A broken marriage.
A new job.
She works as a Personal Assistant on the ForNoah Youtube channel.
Noah is on the autistic spectrum and she fixes things for him.
He's a shipwright and creates beautiful works of art.
She's a woman starting over who meet...
Tari: I'm at the school. Did you leave their suitcases in the main office?
Theo: No, the bags are at my place.
This passive-aggressive text bullshit. Neither of us has money to waste buying double sets of clothes. We have two weeks together, then back to their dad's. After that, it's with me until Christmas day. Let it go.
I breathe in through my mouth, out through my nose.
Not getting drawn into anything. Happy thoughts...
Kids play outside of Ade's pre-school.
Breathe out... Color-coded closets.
Breathe in... Mechanical pencils and metal pens.
Breathe out.. New colors of post-it notes. In pretty pastels.
I don't acknowledge his answer. The message will automatically show I read it, anyway. No reason to engage.
The all-around school, elementary, middle, and high are like ducks in a row all lined up. The elementary kids get out first and backpack kids stream out of the school on the way home. Moms and some dads line up with cars to pick up the kids. Jo-Lee drives up behind me to park closer to the high school. I need to focus and still have some work to do with Jo-Lee later on her YouTube channel. Jo-Lee gets out and heads to pick up Bonabell, her teenage daughter. That is going to be record-breaking embarrassing for Bonabell.
Center yourself. Let the world go by. Big breath.
When the stream of kids leaving school is a trickle, I step out of the car. I head for the door of the preschool. I always tell Sim to stay with Ade at the pre-school. If she has to check for me without crossing the street in the parking lot. If they don't see me, go back inside and wait. Apart from that, I don't feel uncomfortable with them walking home. Not a lot of young kids live in the area of Zoey and Noah's house. There's no sizable group they can walk home with. Even though I am sure Sim could get the little man home without issues walking home together. My peace of mind is worth picking them up.
I pause at the door. Next to the school fence, Little Man and Space Girl sit with a young boy crying. He sits between them, trying to fight the tears that won't stop coming.
"It's ok, someone will come soon." Sim pats the boy on the back. "Parents break up and it happens. My parents broke up. Dad forgot about us once, too. Moms come running though."
"Yep, it's going to be ok," Ade says to the boy. "You don't have to smile when you're sad. It's ok to cry sometimes, we get sad too." These little people with such an adult conversation. Ade's hand joins Sim to pat the little boy's back. The three of them sit alone in the playground together. The little boy's tears don't stop falling. His gentle sobs are quiet in the way of kids that understand that crying doesn't mean help is coming.
"We have to be brave for our moms. Even when we don't think we can be." Tears fall down Sim's face. Her braids bounce and clack with today's hairstyle. She nods her head in a visible effort to convince herself. "Cos...." She scrunches up her nose, thinking. "Because moms are brave for us." With all the wisdom of a first-grader, Sim affirms. God help space girl's old soul since it was damn wise. Little Man nods his head with her.
Ade takes off his cape and puts it on the little boy. "You need it more."
I step back from the trio. Fighting the tears already coming, watching the three together. A woman runs past me through the side door. She sees her son and stops at the little group. The little boy launches up at his mom. Ade's cape hangs Lando perfectly on his shoulders. It trails down his back in the way Ade always wears it. A little crooked to the side, the same as Lando. The little boy turns back to Ade and Sim and waves. They smile and wave back.
"Dad, won't let me have another if he finds out. He already don't like it." Ade mourned.
Sim hugs Ade, "he needed it." Ade cries just as silently into his sister's shoulder. It's the silent tears I wish he hadn't learned to shed yet. My little boy looks so tiny. Ten sizes smaller without the cape in Sims arms. She lets him mourn his cape, and he cries it out.
***
"Mom's probably waiting for us. She's working in the car again. Come on, we're late." She takes his hand and heads for the door. I race back to the car. My hand pats out the tears. I pinch up my cheeks and get my shit together.
She has Ade hand in hand at the crosswalk, and they wave at me before crossing. The crossing lady still on duty helps them cross together. Ade drags his feet. But Sim doesn't let go of his hand for a second.
Sim and Ade walk to the car together and get into the back seat.
"Ade... "
Ade cuts me off. "It's ok mom. Dad didn't take my Lando cape. Someone needed it more." Ade says it so firmly. "It was the right thing to do." He repeats it in the same absolute tone as Sim said it.
"We can make another one if you want?" I smile at him from the mirror. Sim gives me a covert thumbs up in the rearview mirror.
"Yes!" He yells.
"We can also make a canvas painting of stars like you had at the old house, Sim."
"Thanks." She smiles at me.
***
Later that night
Together in the living room with Jo-Lee and her teenage daughter Bonabell, we crafted. Painted stars of a galaxy far, far away. Theorized the best colors and under the cloth for Lando capes. Even the somewhat jaded teenager, sometimes the babysitter, joined in on the fun. Forgiving the mother who recently embarrassed her by picking her up from high school.
On Bonabell's lap, Sim leans in. Little paint flecks from the stars, painting still on her brown nose. Noah painted the last little bits of the galaxy's system, fixing the sloppy parts. I did. I've never been much of a painter.
Ade in his socks slides into the room with a new Lando cape. "I'm back!" Sim hops off Bonabell's lap and high-fives him.
In this galaxy, for at least tonight, the good guys win.
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A/n: see yall in the full 7 days. I'm writing a new novel so updates are going to be space from now on by 7 days. Unless it's a sex scene split.
