Page 36 of Primal God

She nods. “Have a good day, Lili.”

We shake hands and I make my way to the lobby where Clara and Diego are playing in the corner. Isadora is in her stroller, fast asleep. She’s a clockwork baby, much like Raquel, so I know I have an hour before she wakes up, and I have a few errands I want to run before Clara has ballet.

“Come on, kiddos, let’s go.”

Clara grabs Diego’s hand, and they follow me to the elevator. Outside, we make our way to the black SUV Dr. Santos is letting me drive. I still can’t believe he thinks letting me drive a freaking Mercedes-Benz GLE is no big deal when it is. Hello, this isn’t a vehicle most people drive.

The interior is white leather, and I cringe every time the kids ask for a drink because if they spill something, it likely won’t come out. Even though there’s technically a third row, all three kids sit in the middle row together. It’s amazing that the twins’ forward-facing car seats and Isadora’s rear-facing car seat all fit, but they do.

Once everyone is secure, we head out.

I say, “We’re going to make a little stop before we take Clara to ballet.”

Clara asks, “Where are we going?”

“I need to grab something from Target, then we’re celebrating.”

I glance in the mirror in time to see both twins grin at each other.

“What are we celebrating?”

“Diego had a very good day at speech therapy.”

Clara says to her brother, “You did? I’m happy, Diego!”

He grins back at her but says nothing. It’s okay. We’ll get there.

We arrive at the store, and I pull into one of their online order pick up spots. A moment later, the items I ordered are in the back of the SUV and we’re on our way to a nearby ice cream shop.

It is close enough to the ballet studio that we can walk, so I park and we head inside. Both kids are excited when they hear they get to pick out two flavors.

Clara is first, and says, “Vanilla and strawberry!”

I turn to Diego. “Do you want the same?”

He shakes his head and points.

“Chocolate and banana?”

He nods.

I say to the woman behind the counter, “One vanilla and strawberry and two chocolate and banana, please.”

Diego looks questioningly at me.

“I love chocolate and banana. Did you know João likes it, too?”

Diego nods again, smiling.

“João must have told you how yummy it was. He told me, too, a long time ago.”

Our ice cream is handed over and we make our way to a table near the window. Clara dives in, getting ice cream on her face while Diego takes his time.

I watch both, noticing how they seem to speak to each other, saying nothing out loud.

Clara turns to me and says, “Diego talked a little at therapy today. Did you know? Is that why we’re celebrating?”

Her statement solidifies my theory that they are indeed having silent conversations with each other.

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