He’s dressed casually. Jeans and a dark sweater. No suit, no weapons visible. He’s carrying a bag I recognize from a toy store in Manhattan.
The twins stare at him.
He stops just inside the doorway and looks at them. Really looks at them. I watch his face change. The anger that’s been there for weeks softens into something else. Longing. Love. Fear.
“Hi,” he says quietly.
Finn doesn’t answer.
Liam presses closer to me.
Cassian glances at me, then back to the boys. “I’m Cassian. Your mam probably told you I was coming.”
“You’re our da,” Finn says.
“I am.”
“You tried to take us at school.”
“I did. And I’m very sorry for that. I scared you and that was wrong.”
“Why did you do it?”
“Because I was angry and I wasn’t thinking clearly. But that’s not an excuse. I shouldn’t have done it.”
“Are you still angry?”
“No. Not anymore.”
Finn considers this. “Are you going to try again?”
“No. I promise.”
“How do we know you’re telling the truth?”
Cassian’s mouth curves slightly. “You don’t. You’ll just have to trust me. And I’ll have to prove it to you.”
Finn seems satisfied with that answer.
Liam hasn’t said anything. Just watches Cassian with those serious eyes.
Cassian moves slowly, like he’s approaching a frightened animal. He sits on the floor in front of the coffee table, putting himself lower than the twins. Less threatening.
“I brought you something,” he says, setting the bag on the table. “I didn’t know what you liked, so I just guessed.”
“What is it?” Finn asks.
“Why don’t you look?”
Finn slides off the couch and approaches cautiously. He opens the bag and pulls out a construction set. Snap-together blocks and gears, the kind that makes complicated machines.
“Liam, look!” He holds it up. “It’s like the ones we saw on TV!”
Liam doesn’t move.
Cassian pulls out a second box. A model car kit. Not for young children, but something they could build with help. “I thought maybe we could build it together,” he says. “If you want.”
Finn is already opening the construction set. “Can we build it now?”
