Chapter 14
?
— Lilac —
Iwalked into the kitchen to find Colt at the table with both boys, math worksheets spread out between them.
I stopped in the doorway, not wanting to interrupt. Knox was chewing on his pencil eraser, his face scrunched in concentration. Luca had his arms crossed, looking frustrated.
“I don’t get it,” Luca said, his voice tight with barely contained tears. “The numbers get all mixed up. It doesn’t make sense.”
I waited for Colt to get impatient. To sigh heavily or snap at him to just figure it out.
Instead, Colt put down the pencil he’d been holding and leaned back in his chair. “Okay, let’s try something different.” His voice was calm, unhurried. “Forget the worksheet for a second. Let’s use something real.”
He got up and walked over to Betty’s fruit bowl, pulling out a bunch of grapes. “We’re gonna do math with food. Because honestly? Numbers on paper are boring. Math with snacks is better.”
Knox perked up. “We get to eat the math?”
“When we’re done, yeah.” Colt sat back down and pulled five grapes off the bunch, lining them up in a row. “Okay, Luca. Count these.”
Luca pointed at each one. “One, two, three, four, five.”
“Good.” Colt pulled off three more grapes and set them next to the first group. “Now count these.”
“One, two, three.”
“Perfect. So if you’ve got five grapes, and I give you three more grapes, how many grapes do you have all together?”
Luca frowned at the grapes, then started counting from the beginning. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.”
“Eight. Exactly.” Colt pointed at the worksheet. “That’s what this problem is asking. Five plus three equals eight. You just did it.”
Luca looked at the grapes, then at the worksheet. “But the worksheet doesn’t have grapes.”
“No, but you can imagine them.” Colt tapped the next problem. “Seven plus two. Close your eyes and picture seven grapes. Then picture two more. How many total?”
Luca closed his eyes, his lips moving silently as he counted. “Nine.”
“You got it.” Colt grinned at him. “See? You’re good at math. You just needed to see it in your head.”
Knox was watching now, interested. “Can I do grapes?”
“Sure. You’ve got four grapes.” Colt set out four grapes. “I eat two of them.” He popped two in his mouth. “How many are left?”
Knox counted the remaining grapes. “Two!”
“Right. Four minus two equals two.” Colt pulled the worksheet closer. “Just like this problem right here.”
I watched as both boys bent over their worksheets, working through problems that had made them cry five minutes ago.
Colt didn’t rush them. Didn’t check his phone or look bored. He sat there patiently, answering questions, occasionally adding more grapes to help them visualize the problems, treating their homework like it mattered because it mattered to them.
At one point, Knox wrote a number backward—a 3 that looked like an E-and instead of correcting him harshly, Colt just said, “Hey, your three is trying to escape. It’s running in the wrong direction.”
Knox giggled and fixed it.
When the worksheets were finally done, Colt high-fived both boys and let them eat the remaining grapes. They ran off to watch TV, homework forgotten, and Colt started gathering the papers.
“You’re good at that,” I said from the doorway.
He looked up, startled—he hadn’t realized I was there. “At what?”
“Teaching them. Being patient.” I moved into the kitchen, leaning against the counter. “I never had anyone to help with their homework before. It’s always just been me.”
Colt’s face went dark for a second—anger first, then something quieter underneath. He kept his voice neutral. “Kids learn better when you meet them where they are. Luca is smart—he just needed to see the problem differently. And Knox…” He smiled. “Knox just needs someone to make it fun.”
“You figured that out quick.”
“I’ve been watching them.” He set the papers in a neat pile. “Paying attention. Learning who they are.” He met my eyes. “They’re amazing, Lilac. You did that. You raised two incredible boys.”
I didn’t know what to say. Compliments about my parenting were rare. Mostly I just felt like I was barely keeping my head above water.
“It wasn’t easy,” I managed.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help.” He stood, and for a moment we were close—close enough that I could smell his soap, see the green of his eyes. “But I’m here now. For homework, scraped knees, and everything else. If you’ll let me.”
From the living room, Knox shouted something about the TV remote, and Luca shouted back. Normal sibling chaos. The kind of noise I’d been the only parent listening to since they were born. Until now.
“I am letting you,” I said. “Little by little.”
“That’s all I’m asking for.” Colt stepped back, giving me space. “Bit by bit works for me.”
He headed toward the living room to referee whatever dispute had erupted, and I stood in the kitchen wondering why I’d started to believe him even though I still didn’t remember anything about our past.
?
I didn’t hear my phone during the staff meeting. The boys had been playing games on it that morning and turned the volume down—something I hadn’t noticed until I picked it up afterward and saw the screen.
Three missed calls from the school.
I was already calling back when my phone buzzed again. This time with a text from Betty.
The school called. Luca was in a fight. I’m at the doctor, can’t get there. Called Colt. Hope that’s ok.
I stared at the message, my heart racing. Luca was in a fight? Betty was unavailable? And Colt… Colt was going to pick up my son from the principal’s office?
Part of me wanted to leave immediately. But the staff meeting had just ended and the others had gone to lunch so I was the only one here.
Someone had to stay for the next thirty minutes until they got back.
And Betty was at the doctor for something she hadn’t mentioned, which worried me in its own right.
Colt would have to handle it.
I texted back: It’s ok. Hope everything is ok with you. We’ll talk later.
Then I stood at the desk and tried not to think about my six-year-old in a fight serious enough to get a call from the school, or his daddy—the man he was still learning to trust—stepping into a parenting role for the first time.