Page 25 of Before We Break

“What’s your favorite?”

He walks over to the bin and pulls out a Brontosaurus, running his finger along the slope of its long neck. “Good choice, buddy.”

A few minutes pass in companionable silence before he replaces his cochlear implants. “Did you know the Brontosaurus is a herbivore? That means they like to eat plants.”

“That’s right. Can you name a carnivore?”

He finally cracks a smile, his whole face lighting up like nobody’s ever shared his interest before. “That’s easy! T-rex.”

“You’re a smart cookie.”

“I’m not a cookie. I’m Auggie.”

I can’t help but laugh. “You’re right. How silly of me.”

Quiet footsteps approach, and I turn to find Emmy standing nearby. “Hey, Em. Do you need something?”

“Nope.” She turns her attention to Auggie instead. “Can I play, too?”

He grins, offering her the green Brontosaurus toy.

I stand and step past them. “Here. You can have my seat.”

She slumps into my spot and picks up my discarded Triceratops. I watch them for a few minutes, making certain Auggie’s ok before I make the rounds with the other kids.

Around three o’clock, the parents start arriving to pick up the kids. By four, only Emmy and Auggie are left, which is odd because Emma’s usually here at 3:30 like clockwork.

A quiet rap on the door draws my attention. It’s Carla, the preschool director. She gestures for me to follow her outside the door, staying within eyeline of the kids as they color at one of the tables.

“What’s up?”

“August’s aunt called. Her car broke down outside of Starling Falls. She’s not gonna make it.”

“Did you call his uncle?”

“I did. He asked if you could bring August home today.”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. He could’ve asked me himself. He has my number. “Isn’t that against policy?”

“Technically speaking, yes, but with Noah’s consent, we can allow it.”

“Ok. Sure. Let him know we’ll be there soon. Callie should be by to pick up Emmy any minute.”

“Perfect. I’ll pass the message along.” She starts to walk away but turns back. “I suggest you talk to him about being added as an emergency contact for August in case this happens again. It might be best if you disclose your relationship sooner rather than later.” There’s a slight hitch in her brow.

“What? Oh! No. It’s not like that. He’s just my neighbor.”

She taps the side of her nose. “Right. Neighbor.”

Carla disappears around the corner before I can say more, and Callie arrives not a moment too soon. She follows me into the classroom, where Emmy and Auggie are still perfectly content with their boxes of crayons and alphabet coloring sheets.

“Is Emmy ready to go?” she asks with exhaustion written all over her face.

“Twins still not sleeping?”

She sighs. “How ever did you guess?”

I know better than to comment on her appearance, but those dark circles aren’t fooling anyone. “You should take some time off. You’ve been working too much lately on top of taking care of two growing babies. It’s a lot. I remember how it was with Lexi, and that was just one kid.”