Is something wrong at home?
Is it Everett?
Is Emilia sick?
Surely, I would have heard something if she were feeling under the weather.
“Hey.”
He definitely sounds out of sorts.
Maybe he’s the one who isn’t feeling good. I turn to get a better look at him.
“You brought Dash to work today.”
Oh no. In the drama of the morning, I forgot to drop him off at daycare. “Yeah. You seemed worried about him.”
“Gotta go, Baby. I’ll see you later for my cupcake.” Canyon interrupts with a weird level of cheerfulness in his voice for our situation.
He’s probably just acting. “Looking forward to it.” I added his cupcakes to the schedule, so I don’t need to worry about forgetting.
“Dash loves being worn, so I figured even if you weren’t in the mood to watch him—“
“I am.” Max holds his arms out for the baby. “We’re going to talk about language in coding today.”
“Fiona.” Izzy walks over.
She’s not usually one to interrupt when other people are talking. Izzy is that combination of super-shy and ultra-friendly. Neither of which serves her well. “Here.” I hand Max the baby and turn to Izzy. “What’s up?”
She glances at Max and Hope, then the ground.
“Why don’t we go around back and talk at one of the picnic tables?” Right now, I wish I had stayed at the apartment and had another cup of coffee. “See you guys inside soon.”
Hopefully.
After we climb up onto the table, I ask. “So what’s going on?”
“You remember that guy I was talking about?”
Do I? Each of these kids seems to be in and out of a dozen relationships. What was Izzy’s — “The guy at your internship?”
“Yeah.” She rubs her foot along the bench. “I think he likes me. No, I know he likes me.”
Izzy’s history is a lot like mine. The only real difference was the pimp. And are pimps who sell kids really any different from each other? Understanding real relationships has got to be hard for her. “Why do you say that?”
“He’s always coming over to my desk to talk. Inviting me to lunch. And…touching my hand.”
Aww. Young love is so sweet. “Do you want him to?”
She shrugs again. “Maybe. No. I’m not sure.”
“You don’t need to be. There’s plenty of time to figure it out. To get to know him better and decide what you want to do.”
“Really?”
“Yes. You never need to rush for a man. They need to give you time. Just like you would give them time.”
She nods. “Of course.”
