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“Izzy’s only eleven.”
“Not her. You. Feels like you’re in high school all over again. If you don’t watch it, that boy is gonna fall in love with you again, and I’ll allow it over my dead body.”
“No, Dad. Tyler chose Maisie.”
“He once chose you.”
“You know the expression,There’s a lid for every pot? Sometimes, the lid fits on two different pots. It’s a perfectly good lid, and it’s currently sitting on another pot, where it belongs.”
“There’s also an ass for every seat,” he grumbles and starts walking back into the house. “Just make sure that ass stays where he belongs!”
I laugh. If I learned how to bust chops, it was clearly from the best.
The week goes by as seemingly normal as possible. The kids go to school, I go to work, and Dad sticks to his routine. As I pick the kids up from school, I watch as Hunter waves to his friends and carries conversations, even as he’s walking away. His eagerness to chat with his new classmates is adorable.
The contrast to Izzy’s sullen walk to the car makes my heart sink.
When Tyler and I made the decision to move the kids to the school in our old hometown of Newbury, the place I was moving back to, we thought it would be easy because this is where we grew up. We have fond memories of this building and thought the transition would be easy.
I hadn’t planned on Izzy taking this long to adapt. Starting a new school in the fifth grade must be tough, but being that the middle school here starts in the fifth grade, it should be easier than this. A lot of the kids are new, and the classes rotate, so there’s plenty of opportunity to make friends.
Izzy doesn’t wave good-bye to a single child. She hasn’t exchanged numbers with anyone new, nor does she talk about kids from school. It’s great she has her old friends in Greenwood Village and still keeps in touch. I hope she makes at least one new friend here.
“I’m gonna be in the talent show!” Hunter shoves a flyer in my face that he pulled out of his backpack.
I lean down and grab the now-open backpack to keep everything from falling out as I simultaneously take the flyer from his hand. “That’s awesome. Are kindergarteners allowed to perform?”
“Yes! I want to do magic.”
I let out a ragged breath as I buckle him into his booster seat. He can do it on his own, but it’s a habit I haven’t broken yet. “Honey, we don’t know any magic. When is this show?”
I place his backpack on the floor and close the door. Looking down at the flyer, I see it’s in a few weeks. I suppose I could help him putsomethingtogether for an elementary school performance.
As I slide into the driver’s side, I look at Izzy, who is seated in the back on the passenger side. She’s gripping her backpack to her chest and looking out the window.
“What about you? Do you want to perform in the talent show?”
“It’s for the lower school only. The middle school doesn’t have one. Even if they did, I wouldn’t be in it. I don’t have a talent,” she replies.
“You have a ton of talent. Art, for one. You make beautiful sketches. Plus, you cook. Better than I ever did as a kid.”
“A monkey can make pancakes,” she states matter-of-factly as she fidgets with the tag on her backpack. She’s quiet for a moment before asking, “Do you really think I’m good at art?”
“Yes! You might not think it’s anything more than a hobby, but you have real talent.”
Izzy shrugs and looks out the window. “I guess so.”
“There’s an art studio in downtown Newbury. I could look into getting you some classes. Maybe you can make friends there with similar interests?”
“I already have friends, Mom. They live near Dad. Not that he lets me see them because he and Maisie always have something ‘fun’ planned.” She uses air quotes for the wordfun. “Why do they try so hard? Hunter and I don’t need to be entertained every second.”
Hunter chimes in, “Speak for yourself. Dad says he’s taking us out on ATVs this weekend.”
I look at them through the rearview mirror with horror. “ATVs? This is the first I’m hearing of this.”
“There’s this place with a super-cool track. I have to ride with Dad though. Izzy’s tall enough to ride alone.”
“See? Tries way too hard.” Izzy folds her arms over her chest and falls further into her seat.
