"Mom, let's go! Let's go!" Sterling was energetic as he was trying to rush me out the door. He was anxious to visit the orphanage today.
"Did you take Jet out to go potty?" I asked without moving from the spot where I stood.
"Well, no." Sterling answered.
"Sterling, it's not Miss Rose's job to take care of your puppy. Go take him out to the bathroom." I spoke sternly.
Sterling let out a sigh. "Fine. Jet! Come here!" he hollered and the puppy came charging into the kitchen.
Sterling walked with Jet by his side to the glass door in the kitchen. He opened it and headed outside to the spot we had designated for Jet's bathroom purpose. I watched him through the window to make sure he completed the given task.
"I don't mind watching the puppy Kaydence." Rose spoke as she worked on prepping tonight's dinner.
"I know." I responded. "And I appreciate it Rose. I just want to make sure Sterling learns to be responsible with him."
"Understood." She nodded. "How are you feeling today?"
"Tired." I answered honestly. Scarlett's kicking was becoming more and more frequent. Sometimes it woke me up from my sleep. "But I'm good." I smiled.
"Good." Rose smiled in return.
Sterling came inside with Jet following behind him. "He went potty. Can we go now?"
"Why are you so antsy to go?" I looked at him curiously. He was always excited but not nearly as much as he was right now.
"Because." he responded. He clearly didn't want to tell me the real answer for his excitement.
"Because why Sterling? What are you up to?" I asked.
He let out a sigh of defeat. "Because Isabelle told me last time she made something for me. I want to see what it is."
"I see." I smiled slightly. "Well we better get going then."
We walked outside of the mansion where Theo was waiting for us. I appreciated someone being hired to watch over me and take me places, but it couldn't last forever. With two kids I'd rather get my own vehicle to drive around. I didn't have the chance to bring it up to Damon but I wanted to have it settled before Scarlett made her arrival.
During the car ride Sterling spent the time talking to me about everything he was doing in school. With his age he technically should have been in first grade but with the schooling the orphanage was able to do he was at the kindergarten level. He was a smart boy and probably could've adapted easily to the higher grade but we wanted him to have a smooth transition.
Theo parked the car once we had arrived at the orphanage. Sterling and I both exited the vehicle and I excused Theo to go do something for himself while he waited for us to be done here. Sterling and I began to head for the steps.
"Sterling." I caught his attention before going inside.
He turned around and looked at me. "What is it mommy?" he asked.
"If Isabelle is giving you a gift shouldn't you have something in return for her?" I suggested.
Sterling's icy blue eyes went wide. "Oh man you're right! What am I gonna do mom?" He asked in a small panic.
I looked around and noticed some flowers nearby. I went over and plucked two of them from the ground. A pink tulip and a purple. I held them in my hand and walked back to Sterling. "These will work for now, but next time we should be more prepared." I spoke as I handed the flowers to him.
Sterling nodded. "Okay mom. I'll remember next time."
I took his free hand and we went up the steps and into the orphanage. "Welcome back." Emily smiled at us both.
"Where's Isabelle?" Sterling got right to the point.
"I believe she's outside with the other's right now." Emily answered and then looked at me. "Mrs. Strahm is also out there as well."
"Thank you Emily." I smiled as we headed to go outside to the playground.
We exited the doors and Sterling looked for Isabelle right away. He spotted her and then looked up at me. "Can I go get her?" he asked.
"Of course. I'll be over there." I pointed to the bench that Mrs. Strahm was seated on.
Sterling nodded and ran off to go meet with Isabelle. I walked over to the bench and took a seat next to Mrs. Strahm. "Hello Kaydence." She greeted as she still looked over the children playing together.
"Hello Mrs. Strahm. How are you?" I asked.
"I'm good." She answered in a pleasant tone. "Kaydence, you've been coming here long enough, just call me Rebecca please."
"Okay." I nodded. "How are all the children doing?"
"They're all doing really well." She answered as she continued to watch over them. "How's the pregnancy going?"
"Everything is great." I answered with a smile.
Rebecca and I talked back and forth with each other as we sat on the bench. While she watched over the entire group of children I was focused on Sterling. He had been playing with Isabelle since we got here. I wasn't sure the gift she had given him but she seemed excited to get the flowers he had taken in for her. He even went and got a cup of water to set them in.
They played on the playground and then on the swing set. There was at one point that Isabelle tripped and fell down and Sterling was right there. The way he was with her reminded me of Damon. Sterling was like his father, he felt the need to take care of the girl that was special to him.
"So Sterling and Isabelle have always been close you said?" I spoke to Rebecca as I kept my eyes on them.
"Yes." She chuckled slightly. "There was one time she made Sterling have a tea party with her. It was the cutest thing and he didn't mind it one bit. Emily and I joked that maybe when they become adults that they'll end up married."
"You never know. The world works in mysterious ways I've learned over the past year of my life." I responded. "She's clearly important to him so it's definitely not an impossible thought. But a lot can happen in the years leading up to their adult lives."