Page 74 of Maximus

“Yeah, son, it was. What brings you out here?”

“I know you said we had to stay in the room while the adults were talking, but me and Eli are hungry.”

“Go on and get them something to eat,” Max said. “We’ll finish up.”

I took a chance and glanced around the table—four sets of eyes were on me. All identical in their inspection yet I couldn’t read any of their thoughts.

Damn, damn, damn.

They all must think I’m a fool, having my children pray for the very people I’d tried to harm.

It wasn’t the first time I’d felt like a total idiot and I doubted it would be the last.

“Come on, Liam. Let’s get you and your brother something to eat.”

Thankfully my son was completely oblivious to the tension in the room as he happily skipped into the kitchen.

“Does anyone want anything? I could make some sandwiches or something.”

“No, but thank you,” Declan answered. “We’re gonna be on our way in a few minutes.”

“Right,” I mumbled, and followed Liam.

It wasn’t until after I’d made the boys lunch, sat on the bed with them while they consumed their sandwiches, and Max’s team left, did I think about what Tex had said: he’d wiped my identity clean.

I was officially a no one and that meant my boys didn’t exist either—not on paper anyway—and they didn’t even realize it or the significance. That was what my life choices had come to.

Fuck.

* * *

“Sorry to drop in on you like this.” I was in the bedroom folding the boys’ new clothes while they sat on the bed playing the video games Max bought them, when I heard a woman’s voice in the other room. “It’s good to see you, Max.”

My back went straight and suddenly my stomach was protesting the spaghetti we’d had for dinner.

“I was gonna call you to thank you for all the stuff you got, but the day got away from me,” he answered her.

That wasn’t an exaggeration, the day flew by.

First, the team meeting, which had dispersed by the time the kids finished their lunch. Then I went through all of the bags with the kids. We found there weren’t only toys, books, and handheld video games. There was also an abundance of clothes and shoes. Whoever had guessed sizes had guessed correctly because all of the clothes fit and the shoes for Eli fit perfectly. Liam’s were a half-size too big but they still worked.

And there was a boatload of toiletries for me.

“I hope I didn’t go too crazy.”

So, that was Anaya in the living room with Max.

“Nope. You did great. I really appreciate it.” There was a lull in the conversation, then Max continued, “Why are you here, Anaya?”

The humor in his voice was easy to read.

A lighthearted tone that had been missing all day and for some strange reason, I was jealous he was giving it to her when all day there’d been tension between us. It was so thick, the boys didn’t miss it, even though Max had been nothing but sweet to Liam and Eli.

He’d helped them unbox the toys he bought them and didn’t complain once about the ungodly amount of plastic packaging that locked action figures into their clamshells, or the myriad of twist ties that made you wonder who in the world had that job and made you happy it wasn’t you.

But Max had been different around me.

The only way to describe the atmosphere was chilly and uncomfortable.