20.
Z ANE
“How are you doing on those veggies?” I asked Beau when I saw him move a piece of broccoli across his plate. “Are your tattoos going to have plenty of color?”
“Mine will! I like carrots!” Leo answered instead.
“You’ve got orange covered, but what about green?”
“Maybe I don’t want green anymore,” Beau grumbled.
I glanced over at Courtney who was filling Alana’s plate at the stove and leaned closer to the boys and whispered, “I don’t like broccoli either, man.”
“You don’t?” Beau whispered.
When I shook my head, Leo asked, “How do your tattoos stay so pretty?”
“I eat it anyway,” I whispered. “Wanna know my secret?” Beau and Leo both nodded eagerly. “Eat your vegetables first thing, while they’re still hot, because they’re way worse when they’re cold.”
“Really?”
“Let’s try it,” I said, glancing over at Courtney again like me and the boys were part of a huge conspiracy. “I’ll eat mine if you’ll eat yours.”
Not for the first time, I’d lied to the boys.
I loved broccoli any way it was served - in a cold salad, raw and dipped in dressing, or steamed with butter, salt, and pepper like we were having it tonight.
However, I did remember from childhood that eating the vegetables I hated when they were cold was even worse than choking them down when they were hot.
Although, I had to admit that Courtney was much nicer than my mom when it came to serving veggies - my mom insisted on four bites, and Courtney only made the boys eat two.
“You’re gonna eat all of that?” Leo whispered as he stared at the pile of broccoli on my plate.
I pointed at my arm and winced before I asked, “Isn’t it pretty like that?”
Beau and Leo looked morose when they nodded in agreement. Beau looked at Leo and said, “I’ll do it if you’ll do it.”
“Let’s count. When I say three, take a bite. Ready?” The boys nodded, so I did a count and then shoved a huge piece of broccoli in my mouth.
I watched as the boys chewed and swallowed and was surprised when Leo said, “That wasn’t too bad.”
Beau looked confused when he said, “I kind of liked it.”
“Good. Let’s do it again,” I encouraged.
I did the count, and the boys took their second bite while I took mine.
When I looked up, Courtney was watching us from a few feet away with a smile.
The boys finished and started wiggling in their chairs, but I had to ask, “Wanna go for bite number three?”
Leo looked uncertain, but when Beau agreed, he couldn’t be left out, so he nodded his head too.
I gave each of them a piece off my plate, and then we ate them together while Courtney looked on.
Once they were finished, Courtney gave each boy a kiss on the cheek and told them how proud she was.
Then she kissed me on the cheek and whispered in my ear, “Thank you! I’ll reward you for that magic trick later. ”
“I can’t wait,” I said as I tipped my head up for a kiss on the lips.
Even though we kept it G-rated, Beau exclaimed, “Ew! That’s gross!”
As Courtney sat down across from me, Leo said, “I’m never gonna kiss a girl!”
“Someday, when you find the woman you love, you won’t think it’s gross at all, and even better, you’ll want all of her kisses all of the time,” I said as I gave each boy another piece of broccoli.
I did the countdown, and as I popped another bite into my mouth, I looked over at Courtney and saw her fork poised in the air and a shocked look on her face. “What?”
“What did you say?” she asked in a stupor.
“He counted! Let’s do it again! I really like it now!” Beau said happily.
I gave them a few more pieces, and Beau did the count. It suddenly registered that what I’d said shocked Courtney. “Are you okay?”
“I think so,” she said as she put her fork down. She thought about it for a minute and said, “Actually, I’m a lot more okay with it than I thought I’d be.”
“Why would you be mad that Zane loves you?” Alana asked. “Don’t you love him too?”
A flush crept up Courtney’s face, and she looked like a cornered animal, so I said, “I know she loves you, Alana Banana, and so do I.”
Alana got shy but managed to whisper, “I love you too, Zaney Waney!”
“Hey now! None of that!” I blustered. “You can’t start that too!”
“It’s funny,” Beau said with a giggle.
“We’re home!” Dayton called from the front door.
I realized that Courtney was still too stunned to speak, so I yelled, “Dinner’s ready when you are.”
“We’ll be down in a minute,” Dawson answered just before the two young men thundered up the stairs.
All was quiet at the table for a few minutes, and then I heard the boys’ footsteps overhead as they walked back toward the stairs.
Suddenly, there was a loud crack, and Dayton screamed.
I wasn’t sure if it was because he was in shock, pain, or fear, but it was enough of a catalyst to launch me out of my chair toward the hallway.
I spun around the corner and took the stairs two at a time but came to an abrupt halt when I saw the wall of dust and drywall in my path.
“Fuck!” I yelled. I tried to lift the largest plank of plaster off of them, but a chunk of it just broke off in my hand. I quickly realized it was going to take much more to get them out than brute strength. I yelled, “Boys, can you hear me?”
While it was muffled, I clearly heard Dawson reply, “I’m good.”
“What the fuck?” Dayton yelled in outrage.
I couldn’t help but chuckle when Dawson said, “Sounds like he’s good too.”
“Holy shit,” Courtney, clearly stunned, muttered behind me.
“We’re gonna need help, and they’ll need to be checked out. Call 911.”
“Holy shit,” Courtney repeated as she reached for the plaster.
Beau, Leo, and Alana were all behind her now.
Leo was wailing, Beau was screaming for Dawson and Dayton, and Alana looked terrified and had tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Court, why don’t you take the little ones outside and make the call?
There’s no telling what’s in this dust. I’ll get the boys out of here. ”
As if on cue, Alana coughed loudly, so Courtney turned and nudged the children down the stairs.
“Guys, I need you to pull your shirts up over your face, if you can. You need to do your best to keep this dust and debris out of your mouth, nose, and eyes.”
I pulled my shirt up over my mouth and nose and started working my way toward the boys, knowing this wasn’t going to end once I dug them out of the rubble. There was a night at the emergency room in our future, and that would require more hands on deck.
I pulled my phone out and ordered Siri to call my dad. He answered on the first ring, and I explained what was going on. I didn’t even have to ask for his help before he said, “Your mom and I will be there in ten minutes. I’ll have her call some of the others to help with the kids.”
I thanked him profusely and hung up before I yelled, “Boys, are you okay? Talk to me.”
“It’s really hot and hard to breathe under here, but there’s not a lot of dust,” Dawson assured me.
“Keep your face covered anyway,” I urged. “Dayton, are you good?”
“My arm hurts, but I’m fine.”
Courtney suddenly appeared and handed me a white mask. She had one over her own mouth and nose, and the kids weren’t anywhere in sight.
“Where the hell did you find these?” I asked as I put the mask on.
“They were leftovers from COVID. I remembered I had them in my purse. Leti’s in the front yard hosing the kids off while she waits for the .
. . whoever gets here first,” Courtney explained.
She handed me a broom, and I saw she had another one in her hand before she said, “I think we should sweep all that gray shit off the top and then work on the plaster.”
“Good plan,” I said as I got started. I heard police sirens nearby that were soon joined by different fire-rescue sirens, so I knew that help was nearby. “The boys said it’s not too dusty right now, but Dayton’s arm hurts.”
“We can fix an arm,” Courtney said quietly, her tears making tracks on her dusty face. “This is all my fault. We should have moved ages ago, but I didn’t want to spend the money. I should have . . .”
I could tell she was spiraling, and that wouldn’t help the situation at all, so I ordered, “Not now, Courtney. We’ll talk about this later.”
“Okay. You’re right,” she said quickly before I heard a muffled sniff. “Later. I’ll have a breakdown later. A really big one.”
“I’ll be ready,” I promised.
◆◆◆
COURTNEY
By the time Dr. Parker, our family physician, walked into the cubicle where I’d been directed, I had finally managed to convince the nurse that I was okay.
I’m sure it helped that I’d finally been able to stop coughing and the monitor she’d attached to my finger said that my oxygen levels were fine.
Dr. Parker wasn’t my first visitor, though.
It had been a revolving door of people giving me updates on the kids and Zane, who were all in different places around the emergency room.
At some point in the chaos, Zane had called in reinforcements, and the army of people that showed up to help us brought tears to my eyes.
Each of the kids had at least two people they knew with them to make sure that each of them were taken care of and help them feel comfortable.
Zane’s parents were directing the chaos and had been checking in frequently to give me updates and chat about everything and nothing just to make me feel more at ease.
I was shocked when they showed up at my house followed by Zoey and her boyfriend, Garvey, with others continuing to trickle in.
By the time I got into the ambulance with Dayton, there were tow trucks, vehicles, and motorcycles I didn’t recognize lining our street and the sidewalk in front of my house.
We’d put on quite a show for the neighbors this evening, but this time, the spectacle wasn’t fun at all.
It was stressful and chaotic and a night I’d never forget. It was also a night I’d never forgive myself for.