“I miss them, too.” He stroked her hair. In a way, Charlie was luckier than he was. Her feelings for their parents were simple and clear. She adored and worshipped them. Even the fact that she knew something was up with Ashley didn’t tinge her adoration. When she remembered them, she would think only of their perfection, not their flaws.
Cameron, on the other hand, was old enough to know his parents were human and very flawed. Still, he found himself wishing he hadn’t had that stupid fight with his father on what turned out to be their last morning together. He wished he’d been more sympathetic to his mother when she broke down and told him about Ashley.
“I need them, Cam,” Charlie whispered against his chest. “I need them to come back.”
“Yeah,” he said, his voice gravelly, his eyes stinging. “Me, too.”
chapter 24
Sean regarded the splat of Gerber oatmeal on the kitchen wall, then glared at his younger niece. “Everybody’s a critic,” he said.
She glared right back. “It’s yuck.”
“Eat the damned oatmeal,” he snapped.
She gasped audibly, as though he’d struck her, then burst into tears. “It’s yuck,” she sobbed. “It’s yuck.”
“Aw, come on, Ashley,” he said pleadingly. “I didn’t mean to yell at you.” But she was lost to him, lost in a world of misery. “Damn it,” he muttered.
“Damn it,” she howled. Before he could stop her, she flung another spoonful of oatmeal. This time it hit him smack in the face, the lukewarm cereal sliding down his cheek.
Ashley went silent, her teary eyes wide with apprehension. She was only two, but she knew what naughty was.
Sean felt himself losing it. He’d gotten up extra early today and dressed in a good shirt and tie, because he had to take Charlie and Cameron to school. Slowly, the oatmeal dripped down into the corner of his mouth. He could tell the baby was winding up for another howl.
“Oh, man,” he said, getting a taste of the cereal. “It is yuck.” He made a terrible face and clutched at his throat.
Ashley couldn’t resist that, and she giggled until she got the hiccups. Sean made a big production of cleaning the oatmeal off his face and out of his shirt collar, which made her laugh even more. Relieved, he talked her into eating a piece of banana bread, one of the dozens of things brought by concerned friends and neighbors. He was running out of space in the freezer for all the stuff people were bringing. At this rate, Sean reckoned, he wouldn’t have to learn to cook for a year. He sure as hell intended to cross oatmeal off his list.
Charlie wore a foul expression as she marched into the kitchen and dropped her backpack on the floor.
“Next crisis?” he said.
“Cameron’s taking forever in the bathroom and I didn’t even get to do my hair.”
“Do what to your hair?” Sean handed her a hunk of banana bread and poured her a glass of milk.
Charlie’s chin trembled. “Mom always did my hair, except when I was at Dad’s.”
Sean knew he had to do something fast or she’d start crying. When she cried, Ashley always joined in, and then he’d be back to square one. “Did your dad do your hair?”
She scowled at him. “No way.”
“I bet I can do it,” Sean said.
“Uh-uh.”
“Uh-huh.” He opened a utility drawer, where he’d spied a jumble of hairbrushes and shiny hair clips and ponytail holders. “Have a seat, madam.”
Shooting him a look of suspicion, Charlie sat on a counter stool. Ashley watched, rapt with fascination. Sean wondered what he’d gotten himself into. His niece had bright, silky curls that looked just fine to him, but she insisted she wanted braids and barrettes. It had a kind of softness he’d never felt before. He didn’t know how to braid hair but he figured out what a barrette was. “This is the best braid ever,” he assured her, twisting two ropes of hair together. He picked the shiniest, gaudiest barrettes and ponytail holders, and when he was finished, she didn’t look half bad.
“Done,” he said. “You look like Cher.”
“Who’s Cher?”
“One of the best-looking women ever,” he said. “Eat your banana bread.”
“I don’t want to go to school,” Charlie said, picking at her breakfast.
Cameron ambled into the kitchen, his hair still damp from the shower. “Me, neither.”
“Fine. You can stay home and clean this place up.” Sean gestured around the kitchen. Lily had left only yesterday, yet somehow the dishes in the sink