Dylan cupped his hand and dug a slithering trench in the soft-looking sand.
“What’re you making, kiddo?” I asked and sat down on the edge of the sandbox.
“A river,” he answered. “Liam from kindergarten gots a Lego city with a river like this.”
“That’s cool. Sounds like something you could wish for for your birthday. It’s comin’ up, innit?”
He squinted at me, maybe a little puzzled. “I’m almost six.”
I smiled. “Ms. Lynda told me that. That needs to be celebrated.”
He sat back in the sand and wiped his hands on his legs. “We sing ‘Happy Birthday’ in class, and there’s a crown. Sometimes, we get ice cream.”
That was telling. And sobering. His mind didn’t wander to birthday parties at home, but to how they celebrated it in kindergarten.
Dylan shrugged a little and went back to digging. “I don’t go to kindergarten now.”
I wasn’t surprised. If they stayed here long, I assumed the plan was to put him in kindergarten elsewhere, but the hope was obviously that it would fall on the foster family. And so help me God, it was going to be Nate and me. We’d throw the boy a party too. Every child deserved a safe childhood with birthday parties, holiday celebrations, food on the table, security, and being told to go clean their room.
A few minutes later
Philadelphia
Nathan Mills
How quickly could one buy a house? Because Ash and I had to leave Boston like fucking yesterday. Not only did we want to give these two children all the stability and comfort they needed, but we wanted to be closer to family. We were going to need help.
My dad and stepmom definitely wanted us closer, and Lynda and Geoff weren’t exactly subtle in their quest to get us to leave Boston.
“You wouldn’t rather play a game, Hallie?” Lynda wondered.
She stood in the corner of the little common room, where they had a bunch of board games in crates on the floor.
Hallie merely shook her head and pulled a blanket up to her chin.
I sat next to her on the couch, leaving plenty of space between us in case she was uncomfortable.
“How about a juice box?” Lynda asked next.
At that, Hallie nodded.
“May I have one too?” I asked.
“Of course,” Lynda chuckled. “I’ll be right back.”
Once she’d left the room, I tilted my head toward Hallie.
“Juice boxes are awesome,” I said. “Do you have a favorite flavor? Mine is grape or apple.”
Hallie glanced at me with curiosity in her eyes, though her shyness won out seconds later, and she returned her gaze to the Disney movie running on the old TV.
Something told me it was going to take a while to get this little one to relax fully.
I was okay with that.
I pulled out my phone and texted Ash.
How quickly can we relocate to Virginia or thereabouts?
