Always Us

field trip

"You sure about this?" Olivia asked.

Outside of the car, there was a single bench on an otherwise empty sidewalk. She found it hard to tell whether the glossy green paint was a fresh coat or if the bench just didn't get much use on this side of town.

"Why wouldn't I be? This will be good for them," Spencer replied. "You said it yourself, we need to expose them to the real world."

"They've just been a little cranky today," Olivia turned to look at him.

If they were being honest, cranky was an understatement. That morning, their house had been a war zone. Before the sun even had a chance to rise, Gianna woke up declaring that she was a parrot. Repeating every word her twin said, she followed him around for over an hour. And though Caleb was known for being the calmest of the bunch, his sweet patience eventually ran out, and he started chucking cereal as a means of getting her to stop.

To add to the mayhem, Jackson spent his morning jogging around the house, kicking anything shorter than his twin siblings. With one week left until the start of soccer camp, he had to—in his words—get his workouts in. Of course, he knew neither of his parents would approve of him using their furniture for drills, but in such a spacious house, the seven year old had become a pro at avoiding his mom and dad. Until his foot landed on Sienna's art project, and his older sister's shrieking got their attention.

In an attempt to calm everyone down, Spencer had suggested a family outing, which Olivia quickly opted out of once she heard his idea. She offered to drive them to the bus stop, but the rest was on him.

Now, Spencer assessed his kids in the back seat. One kid had his eyes glued to the iPad, another looked like she rather be anywhere else, one was asleep, and the last stared back at him like she'd never been happier to see someone in her life. "They're fine," he assured his wife.

Olivia shrugged before turning to address the kids. "Hey, look at me. Everyone stay close to daddy and keep an eye out for each other."

"They'll be safe with me, Liv."

Olivia shot her husband a dirty look. "You lose one of my kids and I will kill you."

A high-pitched wail broke out in the car and Caleb nearly flew out of his carseat. Rudely awoken, he frantically looked around while his little hands clutched onto the armrests of his chair.

"Look what you did." Spencer shook his head.

"D-d-don't h-h-hurt," Gianna lost her words to a coughing fit.

"Mommy's not gonna kill daddy," Sienna rolled her eyes at her sister's ignorance.

"It's just a figure of speech, baby," the mother reached back for her toddler's calf. "Mommy loves daddy so much. See?" Proving her point, Olivia grabbed Spencer's face and gave him a kiss.

Their daughter's sobs slowed as she eyed her mother carefully.

Olivia took a deep breath. "You still sure?"

Spencer ignored her and pulled away. "Everyone get out of the car."

"Ah! Not on that side," Olivia yelled as Sienna swung the car door open to the street.

"Sorry," her daughter grumbled, then brushed past her sister's carseat to the other side.

Once Spencer had everyone unbuckled and outside, Olivia leaned over the center console to offer her final words through the window. "Remember what mommy said—hold hands." Then she gave Spencer a pointed look. "And you remember what I said."

"Everyone in one piece, yeah yeah," he brushed her off, waving as she put the car into drive. "Everybody say bye."

"Where is mommy going?" Caleb rubbed his eye, looking up at his dad. He didn't understand why they were all standing on the sidewalk without her. They weren't even at the store or the park or anywhere else they usually went.