Page 22 of The Home Game

Speech therapy had been helping until her parents’ death when she’d stopped speaking almost completely. Antoni had panicked, thinking he’d done something wrong, but the experts had assured him it wasn’t uncommon.

She was doing a little better now but he still took her to speech therapy twice a week and tried to spend as much time as possible reading to her and just talking to her, even when she didn’t answer him back.

“Did you have fun with trains today?” he asked, kneeling on the carpet beside her.

She nodded, still smiling, putting another piece of track in the bin.

“It looks like it. You’re doing a great job cleaning up too,” he said. When the toys were put away, he held out a hand. “We’re going to go home now. You want to come get your shoes on?”

“See Mama?” she asked, blinking hopefully.

Antoni’s eyes stung with tears. “No, sweetheart. Mama won’t be there. Just Uncle Antoni and Alexis and Eli and Reese. And, uh, my friend Matty. Matty’s going to drive us home, okay?”

She nodded and took his hand, letting him pull her to her feet.

Antoni still wasn’t entirely sure how much she understood about her parents being gone. At that age it was so hard. Alexis, Eli, they knew their parents were never coming back. Reese was too small to really understand anything. Grieving wouldn’t happen for him until much, much later.

And that would be grieving that he’d never known them.

But River … oh, she only knew that her parents weren’t there, but she kept hoping that would change. That they’d come back.

When Antoni led River to the entryway, she took one look at Matty and ducked behind Antoni’s leg, clinging to his hand tightly.

Matty was holding Reese and talking to Eli, smiling and laughing at something they said. While he looked anything but threatening to Antoni now, it hit Antoni again just how fucking big Matty was.

How intimidating he probably looked to River, towering over her with his big muscles and tattoos.

“Hey,” Antoni said softly to River. “Want me to pick you up?”

She nodded and he scooped her into his arms.

Matty must have realized what was going on because he moved slowly as he approached them.

“Hi, you must be River.” His voice was softer than Antoni imagined was possible.

She buried her head against Antoni’s neck and he patted her back soothingly.

“Hey, that’s okay if you don’t want to look at me. I know I’m kinda funny-looking,” Matty said gently. “I like your piggy tails though.”

Antoni smiled. He was not good with hair but he’d finally figured out how to gather River’s fine blonde curls into little pigtails that stuck out from each side of her head. They were more or less even these days.

River giggled against Antoni’s neck.

Matty looked relieved.

With that introduction over, Antoni glanced over at Eli, who had just finished tying their shoes. “Hey, kiddo. How was your day?”

“Good!” Eli said. “Aunt Eliza taught us how to make popsicles! We made strawberry banana. And we played in the sprinklers!”

“Yum. That sounds perfect for a hot day,” Antoni said. “Are you all ready to head home?”

“Yep!” Eli shrugged on their backpack. “Ready!”

“Alexis!” Antoni called. “Are you coming?”

A moment later she appeared in the entryway, stopping in her tracks, her eyes widened.

“Oh my God,” she said breathlessly. “You’re Matt Carlson.”

---