Page 18

“We need time to go through her things, and I can’t drive three hours back and forth every day.”

“Okay, but how will I go to work and watch the kids?My parents are going on vacation, so they won’t be here to help this time.”

“I’ll find someone to watch them during the day.”

“We’ve been through all the babysitters in a twenty-mile radius.Four little kids is a lot.”

“There’s still that one woman who said she’d come back.”

“Who?”

“The one who used to volunteer at the juvenile detention center.She doesn’t scare easily.”

“We’ll see about that,” Alex grinned, and Abby laughed.

“It’ll only be a week or so, and we’ll pay her double.”

Abby snuggled up even closer to him.She was asking a lot, but she also knew he would support whatever she needed.She gave him a slow, meaningful kiss and then carefully stood so as not to shake the couch and disturb her sleeping progeny.

She did five loads of laundry and paid the bills to lessen the upcoming burden on Alex.Then, she cleaned up the toys and prepared dinner while Alex bathed the kids.When she was folding the last of the laundry, Addison toddled into her room.

“Mommy…” Addison said, opening her tiny arms wide.Abby scooped her up and embraced her, peppering her with kisses.Addison giggled like a preteen girl with her first crush.

Abby took a whiff of Addison’s freshly washed hair and remembered how much she loved babies.The day Emma was born, Alex confessed that he wanted six kids.Abby said she was happy with the four they had and didn’t think they should have more.This caused a small rift between them until she relented and said she’d reconsider when Emma was four.When Emma turned one, Abby knew she wouldn’t reconsider.

She carried Addison into the playroom and sat on the floor with the rest of her kids.Alex came in, and while Levi and Hudson colored together and raced cars, Emma and Levi played dress up.Abby and Alex let them stay up later than usual, as she would be gone again in a few days.Part of her felt guilty for looking forward to having no responsibilities for as long as she could before being sucked back into the chaotic universe that was her life.

CHAPTER 12

Carla

Carla never talked about her past; some things were too painful to revisit.During her childhood, she longed for someone to laugh at her jokes or wrap their arms around her when she was sad.Two things she never got from her parents.

Beverly didn’t allow Carla to date until she was sixteen, and although her mother was rarely home to enforce that, Carla was a rule follower.She didn’t go on her first date until she was a junior in high school.She dated four boys that year, but none of them flooded her brain with enough hormones to knock her off her platform shoes.That finally happened in 1988, when she met Brian in her sophomore year at Brooklyn College.

Carla had been going to the college library every day after school to study; it was better than being alone in her house.She had no idea until later that Brian had first noticed her outside that building.He told her that when he saw her, the wind was whipping her hair into her face, and it looked like she could barely see.She was weighed down by her denim backpack and trying to balance a purse, a jacket, and a can of coke.Something about Carla intrigued Brian, and he waited outside the library every day for a week, gathering up the courage to talk to her.

One day, as Carla walked home, she became aware that a guy had been following her for the last few blocks.She was slightly creeped out, so she walked faster and faster until she was almost jogging.When she developed a cramp, she stopped, bent over, and grabbed her side.The young man caught up to her, and she balled her fists just in case.

“Hi,” he said.

Carla raised her head and looked him over.His jeans didn’t have any holes, the color of his shirt was bright, as though it wasn’t a hand-me-down that had gone through a washing machine hundreds of times, and he wore white tennis shoes without any scuff marks.He was either a regular guy or a well-dressed mugger.

“Hi,” she said quietly.She ran her fingers through her hair.

“Do you mind if I walk with you?”he asked.

“It’s a public street,” Carla said, which might have sounded snotty, but her voice had a lilt to it that conveyed she didn’t mind.

He walked alongside her for a moment before he spoke again.“I’m Brian.I just transferred to Brooklyn College, and I don’t know anyone.”

“I’m Carla.”She put her hand out to shake his as if she were on a job interview.

“Nice to meet you, Carla,” he said, taking her hand and shaking it lightly.

Carla smiled but wasn’t sure what else to say.Her usual demeanor could be considered shy if one was being nice or standoffish if one wasn’t.Her aura wasn’t conducive to boys approaching her.She continued walking, and Brian kept in step with her.

Carla waited for him to speak again, which she quickly realized he excelled at.In a very short time, it became apparent that he could’ve had a conversation with a thumb tack.