Leave The City (Book 8 of Adopted by the Josephs)

75. Samantha

Tommy's here!

Dad picked me up from the airport with only Junie and Rosie. No Mom. When I asked where she was, Dad said we had to make a pit stop. I already figured out what that meant.

"Mom had the baby?" I asked.

"Yep, late last night. Early this morning. However you want to call it," Dad said.

"How is she? Is she okay? Is she feeling okay? I mean relative to having pushed a baby out of her body," I asked. Dad smiled.

"She was feeling alright when I left to come get you," Dad smiled at me.

"Good. Is he cute?"

"Ugh. No! He's hideous. We're looking into getting a refund," Dad joked.

"Yeah, you wouldn't want to process a return," I said, looking out the window as the sun peeked through a cloud.

Dad was silent for a minute, and then he pulled over to the side of the road and put the car in park.

I looked at him. Tears were streaming down his face.

"Dad!" I exclaimed, worried.

Then he burst into laughter. He was laughing so hard he was crying.

"Sammy? Is Daddy okay?" Rosie asked. I turned around and winked at her.

"He is. He's laughing. I made a joke and I guess he thought it was very funny.

"It was freaking hilarious!" Dad said, still crying with laughter.

"What? I want to hear a funny!" Rosie said. Dad and I looked at each other and broke down into gales of laughter.

"Oh, Rosie," Dad said. "I promise not to say this too much, but you're going to have to wait until you're older."

"Why?" Rosie asked.

"Because that is a discussion I am not ready to have with my four year old," Dad laughed.

"Does Sammy know it?" She asked.

"Um, yeah. I think so," Dad said, trying to regain his composure.

"Sammy? Can you tell me?" Rosie asked. I stared at Dad. He broke down laughing again.

"I, uh, I," I stammered. "I'm not, I. Rosie, it's something for when you're older. I'm sorry. It's... just... it's complicated. There's a lot of information that you won't understand. Not because you aren't smart, but but because it's about things that happen to your body when you grow older. And your body, you're still little."

I hope that made sense. Rosie was looking at me through lidded eyes. Like she wasn't quite sure I was telling her the truth.

"Okay Sammy," she said. Not quite as jovial as usual, but she didn't seem upset.

Dad looked at me and then back at Rosie and Junie.

"You okay, Daddy?" Junie asked.

"I'm okay, Junie. Everyone ready to continue?" Dad asked. We all nodded.

The whole way to the hospital he kept shaking his head and giggling.

"I'm just picturing telling your mom we should return Tommy," he said to me after one of his giggles.

"Oh. She'd be all for that!" I laughed. Dad started laughing, too.

"I don't know if it's the sleep deprivation or what, but you're just killing me here, Sam," Dad laughed.

I smiled.

We pulled into the parking garage at the hospital and I helped get my sisters out of their car seats.