Lyric sighed and nodded. “She’s always gone.”
“She was just home for fall break,” I reminded her.
“That wasn’t long enough.”
Boone patted Lyric’s foot dangling between us. “I cried a lot when my sister went to school. I missed her so much. But I also liked having my mom to myself during the day.”
Lyric smiled at me. “I like you paying attention to me.”
“I like paying attention to you, too.”
As Lyric stared at me, I was certain she had forgotten what her original complaint had been. She glanced at Boone.
“You’re here.”
“I’m staying tonight. I get to sleep in your mom’s bed.”
“You’re too big.”
“I’ll curl up until I’m smaller.”
Lyric grinned. “Do you know how to do a cartwheel?”
Boone took advantage of her question to move us to the backyard. Though he chickened out on his cartwheel, Goldie and Lyric took turns showing off their moves.
Afterward, my baby talked about joining a gymnastics class until Lula mentioned signing up. Suddenly, Lyric was too busy to go.
The autumn weather helped my mood. While Lyric told Boone and Goldie stories about the Baton Rouge Zoo, I let myself feel the change in season. Last spring, I uprooted my life and moved in with Lula and her daughter.
The summer was busy. We bought a new house in Baton Rouge. We said goodbye to the old one. Zodiac and Elle got together. Skylar started school. I grew closer to so many new people.
Yet, in a lot of ways, I’d remained stuck in the past. Even though time moved forward, I was still fighting battles with people long dead.
Back in the present, Goldie ditched us and headed next door when she saw Sabrina arrive. Irritated by his sister’s neglect, Boone decided we should pick up Skylar. As we drove to theelementary school, Dan and Lula headed to the junior high to get Dillon.
Once in the car, Skylar acted mopey. I figured she might be bothered by my freakout this morning. Or she was annoyed by Boone’s presence.
We dropped off the foster kids, Jenan and Elijah, next door with Bebe before heading home. Dan texted to explain how he, Dillon, and Lula planned to see a movie and get dinner.
“Lula thought you might like alone time with him.”
I rolled my eyes at how my brother refused to use Boone’s name. Despite my irritation, I thanked him for letting me enjoy time with my boyfriend. I knew that last word would piss him off in the same way as his name avoidance annoyed me.
“Mama, Skylar’s sad,” Lyric said and tugged on my hand.
Normally, my oldest daughter wanted a quick snack and then a nap. Today, she sat on her bed, wearing her black sunglasses and sniffling.
“What’s wrong, baby?” I asked.
Skylar instantly lowered her head. “I didn’t do anything,” she whimpered as Lyric began crying next to me. “I’m not mean.”
“What happened?” I whispered and kneeled in front of the two girls. “Did someone hurt you?
Skylar walked over to where she had dropped her backpack. Digging out a paper, she handed it to me.
“I didn’t do anything to him!” she cried.
The drawing was a typical kid's design with weird shapes and unsuitable colors. I wasn’t sure what I was looking at. I knew Skylar hadn’t drawn the picture since she knew how to make stick figures, not this blobby body madness.
