chin rest on his shoulder, a peaceful silence fell between us. The house was entirely too quiet in the first place, which probably meant the kids were hanging out with friends.

"Hi." Setting the wooden spoon down on the counter, he greeted me with a long kiss, his hands never leaving my waist. My days felt consumed trying to figure out how to best help Mira and Seth, so being home made me grateful for my life as a wife and mother. "How was your day?"

"I had a student sit in my office while she did her homework. I have to say, the smile on her face as she got it really was the highlight of my day."

"That's great, honey."

"How was your day?"

"I took the kids to school. Tried to find some work around the house, but it seems like we did hit the jackpot in that department. When Betty said they took care of the house, they took care of everything in the house."

"I'm sure we still have many years where things could break apart."

"Don't we know that's the truth? When it was just me and Charlie, I felt like we were breaking everything, including that year I burned Christmas dinner."

"Do you remember the year I told you I was pregnant with Cal?" My smile grew wider as I recalled the moment I had found out. I had gone to get my yearly physical like I always did, I got slightly off balance and knocked over a metal tray off the counter. Doctor Malone ran more tests to get to the source and I found out I was pregnant."

"How could I forget? You gave me the world's greatest dad ornament to break the news."

"You still weren't ready when I broke the news."

"Yeah, because we had a teenager named Charlie, who may I add was getting into trouble left and right."

"My point is you learned to love being a dad again, so you can learn to love normal life again. Speaking of Charlie, he called with Asher and Peter to wish me good luck this morning."

"We were talking on the phone the other day. We got on the subject of your new job. He told me he would call you."

"It made my day that much better." Wrapping my arms tighter around his waist, I breathed in the slight scent of orange and sweet spice coming off his shirt. "Thank you."

"Anything else happen today?" He questioned, his attention shifting to the deep sigh I absently drew out after leaning one hand against the counter. He crossed the kitchen to grab the container of spaghetti, breaking the noodles in half into the pot of boiling water.

"One of my students could be hurting herself."

"The same student you were talking about last night?" He referred back to the conversation we had while climbing into bed. I nodded, the sound of noodles in bubbling water kept the house from falling completely silent as I collected my thoughts.

"Something about it feels off."

"You've always had a sense for when things are off," Scott assured me, rubbing his hands up and down my arms in a comforting motion. "I think it will be a lasting memory in all our minds when Charlie was caught spray painting the gym wall. I know there have been other times too we've talked about that you've been right there for your students when they've needed you most. You're going to figure this out."

"I believe that night I was checking the gym to make sure it was ready for the assembly in the morning. If memory serves me right, a metal ladder had been left on the side to hang a poster, and it just so happened I heard rumors that a student was planning to deface school property."

"What luck. Think about it. If you had never caught Charlie doing those things, we would have never met."

"Trust me, I've thought about it a lot." Rubbing my thumb in circles on his arm, I realized I needed a few minutes to myself to decompress. "I'm going to change into something more comfortable. I won't be too long." Retreating, I grabbed my shoes by the front door, gradually climbing the stairs until I was in the safety of our bedroom.

As soon as I had closed our door to change, I heard the front door as it opened and then closed a few seconds later. I listened to Sandra's muffled voice as she met Scott in the kitchen. Taking off my coat to hang it up in the closet, my mind shifted to asking her about her math test when I got back downstairs.

Switching to a dark blue shirt and black sweatpants, I pulled my hair into a loose ponytail in the circled mirror and cleared my throat before walking out of the room. When I came back to the kitchen, Sandra was setting plates around the table.

"Hey, honey. How did your math test go?"

"Good, I think." The last plate in her hand clattered against the wood, finally stopping as she grabbed some forks out of the drawer. "I was able to answer all the questions. There may be at least one or two I didn't get right."

"All that matters is you tried your best." Looking around the kitchen, I realized Scott was no longer in there. "Where did your father go?"

"He's outside with Mike. I think I heard the guy say something about him living two doors down from us. Dad told me we could get started if he wasn't back in a few minutes and walked outside to talk to him."

"Huh." Turning to look out the blinds, I could barely make out Scott standing on the porch. "Well, let's do what your father says and check these noodles. I'm starving."