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“Can you make me more food like last night?”

“I have my mom’s recipe for eggs.”

Agnes had never once said yes to eggs. She tilted her head as she considered it. “Fine. I’ll try them if you make them spicy.”

I called Beatrice over, offering the same option. I almost hoped that Beatrice would say no and that she wanted something different than usual. Instead, she nodded at regular eggs, and I walked them back to my apartment.

Agnes and Beatrice returned to their couch fort as I cooked. Instead of fighting me like they would in San Francisco, they seemed to be willing to give me space so I could make their food. I was pretty sure I heard Agnes plotting a murder, but it had nothing to do with me for once.

This felt far more doable than anything had before. Instead of living in fear of what the future held, I could see myself taking care of them.

It was the first time I’d ever gotten close to this feeling.

“So why was Jade here this morning?” Agnes asked the second we were all sitting around the table. They chose the same spots that they had the night before, leaving one chair open where Jade had sat.

“She has a habit called sleepwalking. She’s had it as long as I’ve known her.”

“So she walks while she’s asleep?” Beatrice tilted her head to the side as she considered it. “That’s kind of cool.”

“It’s dangerous. She has no awareness of her surroundings. So, if she walks out into the road, she won’t look both ways and could get hit by a car.” I was trying to be calm, but just the thought of it made my chest squeeze. There had been many nights in my youth where I worried about what she would do when she sleepwalked. I didn’t know if she still had medicine or not.

I hated that I didn’t know.

“Can’t we just wake her up?” Agnes asked.

“Waking up someone who’s sleepwalking can be really alarming to them. Sometimes, they wake up angry or they’re very confused. I did it once when we were kids and she yelled at me for it.”

“Jade does seem like she could be very scary when she’s mad.”

“I saw her punch someone today!” Agnes exclaimed. “It was so cool.”

“You weren’t supposed to see that.” I sighed. “She got very lucky that she didn’t get in trouble with the sheriff.”

“But she knows the sheriff. Doesn’t she get to get out of trouble if she knows him?”

“She thinks she can, but there are limits to that. Just like you two could get in trouble if you follow her lead.”

“But that man was bothering her. He kept following her around.” Beatrice crossed her arms. “Can we not do anything if someone bothers us?”

“You can have me or someone else help. Any trusted adult will do.”

“How many people in Strawberry Springs are trusted adults?”

“Most of them are.”

“And how many are trusted back home?”

“A lot less.”

Both girls looked at each other, and I wondered if they were considering those numbers. It was true that Strawberry Springs had far more people that I could trust than anyone in the city. Yes, I’d met people, and yes, I’d made friends. But they weren’t the kind of friends like Strawberry Springs had.

Thankfully, Agnes commented on the eggs and didn’t call me out on it. If they asked why there were more people I trusted here, I wouldn’t know what to tell them.

Just like I didn’t know what to tell myself about this place.

My good luck with the girls didn’t last. After a few hours, they were back to their usual chaotic selves. After they broke one of the plates, I knew I needed to distract them.

A year ago, Alice vented to me about their nap schedule. At the time, I had no idea why naps were so important to kids, but now I was glad she’d told me.