I grabbed the bottle of wine I’d bought on the way and used my key to let myself into the stairway that led to the apartment. The door opened at the top of the stairs before I could knock.
“Grady, you’re back.” Madison launched herself at me, careful of her cast but no less enthusiastic. Trevor bounded out behind her, tail wagging so hard his whole back end wiggled.
“Hey, Sweet Pea.” I scooped her up with my free arm, resting her on my hip. “How’s the injury?”
“Much better. Look how many people signed it.” She thrust the blue cast toward my face. The entire thing was covered in signatures and drawings—hearts, stars, doodles, names in different colored markers.
“You have a lot of friends,” I said.
“I know. Everyone likes me,” Madison said.
“How could they not?” I asked, kissing the top of her head before setting her down.
Esme appeared, wearing jeans and an oversized sweater, her hair in a messy bun. She had no makeup on and her eyes were red and puffy. She looked exhausted but beautiful nonetheless.
“Hey there,” I said, handing her the wine. “I stopped and got us a treat.”
“That’s so sweet of you, and I’m glad you did. Welcome home.” She gave me a sad smile. “We missed you.”
“You okay?” I asked, pulling Esme into a hug. She felt so tiny in my arms and too thin. “What’s going on?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
Madison skipped ahead into the living room to sit on the floor to play with her dollies. Trevor stayed glued to my side, looking up at me with his sweet brown eyes. I knelt to give him some good pets. “Hey, boy. Did you hold down the fort while I was gone?”
A tail wag and a lick of my hand was all the answer I needed. Trevor sauntered off, lying down next to Madison on the rug with his chin in his paws.
Robbie appeared from his room. “Hello, Grady.”
“Hey, buddy. How’s it going?”
“Adequately.” But there was a careful blankness that told me things were not, in fact, adequate. What on earth was going on here?
“Robbie, will you set the table?” Esme asked. “And Madison, you need to wash your hands before dinner. Be careful not to get water inside your cast.”
Madison headed to the bathroom, Trevor on her heels.
“He’s been following Madison around like she’s in danger ever since she got home,” Esme said.
“Good dog,” I said.
“Dinner’s almost ready. Lila brought one of her homemade lasagnas over,” Esme said.
“Sounds great. Can I do anything?” I asked.
“Open that wine,” Esme said. “Pronto.”
Dinner was quiet,other than the little one. Madison chattered about school, telling us that Holly had let her be line leader even though it wasn’t her turn because of her broken arm. “And all the kids clapped when I got to class, like I was a famous singer. It was kind of fun to have a cast and everyone paying attention to me.”
“I’m glad you can see the silver lining,” I said.
“Silver lining? What’s that?” Madison asked.
“It’s when something bad happens but it’s not all bad,” Robbie said. “There’s something positive that comes from whatever it is that happened.”
Madison’s face lit up. “That’s totally what my cast is.”
Robbie ate methodically, saying little. Esme pushed food around her plate without eating much. I tried to keep things light, asking the kids questions about school.
