Page 11 of Single All the Way

I made eye contact with Ben again without thought, even though this wasn’t his problem.

“You have to go to school,” Evelyn said.

“You’re doing Thanksgiving projects this week, Sky,” I said. “Remember?”

My daughter only burrowed deeper into me, twisting my heart. This wasn’t normal. Skyler liked school.

I wasn’t going to get answers with an audience, so I pushed back from the table, eyeing my hot food with a flash of longing. I had a feeling it would be cold by the time I saw to this challenge, but Skyler was more important.

Hoisting her up in my arms even though she was getting heavy, I told Xavier, “Get your tummy full and help with cleanup if I’m not back.”

He nodded, likely sensing I needed his cooperation more than usual.

I took Skyler up to her room, hoping to get her dressed and ready to go as we talked.

My hope would be throttled over the next ten minutes, during which Skyler mostly cried and gave me no specific reasons for her sudden refusal to go to preschool. I peppered her with questions, trying to ensure nothing bad had happened last week that was causing her reluctance, but it just made her cry harder.

I was almost certain it was nothing to do with school and everything to do with change. My heart went out to her. Change was hard. Our family had been through a lot, but Skyler was too young to remember most of it. She’d been quieter and quicker to cry since Kizzy went away to visit her college friend and ended up eloping with her and moving to Nevada. It didn’t matter that we FaceTimed with her grandmother several times a week and only marginally calmed her when I reminded her of her nana’s upcoming holiday visit.

“Okay,” I finally said, feeling defeated, because there was no way around a hundred more changes and six more weeks of being unsettled, minimum. My optimism that I could find a good house for sale within my budget and in the Dragonfly Lake school district by then was dwindling. I leaned down and forced eye contact with her, holding her hand. “I’ll make a deal with you. You can stay home today if you promise me you’ll go tomorrow and Wednesday. Then it’s Thanksgiving, and you’ll go back on Monday.”

Her lower lip protruded, and she inhaled shakily as I held my breath, hoping this would indeed solve this particular problem. Obviously there was a much bigger issue here, but all I could handle was one step at a time.

Peering at me with her big green eyes, she nodded slowly. “Okay, Mommy.”

“Okay?” I repeated. “You promise you’ll go to school tomorrow to see your friends and do Thanksgiving art?”

She looked about to cry, but she nodded again.

I exhaled as I pulled her in close. “We still have to take Xavier to school, so let’s get you dressed.”

When we returned to the dining room, all the places except mine and Skyler’s were cleared, and Xavier was in the kitchen with Ben and his kids, putting plates in the dishwasher. The serving bowls were still on the table, so I loaded up my daughter’s plate.

“Okay, you three. Thanks for your help,” Ben said. “Upstairs, brush your teeth, use the bathroom, get your school stuff.”

Xavier and Ruby raced through the dining room to the stairs.

“Hi, Mom! Hi, Skyler!” my son said before he stomped up the stairs with his best friend.

Evelyn came through more slowly, sedately. “Is Skyler okay?”

That was the question of the hour, but to the little girl, I smiled and reassured her, “Skyler’s just fine. You’re sweet for asking.”

Evelyn eyed Sky with skepticism but made her way up the stairs.

Before sitting down to my cold breakfast, I went into the kitchen.

“Thank you,” I said quietly as I sidled up alongside Ben at the counter. “For keeping Xavier on track. I owe you.”

“You don’t owe me a thing,” he said in that low, private voice.

I laughed at that. “Let’s see, you’re putting us up in your homeduringthe holidays, letting my kid help with the animals, keeping him in line while I handle Skyler… I don’t know how I’ll repay you. Can I at least pick your kids up after school and drive them home for you?”

“No need. They take the bus. Grandma Berty will be waiting when they get here.”

“The bus. Of course they take the bus. Mornings too?”

“Mornings too. It’ll be here in”—he looked at his watch—“eight minutes.”

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