Sloane
People always ask Jules and me the same question.
"How do you do it?"
The answer?
We don't.
We're just surviving.
Barely.
Especially because our children couldn't be any more different if they tried.
Our eldest son, Azrael, is seven years old.
I gave birth to him.
Meanwhile, our youngest daughter, Yzandra, is four.
Jules gave birth to her.
They have a three-year age gap.
Three years.
That's it.
Just three years.
And yet somehow they act like they belong to completely different species.
Azrael is the kind of child teachers adore.
The kind grandparents brag about.
The kind that makes strangers say, "Wow, he's so well-behaved."
He's quiet.
Composed.
Polite.
Gifted.
And terrifyingly smart.
At seven years old, the boy already has an IQ of 145.
One hundred and forty-five.
When Jules and I first got the results, we thought there had been a mistake.
There wasn't.
The psychologist repeated the test twice.
Azrael still got the same score.
Then the psychologist spent an hour explaining what that meant while Jules and I sat there wondering why our seven-year-old was smarter than both of us combined.
The boy reads constantly.
Always.
If there is a book nearby, Azrael will find it.
And read it.
One time, I walked into the living room at six in the morning and found him reading an encyclopedia.
An encyclopedia.
At seven years old.
Who does that?
Apparently my son.
He asks questions nobody expects from a child his age.
Questions about history.
Questions about science.
Questions about politics.
Questions that make me wonder if I'm actually raising a child or a tiny professor.
The boy even corrects adults.
Politely.
Which somehow makes it worse.
Then there is Yzandra.
My daughter.
My beautiful daughter.
My beloved daughter.
My problem.
The four-year-old menace who wakes up every morning and chooses violence.
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Four Hearts Under One Roof
General FictionSpinoff #2 Before the village. Before the grandchildren. Before the family became loud enough to fill every house on the street. There was just Sloane and Jules. Two women trying to figure out life, love, and motherhood one day at a time. When young...
