Luckily, before long, his two-year-old brain forgot about her. Sometimes Erin wished she had the forgetfulness of a toddler so she didn’t have to think about Bianca either.

Her mind was brought back to the present moment by the feeling of teeth digging into her arm. She yanked it away from Nolan and glared at him to show that she didn’t appreciate his way of getting her attention.

“Kitty hungry,” Nolan said, grinning at her as if he was an angel, a look cute enough that it almost made her forget he had just bitten her.

“Well, kitty knows better than to bite someone.” Erin stood from her chair at the kitchen table and set Nolan back on the floor. “Get your shoes. It’s time to go to school.”

“Nooooo. I don’t want to go,” Nolan whined.

Erin rolled her eyes. It was the same fight every morning, yet every night when she picked him up, he told her he wasn’t ready to leave. Go figure. “You love school.”

“I love home more.” The way Nolan stuck out his bottom lip almost made Erin want to call in sick to work and stay home with him.

Almost. As much as Erin loved him, work was her chance to actually breathe for a few hours five days a week. “I know, baby, but Mommy has to work so I can buy you more toys.”

Nolan shot her a devilish grin before running off to grab his shoes. When he got back to her, he dropped the shoes on the ground and pointed to the left one. “This goes on this foot?” He pointed to his right foot.

“Almost.” Erin moved the shoes so they were sitting in front of the correct feet and Nolan dropped to the floor. She watched as he fought to get them on. “Can I help you?”

“No. I do it.”

Erin sighed as she looked at the clock. If he kept up this pace, she would be late for work again. Her boss had been very understanding since the divorce, but Erin knew that leniency wouldn’t last forever. “I’ll make you a deal. You let me put your shoes on just this once and I’ll take you for ice cream after school.”

Nolan dropped the shoe he was fighting with as if it had just burned him. “Okay.”

Luckily, with the promise of ice cream, Nolan cooperated as she put his shoes on. He even walked to the car instead of insisting she carry him, which Erin was thankful for since he was getting way too heavy for her.

After a short drive, they arrived at daycare, and Nolan ran in as if he hadn’t just been saying how much he didn’t want to go. Erin was almost out of the building when the director of the daycare called her name.