“I don’t think—” Sam said. He leaned onto the back of my minivan in the driveway. “I think I might not be able to stay upright, sweetheart.”
But just then, Conrad appeared in the doorway. He must have heard my yell.
“The fuck!” he called. He raced toward us, catching Sam just before his knees gave out. “Sam, what the hell! What happened? We need to get you an ambulance!”
“No,” Sam croaked. He reached his hand out, searching. He was looking for me.
“I’m here, Sam.” I took his hand, then curled myself under his other arm. Together Conrad and I got Sam up the steps and inside.
“Just need… Lie down.” Sam said.
We got him into my room, flopped on the bed.
“Wrecking the sheets,” Sam said, his eyelids at half-mast. But he was looking at me, his lips tilted up.
I couldn’t help the quiet laughter I let out. He’d helped me change the sheets a few hours ago, for very specific, sexy reasons. And he was filthy, I noticed now. He was covered in dirt; there were twigs and leaves in his hair.
“What happened?” Conrad asked.
“Sister. Cora will—” he trailed off.
Conrad had already checked his vitals. He said he looked okay. But I asked him again. “Are you sure?”
“Let’s find out what happened. Then we’ll figure it out. Do you have his sister’s number?”
I nodded.
Tommy came in then, Mom and Henry and Archie on his heels. They all crowded in the doorway.
“Oh!” Mom exclaimed. “Oh!” She looked at me, an apology in her expression.
“It’s okay, Mom.”
“Is he okay?” Tommy asked, his voice cracking.
“Tommy!” Sam said, coming to life. He reached his hand out and Tommy came over. Sam gripped his hand.
“Happy birthday Tommy. I didn’t want to miss it. I want to—do it again…” He fell quiet.
“He’s okay,” I said to Tommy, resting a hand on my son’s arm. “He’ll be okay. And we’re going to do this over again, I promise.”
Tommy nodded, his throat flexing as he swallowed.
“Da-da!” Henry said.
I whirled around, my heart lifting. “Did you just say dada?”
“Da-da!” Henry flapped an arm, like he was pointing at his dad.
“He’s not even awake to hear it,” Archie said sadly.
“He’ll hear it when he wakes up,” I said. “We should let him sleep.”
“Come on boys,” Mom said. Her voice trailed down the hall. “It’s funny how his shirt says he’s in the sheets, because he’s sleeping right now.”
Conrad let out a choked laugh.
“Don’t tell her,” I said.
