Page 85 of Finding Home

“Hi. I’m Noah and this is Fitz.” He crouched, holding Fitz close to the open-mouthed boy.

“Can I?” Liam’s hopeful eyes peered up at Summer.

She smiled.“Of course, baby.”

“Hi Fitz. Nice to meet you. I am Liam.” His tiny fingers skated along Fitz’s silky fur.

A contented moan purred out of the pug.

As if remembering his manners, Liam looked at Noah. “Hi Noah. Nice to meet you. I am Liam.”

Noah shook his hand.

A short while later, Elle sat next to Summer on a bench as Liam skipped down the street with Noah and Fitz. Summerhad explained that her eight-year-old son was on the Autism Spectrum, which made large group events challenging.

“We’ve tried to join story hour in the past, but the level of noise in a bookstore and coffee shop proved too distracting for him,” Summer told her. “Sometimes too much distraction triggers a meltdown. The stimulation of loud noises and crowds can overpower Liam’s ability to be present in the experience.”

They’d come early today because Liam had seen Fitz’s picture in the advertisement for the event, but it was still too much for him. So, they watched from outside. A sharp tug jerked Elle’s heart. So often, she’d spent much of her life looking in from the outside.

“He’s eight, but he reads at a sixth-grade level. You could call him a voracious reader,” Summer chuckled. “I bring him to the library three times a week.”

“Liam’s a reader like you were.” Elle offered, a wistfulness curving her lips up.

Summer grinned. “Oh, my goodness we were fanatics aboutThe Babysitters ClubandSweet Valleybooks.”

“Until I moved on to Austen.”

“I just checkedPride and Prejudiceout from the library.”

Elle tipped her head. “Have you read it before?”

“No. I kind of lost that love of reading for a while. In the last year, I started getting back into it because of Liam. The classics section is right across the hall from the children’s and Young Adult reading rooms in the basement of the library. I hang out in that section and that way I’m close to Liam while he’s in the children’s room. I want to give him a little independence. You know, not hover. But I want to be close, just in case he needs me,”Summer said, her eyes following Noah and Liam who were about three blocks down the street.

“What part are you at?”Elle warmed to the conversation, and the chance to discuss her favorite parts of the novel.

“Jane is sick at Mr. Bingley’s and Lizzie has come to visit her. Can we talk about Caroline Bingley? She’s the worst.”

Elle nearly spit out the sip of tea she’d just taken.

Summer raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Elle’s cheeks heated. “In high school, Carmen, Beth, and I played a game where we would assign characters from different Austen novels to our classmates.”

“Let me guess; I was Caroline?”

Elle nodded.

“Makes sense.” Summer’s brows drew together. “I was pretty terrible in high school. Especially to you.”

Elle merely nodded again.

“I’m really sorry. I wish I had some excuse like in the movies where we find out the bully has a reason for being a jerk and we realize they are just hurt. You know hurt people hurt people.”Summer punctuated her point with a jab at her own chest. “I was just an asshole. I got into high school and made friends with some of the ‘cool’ kids. They picked on you, so I did too. I was so focused on making them like me that I lost a true friend.”

“Wanting to belong can be catnip for us.I can understand wanting to be accepted.”

“Yeah, but you never compromised who you were.You were still you…” She paused; her mouth opened as if trying to think of what to say. “…still Eleanor.”

“I go by Elle now.”

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