Changed Since Texas / Post Malone

5.3

Noting that tensions weren't as high as they were just a few hours ago, I placed a kiss on the top of her head, my left arm squeezing her tightly as I felt her arms reciprocate the action, the both of us staring at the interaction between our son and her Dad.

"He is is he?" her Dad asked.

"Uh huh. I saw him for the first time this morning" he said happily turning his head to look over at me with a smile. "We lay in bed with Momma this morning and he watch Puppy Dog Pals with me and Momma" he said as he continued to tell his Pop everything that we had done this morning.

"Are you glad your Daddy is here little man?" her Dad asked him, my body becoming tense as I anticipated the answer.

"Very" he said with a smile. "Pop?" he asked, his head tilting to the side as he looked at him.

"Yes buddy?" he asked with a smile, shifting him so he was sitting on one knee making it easier for him to continue to drink his coffee while still holding the conversation with what appeared to be his most favorite person in the world.

"Do you know Momma and I are gonna live in a different house?" he asked, his gaze looking down at his fingers as he started fidgeting himself on his Pop's lap.

"You are!? When are you leaving?" he asked him. I knew that he was pretending to know none of these details, a tactic to see what he could get out of him about how he felt about moving away.

"Tonight" he said, his voice sounding sad as it stabbed at my heart. I immediately started to wonder if I was doing the right thing by removing him from the place he knew so well. The only place that he knew from the time he was born with the only people he truly felt comfortable with. Was I being selfish for wanting them to move out with me? Was there a way that I could make my career work by moving to Syracuse or any state that was closer than California?

"Baby you okay?" I heard Charlotte ask me quietly as she looked up at me through her thick lashes.

"Oh yeah, sorry. We'll talk about it later okay?" I said to her. I didn't want to lie and tell her nothing was wrong, but I also didn't want to hide anything from her so I made it abundantly clear that we were going to discuss what ran across my mind in hopes that she would open up to me about what ran across hers earlier. I gave her a warm smile as she laid her head back against my chest before I focused my attention back on Charlotte's Dad and Austy.

"Oh really? Who are you going to live with?" he asked him, Austy's eyes coming up to meet with my and his Mom as we both smiled at him, the tiniest flicker of a smile pulling on his lips.

"Daddy and Momma in California" he said looking at us before looking at his Nana and Pop, his gaze finally resting on his hands as he rested them in between his legs.

"You seem sad about that buddy?" her Dad prodded, Charlotte's fingers softly rubbing over my back through the fabric of my thin white shirt, the slight feel of her reassuring me that no matter what he was going to be okay with this.

"Well" he said, pausing for what felt like years before he started to answer him again. "I happy I get to live with Daddy and Mommy, but" he said, pausing again each pause seeming to be longer than the last. "I going to miss you Pop and you too Nana" he said.

I watched as Charlotte's Mom got up from her seat and walked over to crouch down next to Austy, her arms wrapping him in a hug as he returned it lovingly. She pulled away from him after a few seconds, her gaze meeting with Tim's as he let out what appeared to be a defeated sigh.

"I know you are going to miss us Austy, but you are going to have your Momma with you and you are going to be able to get to know your Daddy. We can talk to you every morning you wake up and every night before you go to bed. We love you so much Austy and we will always be thinking about you" her Mom said in her soft sweet reassuring voice.