“Is it true, Sam?” Alden asked. “Do we get to stay home?”
“We’re all staying home. We’ve got the whole day to do whatever we want. What should we do?”
“Can we go to the Feds game?” Scotty asked.
“No!” Aubrey said. “No baseball. It’s so boring.”
“Those are fighting words, little sister.”
She stuck her tongue out at him. “No baseball.”
“Laser tag!” Alden said.
“Build-a-Bear!” Aubrey said.
“No bears,” Scotty and Alden said.
“This is a challenge, citizens,” Sam said. “What else?”
“How about ice skating?” Scotty asked. “I could give you guys another lesson.”
Aubrey glanced at Alden, who shrugged.
“We’ll do that,” Aubrey said for both of them. She was often their spokesperson. “This would be the best day ever if Elijah was here, too.”
“We can FaceTime him at breakfast,” Sam said. “I also want to go see Tracy and the kids. They’re home today, too.”
Scotty glanced at her, seeming to connect the dots to his own day off.
When the twins ran off to tell their Secret Service agents they were staying home, Scotty looked to Sam. “Is this because of Ethan?”
“In part. Mostly, it’s because I want to spend time with you guys. But we also don’t want you having to answer questions.”
“About what?”
“You’ll see when you look at your social media, but people are trying to tie Ethan to Luna’s murder.”
“What? How? He had nothing to do with that.”
“It’s what people do. They make shit up, especially due to his connection to us and the chance to make us look bad. Who knows why they do it?”
“It’s sick that anyone would say such a thing about a child who was abducted.”
“I agree, honey. Remember that the twins don’t know what happened, and we’re trying to keep it that way.”
“I won’t say anything. I don’t want them to know that things like that can happen. They’ve already seen enough horrible stuff.”
“Yes, they have. Thank you for always thinking about what’s best for them.”
“After you and Dad, they’re the best thing to ever happen to me. Eli, too. I love having siblings.”
“I love that for you, too.”
“You know what I love more than anything in the whole world?”
“What’s that?”
“A fake sick day approved by my dad, the POTUS.”
