"Hi Little Man, did you enjoy the ride?" Joseph asked.
"It was the funnest thing ever," Trevor exclaimed.
"Most fun," Emily automatically corrected her son.
"Ah Mom," Trevor complained. She let it go.
"Do you want some breakfast before you head off to your new school?" Joseph asked.
"Sure," he said and followed Joseph up to the house, with Emily and Mark right behind them.
"How did you enjoy the ride?" Joseph asked Emily.
"It was fine."
"She was scared," Trevor piped in.
Joseph chuckled, as Emily's face turned red at her son's statement. "It's okay young lady, my son is a bit scary."
"Thanks dad," Mark said with a smile.
"You and your brothers would upset your mom all the time with your daredevil ways. I don't think she got a full nights rest all the years you were growing up."
"Well who taught us those dangerous things?" Mark asked, with a pointed look.
"There's no use in pointing fingers," he grumbled and then decided to change the subject.
They had a wonderful breakfast at the house and then headed over to the school to get Trevor registered. Emily was pleasantly surprised by the place. It was large but not overwhelmingly so and the staff was friendly. Not one of them seemed to look down on her or her son. If she would've felt any of them judging her or Trevor, she would've marched right back out the front doors.
When they got to Trevor's classroom, Jasmine came running around the corner. "You're finally here," she said and gave Trevor a big hug.
"I got to fly with Mark."
"Oh that's so fun," she agreed. They both chatted back and forth, faster than Emily could keep up.
"Mrs. Parson, this is my cousin Trevor," Jasmine said and dragged him over to the teacher.
Emily stopped what she was doing and looked guiltily over at Mark, who hadn't even seemed to notice anything was wrong. Lucas was chatting with his brother and neither of them made the slightest indication they'd heard anything. She was grateful. She would have to pull Trevor aside later and explain to him Mark was just their boss and they weren't related to Jasmine. How did you break a young man's heart though? Maybe it wasn't that big of a deal but she didn't want her son to think they were a family and going to live together forever. What would happen to him if they had to move? It would break his heart.
She would have to think about what she was doing and what was best for her son. She didn't want to leave but she better make sure Trevor knew Mark was the employer and not a substitute father.
They visited the school for a few hours and got Trevor signed up and Emily was feeling pretty good about letting him attend. They did have some amazing programs she knew he wouldn't get from a public school. The field trips alone were spectacular. She'd definitely volunteer to chaperone. She hadn't been to any of the places they talked about.
"We are going school shopping now; please tell me you can come with us?" Amy asked her, as they were heading out of the school.
"I guess that's up to Mark," Emily said and looked over at him.
"Well in that case, it's a definite yes," Amy said, as she dragged Emily behind her. "Let's take our car so we can chat and let the guys do all the driving," she added enthusiastically.
Emily had an incredible day. She purchased new clothes and school supplies for Trevor and enjoyed lunch at Chuck E Cheese pizza, watching the guys compete with the kids in the games. She laughed so much that by the end of the day her stomach hurt a bit.
"I'm so glad the kids are going to the same school. We'll have to chaperone together so we can see each other all the time," Amy said, as they were getting ready to leave.
"I was already thinking I would love to chaperone those field trips. I'll be more excited to go to the places than Trevor will be," Emily added shyly.
"Me too," Amy exclaimed. "These guys are used to all this fun stuff but I still can't get enough of the amazing world around me," she added.
Emily loved how much she and Amy had in common. It gave her hope to see someone who had so much, be so sweet and genuinely great to be around.
"I will see you soon," Emily said and hugged Amy goodbye. She knew if for some reason her employment with Mark ended she and Amy would continue to be friends.
By the time they got back to the ranch, the sun was starting to set. Trevor was rubbing his eyes and Mark carried him up to his room. Emily quickly got him ready for bed and then barely managed to drag herself to her room. It had been a wonderful day and she felt her life was finally starting to be normal. It was a great feeling.
"Mom, I'm leaving now," Trevor said, snapping her out of her daydreaming.