"We'll finish tomorrow."
"You have to promise you'll be here."
"I promise."
She hugged her teddy and closed her eyes. Soon her breathing evened out. I stood and switched off the bedside lamp, padding out. Elena had been standing in the hall for who knew how long.
"You did well," she said quietly.
"I just read the words," I replied.
"But she liked you. I could tell," Elena said.
"I liked her too. She's a sweet kid."
We held each other's gaze in the hallway, and then fell silent. Elena's soft goodnight finally broke the quiet as she walked into the bedroom.
I showered and then slept hard on the couch.
I woke before dawn and moved as quietly as possible. I'd planned to make a proper breakfast—to prove I wasn't completely useless in the kitchen.
Eggs, bread, milk. Simple: boiled eggs and toast. I filled a pot, dropped in the eggs, turned the stove on, and slid the bread into the oven. Perfect.
Ten minutes later, I smelled smoke.
"Shit." I opened the oven. The edges of the toast were black. I pulled them out and tried to scrape off the char with a knife, which only made it worse.
The eggs? I turned off the heat and tried to peel one. The whites were rubbery, and the yolk had that ugly gray-green ring.
"Fuck," I muttered.
"Igor?" Stella stood in the kitchen doorway, rubbing her eyes. Her hair was a mess.
"Morning," I said, trying to hide the disaster.
"You were making breakfast?" She tiptoed over and peered at the stove. "Wow, so smoky!"
"I… was trying."
She looked at the burnt toast and laughed. "Igor, your black bread looks like the charcoal Mom uses to draw!"
I laughed too. "Pretty close."
"Let me help!" she insisted, grabbing my hand. "I know how—Mom taught me."
"You're five."
"But I'm clever!" she declared. "You can't leave toast too long. Eggs can't boil too much either."
Elena's voice came from the living room. "Stella, why are you up so early?"
"Igor was making breakfast!" Stella called back. "But he messed it up!"
I heard Elena laugh, then she appeared in the kitchen. She took in the mess and shookher head.
"Move aside, you two," she said, rolling up her sleeves. "I'll take care of it."
"But—" I started to protest.
