She leaned against his bare chest and nodded.
“Just us?” she whispered, looking at Evie who was sound asleep.
Sam nodded, then stood and carried her to the kitchen. He sat her on down in one of the chairs, then dipped ice cream for both of them.
Beth took a bite, then closed her eyes. “Mmm, good, Daddy. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Sam said, and ate with her until her bowl was empty before he got another pain pill. “Here, chew this up.”
She chewed, made a face, and then took a drink of the water he offered before taking their bowls to the sink.
“Back to bed you go,” Sam said. He carried her down the hall and into the girls’ bedroom and put her back in bed with Evie. “Sleep tight,” he whispered, as he pulled covers up over the both of them and then left the door open as he went back across the hall to his room.
It was almost 4:00 a.m. Out of habit, he moved the curtains aside in his bedroom to look out and saw the house across the street ablaze in lights. It appeared he and the girls weren’t the only ones having trouble getting any rest. After a quick glance up and down the street, he went back to bed, crawled in between the covers, and closed his eyes.
He lay there, listening to make sure the girls were quiet, and then relaxed. The next thing he heard was his alarm going off. Just like every day, he showered and shaved before going to make breakfast for himself and the girls.
Today felt like a pancake morning, so he got out a griddle and a bowl and began mixing batter.
***
Katie woke up flat on her stomach with her arms rolled under her. She’d been dreaming she was holding onto the boys, telling them she loved them, when something woke her.
She was stiff, and her eyes were burning, and all the lights were still on. She rolled over with a groan and grabbed her phone to see if she had any messages from the movers.
And she did.
They had given her a 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. time frame of when she could expect them, and it was almost nine. She leaped out of the sleeping bag and ran to the bathroom. Ten minutes later, she came out freshly showered and looking for something to put on, including shoes. No bare feet allowed when furniture is being moved.
Once she was dressed and her sleeping bag rolled up, she raced to the kitchen and made herself a glass of Pepsi. She needed caffeine and this would have to serve in lieu of the coffee she wanted. She grabbed a doughnut, silently thanking Louise Parsons all over again for the food, and then went out to the front porch and sat down on the top step with her breakfast.
A middle-aged man walked by with a little dog on a leash. He looked startled to see Katie, but when Katie waved, he nodded and smiled as he moved past.
So far, she felt good about her decision to move here, she thought, taking another bite of the doughnut. A few moments later, she noticed a robin in the grass a few yards away.
“Well, hello, sir. You are my first guest, and all I have to share is this doughnut,” she said, then pulled off a piece and gave it a toss toward the bird.
It hopped over to the morsel, looked up at her, and then picked up the bit of sweet dough and flew away.
“Gotta eat and run, huh?” she said. She put the last bite in her mouth, chewed and swallowed, then chased it with Pepsi.
She was still on the porch when her phone signaled a text. It was the moving van. They were in Borden’s Gap. She returned the text, telling them she was in the yard watching for them, then dropped her phone back in her pocket. She ran back into the house with her glass and set it in the sink before hurrying back out into the yard. Within minutes, she saw the big red moving van turn down the street and drive toward her.
I am sleeping in my bed tonight, she thought, and then lifted her arm and waved.
The driver began slowing down, then backed up her driveway and got out.
“Morning, Miss McGrath. I’m Evan.”
“Good morning, Evan! Did everything go okay?” Katie asked.
“Smooth trip. No hitches here,” he said. “Wanna give me a quick tour of the interior so I’ll know where stuff goes?”
“Sure,” Katie said, and walked him through the rooms, pointing out which was her bedroom and the other that would be the office.
“Looks good. We’ll have your things inside in no time.”
“You guys will set my bed back up, right?” Katie asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, and then went out to the truck.
The two other men in Evan’s crew were already removing packing blankets, and while she watched, they brought what was left of Katie’s life back under her roof. No two flights of stairs to maneuver. No short turns on the landings.
After they had finished unloading and setting up furniture, they left. Katie locked her front door as they were driving away and went straight to her bedroom to find the box with her bedding in it. No matter what else got done today, she was going to sleep in her bed tonight, between her own sheets.
***
The twins were in the living room watching morning cartoons when they saw a big red truck stop in front of their house. They ran to the window long enough to see the new teacher in the yard and men carrying furniture in the house, before they turned and ran.
“Miss Roxie! Miss Roxie!” they shouted.
Roxie stepped out of Sam’s bedroom into the hall.
“I’m here!”
Evie got to her first. “We saw the new teacher, and there’s a big red truck in her driveway.”
“Men are carrying furniture into her house,” Beth added.
“Well, I’ll say,” Roxie said. “That’s probably the moving van with her things. I’ll bet she’s glad they have arrived.”
The girls nodded, then ran back to the window to watch. Every time Katie stepped out of the house, they commented on a different aspect of her appearance.
Beth pointed. “Evie! Look how long her hair is.”
Evie nodded, then added, “She’s tall.”
“But not as tall as Daddy,” Beth said.
Evie agreed. “No one is as tall as Daddy.”
“Her kitchen table is white. Ours isn’t white,” Beth said.
“Her sofa is kinda black,” Evie said, frowning.
“No, it’s dark gray, I think,” Beth said.
“I like red,” Evie said. “She should have a red sofa.”
Beth giggled. “We don’t have a red sofa.”
Evie shrugged. “I still like red ones. When I grow up, I will have a red sofa.”