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favorite, but I can’t remember why!” On the other side of her, Josh
was struggling to stay awake.
When the movie ended and Katie leaned forward to turn it off,
Josh raised his head and let it fall to the couch. He was too big for
her to carry, so she nudged his shoulder, telling him it was time
for bed. He grunted and whined before sitting up. He yawned and
rose to his feet and, with Katie by his side, staggered to the
bedroom. He crawled into bed without complaint and she kissed
him good night. Unsure whether he needed a night-light, she kept
the light in the hallway on but closed the door partway.
Kristen was next. She asked Katie to lie beside her for a few
minutes, and Katie did, staring at the ceiling, feeling the heat of
the day beginning to take its toll. Kristen fell asleep within
minutes, and Katie had to force herself to stay awake before
tiptoeing out of the room.
Afterward, she cleaned up the remnants of their dinner and
emptied the bowl of popcorn. As she glanced around the living
room, she noticed evidence of the kids everywhere: a stack of
puzzles on a bookshelf, a basket of toys in the corner, comfortable
leather couches that were gloriously spill-proof. She studied the
knickknacks scattered about: an old-fashioned clock that had to be
wound daily, an ancient set of encyclopedias on a shelf near the
recliner, a crystal vase on the table near the windowsill. On the
walls hung framed black-and-white architectural photographs of
decaying tobacco barns. They were quintessentially Southern, and
she remembered seeing many of these rustic scenes on her journey
through North Carolina.
There were also signs of the chaotic life Alex led: a red stain on the
runner in front of the couch, gouges in the wood floor, dust on the
baseboards. But as she surveyed the house, she couldn’t help
smiling, because those things, too, seemed to reflect who Alex
was. He was a widowed father, doing his best to raise two kids