Page 2 of State of Suspense

“That’s not a word.”

“How do you know?” Nick asked. “You’re in first grade. You haven’t learned all the words yet.”

“Lijah said it’s not a word, so it isn’t.”

“Because my word is law around here,” Eli said with a laugh.

“Well, is it a word?” Aubrey asked.

“No, it isn’t,” Nick said, “but it’s fun to pretend like it is.”

“I told you.”

“You were right.” He kissed the top of her blonde head. “You’re a very smart first grader.”

“Wait till they have to read stuff like this.” Scotty held up his copy of Beowulf. “Who decided eighth graders need to read something from like a thousand years ago? It’s Old English. I can barely handle new English.”

Sam bit her lip so she wouldn’t laugh out loud. “Aren’t there CliffsNotes for that?”

“Sam!”

She looked at her husband. “What?”

“Don’t tell him about that. He needs to read the book.”

“What are these CliffsNotes of which you speak?” Scotty asked, intrigued.

“I can’t remember,” Sam said.

Scotty held up his phone. “Shall I go to the Google?”

Recognizing defeat when she saw it, Sam said, “When I was in school, they were study guides to help students understand things like Beowulf.”

“And you’re just now telling me such a thing exists? I thought you loved me.”

“I do love you! That’s why you need to read the book.”

“Honestly, Samantha.”

It was all she could do not to giggle helplessly at the disapproval in Nick’s tone. “If you read the whole book, I’ll get you the study guide to help you understand it. Deal?”

“Fine,” Scotty said. “It’s a deal.”

“Nice save,” Nick muttered.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m very good at this parenting thing.”

That made Scotty laugh, which earned him a glare from his mother. “That’s not funny.”

“It’s all funny. As always, you guys are a disaster. Keep an eye on them, Eli, so they don’t ruin the twins the way they’ve ruined me.”

“I’ll be watching. Don’t worry.”

“I feel judged,” Sam said.

“As well you should,” Nick said. “If it were up to you, we’d be raising a feral bunch of uneducated savages.”

“Is that an option?” Scotty asked.

---