J-WALKING LIKE A BOSS!!!

their daughter loves to read.

she quotes lizzy bennet from a very young age. she writes weirdly poignant poems about things like trees, and the mushrooms they found on david’s walk that they wouldn’t let david—or clem for that matter—eat.

“no idea where she gets that from,” alex likes to say.

(one day she asks what a torts is and is that the same as the torte cake daddy likes to make and why not. alex can’t really blame henry for all of clem’s odd reading choices after that.)

the kid likes books. alphabet books. love story books. law books (apparently). cookbooks. animal books.

even books for math class.

“if 1 fish and 1 fish make 2 fish,” she says, “then what do daddy and papa make?”

“an apple?” alex guesses.

“no!” frowns clem. “a clementine. duh!”

henry is laughing. clem says, “but why not TWO clems?”

henry takes alex’s hand. they both try hard not to smile.

for history class clem asks if someone from the secret service can come for show and tell. grandma ellen is out of town.

“sure,” grumbles alex. “why would you ask your old papa, he’s only governor of your home state.”

amy, who’s in the private sector now, does him a solid and goes instead.

for science class clem asks if he and daddy can both go. as trees.

she’s wearing a headband with a stuffed goomba attached by a small metal spring. it’s actually david’s so it doesn’t really fit.

she stands in front of her little classroom holding hands with tree alex and tree henry.

“i’m a mycelium,” clem says. she’s just lost a tooth and has a bit of a lisp. it’s adorable. “these are my dads. they are trees.

“i’m a mycelium because they’re big and i am small and they take care of me so that i can grow. but sometimes i can take care of them too.

“if one of them ever gets brown leaves or needs water i can get my other dad to come help. but 10 out of all the 10 times—”

(she’s learning her fractions; alex is so proud.)

“—they’re so happy together and love me so much. and because i’m a mycelium i’m part of how they love each other too.”

henry dabs at his eyes while clem’s classmates and her teacher applaud.

“sweetheart.” alex dries henry’s cheeks with a green felt leaf from his hair. “her speeches always make you tear up, huh.”