“We’ll probably be getting home around ten tonight. The twins go to bed at eight, and I’ve already shown you over ten times their bedtime routine.” She smiles, picking up one of the twins and kissing them on the cheek.
“Mae, we’ll be late for Clayton’s meet if we don’t get on the road,” Mr. Daniels says.
She looks at the time. “Oh, you’re right.” Kissing the little girl with ringlet curls, she walks toward the door. “Clayton, are you ready?”
Clayton comes out of his room with his track bag over his shoulder. He fidgets with the straps on his backpack and doesn’t take his eyes off the ground. “Yeah. I’ll be right there.”
His parents nod and get in their car while Clayton walks toward me.
“Leave them in your dust,” I say and giggle at the thought.
He grins. “I wish you could come.”
“Well, someone has to watch these crazy babies.” I stack a few blocks before one of them knocks it over. “You’re going to do great. Just imagine I’m sitting on the bench, and you’re doing your normal laps.”
He nods, smiling faintly as he walks out the door.
They leave, and I’m alone in their house with the twins. After feeding them, I wipe down both high chairs and the surrounding floor while they knock over their blocks in the living room, and I have no doubt I’ll find them scattered everywhere and under the couch. I give them a bath, but I think I get more wet than they do with all the splashing. The easiest part was their bottles, they happily sucked down every drop before I laid them down in their beds. One goes to sleep right away, butMrs. Thompson warned me that the straight-haired one might need me to rock her. I pick her up and sit on the rocker, humming while she watches me before finally closing her eyes.
Taking care of them is a lot of work, but once they’re down, it makes me miss the chaos a little. There’s no little baby to play with or cuddle anymore. After cleaning the kitchen, I watch a movie, but it’s still not time for them to be back. Going into Clayton’s room with my book in hand, I walk around looking at his trophies, pictures on the walls, and knick-knacks. His dresser has one photo stuck in the side of the mirror, and I smile at the sweet moment captured. It’s him and me sitting in front of the fire at my house. We both have big smiles on our faces as we roast marshmallows. I didn’t even know he had this.
I go to his bed and look at his nightstand, sitting on the side of his fluffy bed, and find another photo. It’s me again, but only me. I’m sitting at lunch, reading. It’s how I am every day at school, but I wonder how he took this one. I never saw a camera. Lying down on his bed, I pull out my book and start reading.
I jolt awake when someone touches my arm.
“Hey, it’s me.” Clayton’s voice is gentle.
“Oh. Sorry. I guess I fell asleep.”
He nods. “I’m going to walk you home.”
“Okay.”
There’s a bite in the air since there’s no sun, and the moon and stars are shining bright, but it’s not cold enough to make me want a jacket. We walk in silence, going through the woods and over our fence line.
Once we get to my house, he turns toward me. “Why did you sleep on my bed?”
“I don’t know. Smelled like home, I guess.”
He nods because I know he understands what I’m unable to say. We’ve been best friends for years now, and I consider him part of my home.
“Did you win?” I ask before going inside.
He smiles. “Oh, yeah.”
I laugh. I like seeing him find joy in something he loves. He wasn’t sure he would like track, being told how far to run and having it more structured, but he excels at it.
6
CLAYTON:THEN
Clayton:16 years old
“Are you sure you’re ready? I mean, your driving isn’t the best,” Rylee says, watching me put on my shoes.
I’m nervous, but not enough to think I won’t pass my driving test. I’ve been chauffeuring my mom everywhere. She stopped watching and critiquing me a long time ago, and now she brings a book since she gets to sit back and enjoy the ride.
“What are you talking about?” I sit back in my chair.
