Chapter 53 Saturday Morning
Saturday - 8:30 AM
Elena woke to the sound of Leo singing in the living room.
Not words, exactly. Just a melody he'd made up, punctuated by dinosaur sound effects.
She dragged herself out of bed, following the noise.
Leo sat on the floor in his pajamas, arranging his dinosaurs in a circle.
"What are you doing?"
"They're having a meeting. About important dinosaur stuff."
"Like what?"
"Like who gets to be in charge of snack time." He made the T-Rex bow. "This one thinks HE should be in charge but the triceratops disagrees."
"Sounds complicated."
"It is. They might have to vote."
She smiled, moving to the kitchen. "You want breakfast?"
"Is it pancake day?"
"When is it ever pancake day on a Saturday?"
"Never. But I keep hoping."
"How about cereal?"
"Fine." He said it like she'd suggested vegetables. "But I'm having the good cereal. Not the healthy one."
"The healthy one IS the good one."
"That's a lie and you know it."
She was pouring cereal when someone knocked.
Elena frowned, checking the time. Eight-thirty on a Saturday.
Through the peephole, she saw Mrs. Chen holding a paper bag.
She opened the door. "Good morning"
"Morning. I brought bagels." Mrs. Chen walked in, setting the bag on the counter. "And cream cheese. The good kind with chives."
"Mrs. Chen!" Leo ran over. "Did you bring the cinnamon raisin ones?"
"Would I forget your favorite?"
"You're the BEST."
Mrs. Chen ruffled his hair, then turned to Elena. "I also came with information."
"About?"
"The community center preschool. My neighbor mentioned yesterday that the new semester starts next week. If you want to enroll Leo, you need to register soon. They fill up fast."
Elena's stomach dropped. "Next week?"
"Monday, actually. Spring session." Mrs. Chen pulled out a bagel, started slicing it. "Registration is still open, but you should probably go today or Monday morning."
"I—" Elena ran a hand through her hair. "I was going to call next week."
"Now you can go in person. Better anyway. You can see the classrooms, meet the teachers." She spread cream cheese on the bagel. "I can watch Leo if you want to go alone first."
"No, I should take him. If he's going there, he should see it."
"Smart." Mrs. Chen handed Leo the bagel. "Here. Eat this at the table, not the floor."
"Okay!"
He climbed onto a chair, swinging his legs.
Elena pulled out plates, trying to organize her thoughts.
Preschool. Starting Monday.
That was four days away.
"You're panicking," Mrs. Chen observed.
"I'm not panicking."
"Your eye is twitching."
Elena touched her face. "It's not—"
"Breathe. It's a good school. Leo will love it. And it's only three mornings a week."
"I know. I just—" She stopped. "I thought I'd have more time to prepare."
"You've had three years to prepare. Now you're just doing it."
“I don’t know how to do this,” Elena said quietly.
Mrs. Chen paused, knife hovering over the cutting board. “Do what?”
“Let him grow.”
The words came out rough, scraped from somewhere tender.
“He used to fit right here.” She tapped her chest. “Now he’s getting too big. Too fast.”
Mrs. Chen set the knife down. “That’s the job. Hold them. Love them. And then let them walk forward without you.”
Elena swallowed. “What if I mess him up?”
“You already didn’t,” Mrs. Chen said gently. “Look at him.”
Leo laughed at his dinosaurs.
“Children that happy don’t come from broken homes.”
Fair point.
They sat at the table, eating bagels while Leo provided commentary on everything.
"This cream cheese is exactly the right amount. Not too much, not too little. Perfect. Mrs. Chen, you're a cream cheese expert."
"High praise."
"I know. I don't give compliments to just anyone."
Elena's phone buzzed on the counter.
She glanced at it. Alexander.
Good morning. Still on for lunch?
She typed back: Yes. Picking us up at noon?
I'll be there. How's Leo this morning?
Currently lecturing us about cream cheese.
Sounds about right. See you soon.
She set down the phone.
Mrs. Chen was watching her over her coffee cup. "Alexander?"
"He's taking us to lunch."
"Good. That man needs to spend time with his son."
"He calls him Dad now. Sometimes."
Mrs. Chen smiled. "I heard. Leo told me yesterday. Very excited about it."
"Too excited. Just what if—"
"No 'what ifs.' Just let it happen." She took another sip. "Speaking of which, when are you visiting the preschool?"
Elena checked the time. Nine o'clock now.
The community center probably opened at ten on Saturdays.
"Maybe this morning? Before lunch?"
"Perfect. Leo, how do you feel about seeing a school today?"
He looked up, cream cheese on his nose. "The one with the backpacks?"
"That's the one."
"Can I get a backpack with dinosaurs on it?"
"If they have one," Elena said.
"They HAVE to have one. What kind of school doesn't have dinosaur backpacks?"
"We'll find out."
He seemed satisfied with that answer and returned to his bagel.
After breakfast, Mrs. Chen helped clean up.
"I should get going. Let you get ready." She paused at the door. "Elena?"
"Mm?"
"You're doing a good job. With Leo. With all of this."
Elena's throat tightened. "I'm barely holding it together."
"That's what good parenting looks like. Barely holding it together but showing up anyway." She squeezed Elena's arm. "Call me later. Let me know how the school visit goes."
"I will. Thank you."
After she left, Elena got Leo dressed—a battle over whether he could wear his dinosaur pajama shirt as a regular shirt.
"It's SOFT."
"It's pajamas."
"But nobody at school will KNOW it's pajamas."
"Leo, we're not arguing about this."
"Fine." He pulled on a regular shirt, pouting. "But I'm not happy about it."
"Noted."
By ten-thirty, they were ready to leave.
Elena's phone buzzed again.
Alexander: On my way. Should I come up or wait in the car?
She stared at the message.
They were going to the preschool first. She should tell him.
But part of her wanted to do this alone. Just her and Leo. Like always.
Her thumb hovered over the keyboard.
Then Leo appeared beside her. "Is that Dad?"
"Yeah."
"Can he come to the school with us?"
"The school is for you and Mama—"
"But he's my dad now. He should see where I'm going to learn stuff."
Elena looked at her son's hopeful face.
"You want him to come?"
"Yeah! Then I can show him the dinosaur backpacks!"
She sighed and typed: Change of plans. We're visiting a preschool first. Community center on Oak Street. Want to meet us there?
Three dots appeared immediately.
Absolutely. What time?
Eleven.
I'll be there.
She pocketed her phone and looked at Leo. "Okay. Dad's coming."
"YES!" He pumped his fist. "This is gonna be SO cool!"
Elena grabbed her bag and Leo's hand, hoping he was right.
Hoping this wasn't a mistake.
Hoping that letting Alexander into every part of their lives wouldn't make it hurt worse when—if—things fell apart.
But Leo was grinning, talking about all the things he wanted to show his dad at school.
And Elena didn't have the heart to say no.
Not when he looked that happy.
Not when she was starting to hope, just a little, that maybe things wouldn't fall apart after all.
Even if hope still terrified her.
Even if she didn't quite believe it yet.
She'd try.
One school visit at a time.
One small step forward.
Together.
All three of them.
Like a family.
Even if the word still felt too big, too fragile, too impossible to say out loud.
For now, it was enough.