“Boo who?” he asked.
“Don’t cry,”she said.“I’ve got plenty more knock-knock jokes.”
Jensen groaned and she chuckled.
“Nah, nah,”Henry piped up suddenly, his little voice much louder and more certain than usual.
Jensen was so amazed that he just turned and blinked at his son in wonder.
“Who’s there?” Willow asked.
But Henry was so tickled that he melted into helpless laughter without saying another word. It was the happiest sound Jensen had ever heard, and it made hisheart feel like it was going to burst right out of his chest.
“You’re such a funny boy, Henry,” Willow told him approvingly. “Good job.”
Jensen looked between the two of them and felt a wave of gratitude that his son had found someone whogothim, even though he didn’t say much yet.
Willow turned back to face the front and placed her backpack at her feet.
“Ready?” Jensen asked.
“Very ready,” she told him. “I can’t wait to see this place.”
He pulled out, humming along with “Blue Christmas” as he did. There was still snow on the ground, but the sun was rising into a clear, blue sky, at least for now. And the old sense of adventure he used to get as a kid on a fresh adventure shivered happily down his spine.
“Wow, WCCR is playing a lot of Elvis today,” Willow said approvingly.
“Oh, it’s streaming from my phone,” Jensen said. “Henry really likes it.”
She smiled and he felt a little pang of guilt for the fib.
They made it out of the village and onto the long ribbon of Route One in no time. Once they were under way, Willow peeled off her coat and set it on the backpack that was already at her feet.
“Want to put all that in back with Henry?” Jensen asked.
“It’s fine,” she told him. “Besides, I’ve got some road trip snacks in there.”
“What snacks?” he asked automatically, then smiled, feeling like a ravenous teenager all over again.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” she teased. “Are you hungry already?”
“Always,” he joked. “But let’s save it until we get closer. If someone drifts off they might wake up unhappy and then a snack will be great.”
“Good thinking,” she told him. “So do you do this kind of stuff all the time?”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Like just taking off at a moment’s notice to do something cool you just heard about?” she asked.
He could have joked back, but something told him to be honest.
“Henry was really excited to tell me about the trains yesterday,” he told her, keeping his eyes on the road. “When he uses his words, I always listen.”
Willow was quiet, but when he glanced over she smiled at him and nodded.
“That’s really nice,” she said softly.
He was relieved that she understood what he didn’t want to elaborate on in front of the boy. Henry had mostly made train noises and mutteredtrain, trainandchoo chooto himself yesterday. But it really meant something that he had been inspired enough to speak.
