Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 91461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“Yeah, Jake promised his ladies that I would walk with them from now on,” he told me, smiling crazily, stuffing half of the piece of bread into his mouth.
“Oh?”
He nodded, then swallowed and used his tongue to catch a glob of butter, and I was compelled to reach up and wipe the slight smear that was left off his lips with my thumb.
“And where is Jake?”
He said something, but it was muffled by the rest of the piece of bread he was trying to speak around.
“What?”
“Gone,” he repeated, swallowing.
“Gone?”
“Yep. We’re childless. Hannah took Jake’s stuff away in her SUV, and he followed on his bike. He installed my new router before he left, and now all is well with my Wi-Fi. He’s a very good boy.”
“She took him, you say?”
“Yep.”
“I feel like she’s really okay.”
“I asked when I talked to her—she was here when I got home—and she said that she was actually getting everything she wanted, just on a slightly longer timetable.”
“Then you think she’s actually good and happy?”
“I think if she’d talked to Jake in the first place, then it would have come out exactly as it is now.”
“That’s precisely what she said earlier,” I sighed, leaning into him, kissing under his jaw while simultaneously trying to get to the drawstring of his shorts.
“Hey,” he grumbled, stepping away from me. “None of that. I’m meeting the ladies shortly, and I expect you to order me Chinese food while I’m gone.”
“Is that right?”
He grunted.
As I looked at him more closely, I realized that everything, including the shorts, seemed to be fitting quite tightly. “Where did these items come from?”
“Sorry?”
“These shorts are hugging your thighs, and isn’t this T-shirt Kola’s?”
“No, it’s mine.”
“Okay, but why did you choose these pieces of clothing?”
“Because I didn’t quite get all my dirty clothes into the hamper last week.”
I had stopped searching for strewn clothes on his side of the closet. “I see.”
“So I may be out of clean workout clothes.”
I always made sure his suits and dress shirts were ready to go.
“I see. You’re diving deep into your drawers at this point.”
“Don’t laugh, it’s not funny. You’re the one who’s gotta be seen out with me.”
But it didn’t matter. I didn’t care if we got down to tie-dye and old worn cargo shorts. He could make anything look good, and more importantly, my daughter was happy, my son was happy, and my Jake and my Harper were happy. Bonus, Finn and Wick were happy too. Added to that, the cherry on top of the cake, was the way my husband drew me into his arms and kissed me. Always so helpful when the sun finally came out.
That’s it. Have a wonderful rest of August, and I will tell you all about my husband’s birthday in September.
SEPTEMBER 2025
Hello, all. Welcome to He Said, he said for September 2025.
My hope is that with all the harrowing news, events, and everything else, you’re all doing okay. We don’t live in “scary” times, we live in terrifying ones, where everywhere you look it feels as though the world is burning down. My kids and I, along with everyone else we know, have been protesting here in Chicago, and the thing I kept thinking over and over was, let’s all stay safe. All we can do is keep showing up for our families, friends, and communities, show support, compassion, and patience. Let’s also not forget to stop and give a hug when needed, and laugh when we can. For me, that last one is always so very appreciated.
Like on Tuesday night, Kola called and asked if there was any way that I could feed everyone, because Hannah had been so wrapped up in her “game” that she forgot to do the defrosting she’d promised.
Years ago, Hannah played a video game called Hollow Knight. This month, finally, after many years, six or seven I believe, the sequel came out. This one is called Hollow Knight: Silksong, and apparently… Hannah is a bit obsessed.
“It’s a game,” I told Kola.
“Tell her,” he grumbled at me.
Now, being Hannah, she still kept to her priorities, which are, in order, Jake, school, and work. And apparently this is not all she’s done, but every moment that had nothing to do with either of those three things, she basically dumped from her mind. Which meant no cooking, no cleaning, no chores. All in all, no one cared that much, it wouldn’t last forever, but the food thing, as there had been some furious workout in the form of hockey—I had no idea—was a big deal. Everyone was annoyed and loud about it. Hannah suggested they bother me instead.
“That was mean,” I assured her on the phone.
“Oh, they’re a bunch of whiners,” she replied.
“Did you promise?”
She huffed out a breath. “Yes. Fine,” she said irritably. “I apologized; told them pizza was on me, but no…they want to parade me through town in a burlap sack yelling shame. They can kiss my––”