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Deciding to forego the movie and nap, Lex had just returned from the hideaway after gathering most of their stuff, which wasn’t much. He grinned because Zane was definitely looking nervous as Lex took a seat on the wrought iron bench beside him where he sat waiting for Mrs. Giordano, who was cleaning her supplies. She’d taken a break to answer her phone after cutting Lex’s hair.
“Your hair looks great,” Zane said to Lex.
Lex had been pretty happy with how it looked, he had to admit, and strangely, it had cheered him up. He was starting to feel different after he’d changed into some of the new clothes—a pair of jeans along with a plain navy t-shirt. In fact, he thought he looked younger with his blond hair and blue eyes, and hair cropped short.
He could very well be much younger than they thought, Dr. Donnelly had said. Unlike Zane, Lex had few memories of the past before arriving at the farm.
Izzy had given both Lex and Zane a key to the hideout so they could return whenever they wanted. There were a few personal items left that Lex hadn’t brought along today. Mostly, the remaining things had belonged to Zane, so Lex left those items alone. Zane had actually buried some personal things at the property of one of his foster parents before the house had been abandoned, planning to return and fetch everything someday soon. The three of them had hid there in the basement until Zane had come up with a plan for them to leave Milwaukee after escaping from the farm.
Pursing her lips, Mrs. Giordano thumbed through a magazine when Zane sat down.
Seeming to find what she’d been looking for, she showed him a picture. “What do you think of this cut, Zane? I think it would look good on you.”
Zane blinked. “I didn’t know I’d get to choose.”
She laughed. “Izzy made me promise that I’d make you look like a rocker.”
Zane snorted. “Yeah, well. I think she could talk anyone into anything. She heard me with my guitar, and she has this idea that I’m going to get accepted into that music camp they have here in town. It’s just like she knows exactly what to say to people to get her to do what she wants. I don’t think we’d even be here if she hadn’t started feeding my ego and telling me how good she thought I was.”
Mrs. Giordano looked startled before she started laughing again, this time a lot harder, and Lex couldn’t help but join in.
“Yes. Whatever you think would look good, Mrs. Giordano,” Zane finally replied.
“I think that you and Lex should probably just call us Lucy and Gabe. Alright?” she suggested, getting started with a pair of scissors.
“Alright,” Zane answered while Lex nodded.
Distractedly, Lex watched through the solarium window as Izzy and Amy woke Caleb, who looked scared at first, obviously because he’d been in such a deep sleep.
Caleb quickly rebounded though, looking around and finally realizing that the Giordano family wasn’t just a figment of his imagination.
“I can’t believe how much healthier Caleb looks after only twenty-four hours,” Lex said.
Mrs. Giordano looked up, giving him a smile that was definitely reassuring. “I promise it will get even better, Lex.”
As Lex watched through the window, Caleb stood excitedly when Amy and Izzy dragged over the box and told him to open it.
Tears filled Lex’s eyes watching the look of wonder on Caleb’s face when he saw the toys in the box and started pulling each one out.
“Can I ask you something, Zane? I wanted to run this by you and Lex first,” Mrs. Giordano said, continuing to clip his hair.
Zane swallowed hard. He was apparently watching Caleb through the window too. “Sure.”
“If we can’t find Caleb’s family, how do you think he’d fit in here with us? Gabe and I have been trying to get pregnant, but meanwhile, we’ve always said that we were ready to adopt more kids.”
“I think that he’d probably be happier here than anywhere else in the world,” Zane answered softly.
And honestly.
Lex silently agreed, nodding his head.
Lucy cleared her throat, gently squeezing his shoulder before continuing his haircut.
* * *
“I could swear that guys are more nervous about haircuts than girls,” Izzy said dryly.
Zane grinned as they headed back into the solarium, while Lex stayed outside for a moment, taking in the view as Lucy gave Caleb his haircut.
