Page 59 of Chosen Road

My head snapped up at her words, hope so raw and painful rising in my throat I thought I might choke.

“We’re going home?” Alex whispered.

“Um…” Amber sat at a loss for words.

I quickly interjected, covering Amber’s shaking hand with mine.

Amber stared down at my hand covering hers.

I spoke softly to Alex. “Not yet, buddy. No decisions have been made. Your mom and I have a lot of things, private things, to work out before that happens.”

“You won’t let her come home, yet?” His face fell.

I owned that.

Amber’s hand quaked under mine, and I swept my thumb over it in a soothing circle, before releasing her.

I leaned towards Alex to get his full attention. “No digging for information, Alex. This is private between momma and me.”

Tension crackled at the table as Alex’s misty eyes skittered back and forth between Amber and me, then to Ruby and Vander. Sorrow and regret permeated my every cell.

“Well, George!” Ruby joked. “There’s never a dull moment around here. What you need to know is that we all love each other. Being a family is not always easy, agori mou.”

“Isn’t that the fucking truth,” George grumbled.

Ruby yelled, “George!”

Vander started laughing first. I looked at the boys’ faces, animated with humor. Alex’s eyes sparkled and danced, and I could not help but join in the laughter.

Amber started snickering beside me, while Ruby tried valiantly to keep a straight face.

Over the noise of the ruckus, Yiayia poked Ruby and asked, “What he said?”

Jace and Alex fell back in their chairs, mouths split wide with wild laughter, while George grinned down at the table. Amber, choking with laughter, waved the boys away from the table.

Fuck, I missed this.

Shortly after dinner, I headed home, wanting to give Amber some space. When I heard her car pull into the driveway, I went to the door to wait.

She looked defeated, her shoulders drooping as she plodded up our walkway, the light in her eyes dimmed. That hurt me.

When she reached the door, she looked up briefly and met my eyes before stepping past me into the house.

“Dad! Did you hear what George said?” Alex shouted. Without waiting for a reply, he continued, his voice a bit quieter. “Thio Vander doesn’t care about swearing. Can you believe that?” He looked sideways at Amber while he spoke, looking for a reaction or non-reaction that might tell him that he, too, could swear like a sailor.

George seemed to fit in with the boys quite well. All of their lives were changing, perhaps they understood that.

Amber turned her attention to Alex with a gentle smile and his smile broadened. Until she spoke. “No, I can’t even believe it. Swear words are okay, but in our house, we consider those to be adult words. And George is not yet an adult.”

The acute disappointment on his face made it difficult to maintain a serious expression. He glanced back up at her. “It was funny, though, right?”

Amber’s mouth twisted to the side, and then she laughed. “It was hilarious! And when Yiayia asked what he said, I nearly choked. I needed to get you guys out of there before you all got your cheeks pinched.”

Alex laughed then got serious. “Yeah…she would give us a good pinch for that.”

“So,” he began tentatively. “Yiayia is going to live with us?”

“She’s going to live with Dad, and you when you’re here,” Amber replied gently.

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