Page 38 of Instant Bond

“That’s right,” she confirmed. Her tone of voice was kind and non-threatening.

“My dad said you’re kind of like a doctor, and that I’m supposed to tell you the truth no matter what,” he inserted.

“That’s some pretty good advice,” she said, giving him a nod.

She sat down with him at our table, and asked him a lot of questions about school and what kind of stuff he liked to do for fun. She asked him a lot about me, and about whether he felt safe and happy. All of his answers were easy and honest, which relieved me. After I sat for what felt like forever, my muscles clenched with nerves, she stood.

“Mr. Taylor, I’m finished here for today. If I could just speak to you outside, privately?”

I quickly followed her out, anxious for whatever she had to say.

“I’ll be transparent in that I haven’t discovered anything out of place here, and Ty seems like a very bright boy who is being taken care of. I’ll put that in my report, of course, but we may randomly stop in for other visits.”

“That’s fine,” I said quickly. Relief was coursing through me so strongly I thought I might pass out.

“The other thing I wanted to mention is that I did see the notice to vacate on your table. I saw that the date is from today. Did you just receive that?”

Shit. I’d forgotten I’d left that sitting there like a moron.

“I only just got it today, yes,” I said. “I’ll find somewhere else for us, I swear.”

“That’s fine,” she said, nodding slowly as she jotted down a few more notes. “We’ll need you to update us with your new address once you’ve acquired it. Other than that, I don’t have any more questions for you right now.”

“Okay. Thanks, then.”

“Have a good day.” And then she was gone. Heaving a huge sigh, I had to lean against the door to keep my jelly legs from collapsing under me.

After allowing myself a minute of deep breathing, I went back inside.

“We’re getting pizza for dinner, Daddy!” Ty greeted me with extreme enthusiasm. “Whatever toppings I want!”

“Oh.” My eyes shifted to Karter, who raised an eyebrow, as if he was daring me to argue. “That’s great, baby. I know you love pizza. Homework first.”

“Boo,” he called out, frowning. “After I finish helping pick out the pizzas!”

They were both huddled in front of the laptop, presumably putting in a pizza order.

“Fine. Pizza order, then homework.”

“What time should I have the food delivered?” Karter asked. “I don’t know when you eat dinner.”

“Around 5:00 is fine.”

I sank down into a chair, pressing my fingers to my temples. Ty did his homework at the table in front of me. It was all a breeze for him, just some single digit addition equations and then writing down how many sides were in the simple shapes of triangle, square, and pentagon. The moment he was done, he jumped up from the table.

“Can I show Karter my toys?” He asked. I grimaced, knowing Karter would probably get bored being talked through Ty’s parade of favorite toys.

“Absolutely,” he said. “I’d love to see.”

“Fine.” They waltzed into his room, where I could hear Ty’s excited chatter interspersed with Karter’s occasional comment or question. His tone seemed genuinely interested, like he really cared about a six-year-old’s much-loved objects.

I suddenly realized I was absolutely exhausted. It was as though my adrenaline had been through the roof since the parent teacher conference and now it had all drained away to leave me without an ounce of energy. Folding my arms into a makeshift pillow on the table, I laid my head down.

“Daddy, are you asleep?” Ty’s voice yanked me awake. I jerked, shooting into a sitting up position like a cannonball.

“No,” I said. “I was just… Resting my eyes.”

“But you were snoring,” he pointed out. Karter’s smirk made it evident he’d found it funny. Great.

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