“Sam, buddy, it’s time to wake up,” Stefan said. He sat down at the edge of the bed and placed a firm hand on his son’s shoulder before giving it a nudge. Sam let out a groan and peak out with sleepy eyes.

“Daddy? What time is it?” Sam asked.

Stefan looked over at the alarm clock sitting on the bedside table. The clock was brown and shaped like a bear, a character from one of Sam’s favorite cartoons. Jogi something or other. Stefan had bought it as a christmas gift last year, and Sam had loved it, particularly how the bear would roar when a button was pushed on its head. Sam had played with it nonstop the first few days, which had driven Jeanne up the wall. Stefan himself had begun to regret the purchase, but couldn’t quite bring himself to return the toy after seeing the excited smiles on Sam’s face. Ultimately, both he and Jeanne agreed to weathered the storm until Sam had lost interest, while promising to be more selective of presents in the future.

Stefan let out a small smile as the memory floated through his mind. Then looking back to Sam, he said, “It’s 6:30, buddy.”

“Okay,” Sam replied sleepily. He rubbed his eyes a bit and then got out of bed.

Stefan watched as Sam staggered to the closet to look for a change of clothes. He wondered if the boy would fall back asleep midstep, and he shook his head silently, thinking how insane it was that the district would start school for elementary students so early in the morning. “Boys needs their sleep,” Stefan mumbled to himself. He wondered if he could bring it up at the next PTA meeting or something.

Still thinking to himself, Stefan stood up, walked out of his son’s bedroom and began making his way towards the stairs. As he put his hand on the railing though, he suddenly paused and called back, “Brush your teeth and then come down, Sam. I think mommy made pancakes this time.” He grinned as he heard Sam let out a yelp of excitement, followed by the sounds of barefoot running into bathroom.

Once downstairs, Stefan headed into the kitchen where he found his wife standing by the stove, in the middle of flipping a blueberry pancake. She heard him approach and turned, her wavy brown hair falling slightly over her face as she did so. Stefan reached out a hand and brushed it behind her ear and then gave her a kiss. “Morning, smells lovely,” Stefan said.

“Me or the pancakes?” Jeanne asked.

“Both,” Stefan said with a grin. Jeanne gave him a playful shove and then returned her attention back to the pancakes. Stefan walked up behind her and wrapped her in an embrace, placing his hands over her stomach. “And how are you doing, today?” he whispered softly. Just as he was placing his chin on Jeanne’s shoulder, Stefan heard a tumble of footsteps coming down the stairs. Sam burst into the kitchen shortly thereafter.

“Pancakes!” he exclaimed. He flailed his arms in excitement and Stefan took the opportunity to scoop Sam off the ground into the air, raising the boy high above his head.

“Wide awake now, Sam?” Stefan asked as he spun Sam around. Sam giggled in high-pitched laughter and wriggled as his feet floated up from the centripetal motion.

“Wide awake, daddy,” Sam replied.

Stefan lowered Sam back to the ground and then placed a hand on his son’s head. “We need to buy you a comb, buddy,” Stefan said. He moved his hand back and forth over Sam’s hair, trying to smooth out the tangle of brown locks. But as soon as his hand moved away, Sam’s hair flipped right back up, with patches jutting out at odd angles.

“Daddy, stop,” Sam whined as he tried to push Stefan’s hands away with his much smaller ones.

“Okay, okay,” Stefan replied. Then turning to Jeanne, he continued, “But for the record, I tried.”

Jeanne scooped the pancakes off onto a plate and walked towards the kitchen table. As she passed by Stefan, she put a hand on his head and ran her hand across several times, like he had done to Sam. Then she smiled and said, “Oh Stefan, believe me, I know exactly what you mean.”

Stefan smirked. His wife was right. Though his own hair was a much darker shade of brown, it was similar to Sam’s in that it too would often refuse to stay down. Like father, like son, Stefan thought to himself before taking a seat at the kitchen table. He watched as Sam wolfed down the two pancakes on his plate, making them vanish like a stage magician would a rabbit, and he wondered to himself if Sam was entering a growth spurt. The boy was always seemingly hungry, constantly eating, and yet still skinny like a twig. Stefan made a mental note to buy a bit more next time he went grocery shopping. The cost wouldn’t hit too bad, given his new promotion.

“Hey, remember that my parents are coming over next weekend,” Jeanne said.

The sound of her voice broke Stefan out of his thoughts. He looked up at Jeanne in surprise and said, “Weren’t they vacationing in Europe?”

Jeanne just let out a sigh, shook her head and replied, “Dad broke his leg, so they had to come back early.”

“Oh no, what happened?” Stefan asked.

“Snowboarding in the Alps,” Jeanne replied with a roll of the eyes, “I told him to take it easy, but you know how my dad gets.”

“He does have a bit of a wild side,” Stefan admitted. He gave Jeanne a knowing look and continued, “A lot like someone else I know.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Jeanne replied, feigning innocence. Before the exchange could progress further, Sam burst excitedly into the conversation.

“Grammy and grampy are coming?” Sam asked.

“Looks like it, buddy,” Stefan said.

“Oh boy! Do you think they’ll bring me presents from Europe?” Sam asked.

Stefan paused a moment before nodding. Though he had expressed concerns about Jeanne’s parents bringing presents every time they visited, he could empathize with their desire to indulge the boy. While Sam was his son, he was their grandson as well. So he knew to a certain extent how they felt. Even still, he didn’t want Sam to become someone spoiled by such expectations. Stefan turned to Sam and said sternly, “But Sam, remember what I said-”

“I know, daddy. Even if they don’t bring me presents, I still love them,” Sam recited.

“That’s a good boy, Sam,” Stefan said. He gave Sam a pat on the shoulder, then looked from Sam’s empty plate back to his face. The boy was beaming at him with wide, curious eyes, of a vibrant blue that he had inherited from Jeanne. Pointing to the empty plate, Stefan smiled and said, “You full, Sam? Or do you want more pancakes?”

Sam’s brows furrowed, as if giving deep thought to the mysteries of the universe. It was a full fifteen seconds later before he finally replied, “I think I’m full.”

“You sure, buddy?” Stefan asked.

“Like a proton,” Sam replied with a grin.

Stefan looked at his son curiously and asked, “What do you mean, Sam?”

“I’m sure like a proton, because I’m always positive,” Sam replied proudly.

“Who told you to say something like that?” Stefan asked.

Sam pointed his finger at Jeanne. “Mommy did!” Sam exclaimed as he burst into a fit of giggles. Stefan turned to Jeanne and gave her a look of mock horror.

“What?” Jeanne asked with a grin.

“Nothing,” Stefan shrugged, “I was just wondering how I ended up marrying someone so beautiful, and yet so delightfully nerdy.”

“Smart is the new sexy,” Jeanne said.

“Then you are the sexiest woman on earth,” Stefan whispered as he stood up and gave his wife a kiss on the cheek. Then he turned back to Sam and gave the boy a nudge on the shoulder. “Come on, buddy, go grab your backpack, and I’ll walk you to the bus. We should get moving before you mother starts teaching you her Schrödinger’s cat knock-knock jokes,” he said.

“Who’s Shoodooger?” Sam asked. Stefan just laughed but didn’t reply. He nudged Sam along, taking one last look back in the kitchen. He caught Jeanne giving him a raised eyebrow along with a wide smirk. Then the two were gathered and out the door.