Page 25 of 7+Us Makes Nine

“Hello?” I asked.

“I’m sorry to bother you, Mr. Logan-”

“Is something wrong with the theater?”

That was the only reason I could think of that my secretary, who didn’t even work weekends, would be calling me.

“No, sir. It’s Anya,” he said.

“What about her?” I asked.

“I’m watching the news right now, and she’s apparently given an interview to one of the paparazzi about wanting the kids back.”

“What?” I asked.

I stood to my feet and quickly brushed myself off.

“Yes, sir. And she looks pretty doped up in the interview as well. It’s already made national rounds. I wanted to let you know in case people start hounding you for another quote.”

“I appreciate the phone call. I should make you my publicist. She hasn’t called me about any of this stuff yet,” I said.

“Because she’s out of town, sir. Remember? She got married last week?”

Holy shit. I forgot about that.

“Do me a favor, and I’ll pay you overtime for it.”

“I already sent your wedding gift out. I’m sure she’ll love the honeymoon you sent them on,” he said.

“What am I going to do without you once you graduate?” I asked.

“Hire me full-time?”

“Trust me. I’m considering it if it’ll keep you in town. In the meantime, don’t answer any questions or make any comments about-”

A movement at the corner of the house caught my eye. A shadow looming in a place where a shadow didn’t need to be. The kids were yelling and laughing behind me and my secretary was rattling off in my ear if he could still be heard.

Then, she emerged.

Anya.

“I’ll have to call you back,” I said.

“Mr. Logan, is everythi-”

I hung up the phone call and slipped my phone into my pocket. My eyes connected with hers as she slowly approached me. She was thin. Haggard. A skeleton of the woman I used to love. Her walk was slow and her eyes were heavy with bags. Her cheekbones were hollowed out and her skin looked almost gray in the shadows of the house that were cast over the backyard.

“Kids!” I exclaimed. “Get inside.”

“Why, Daddy?”

“Just do it,” I said.

Her eyes fell behind me and I saw Anya pick up the pace. I took a few steps back and ran straight into Michaela, and I could tell she was on the verge of tears. The boys were wide-eyed, staring behind me as I quickly shuffled them to the porch doors.

“Go into the bathroom and clean up,” I said. “Ivan.”

“Yeah, Dad?”

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