“Well, she’s not.”
I don’t know what to say to that, but fortunately, at that moment, the school bus arrives, and Janice detaches her child from his leash. (But I’m sure he has a microchip with GPS implanted in his brain or something.) Nico barely acknowledges my slightly tearful goodbye, because he’s so involved with his new friend. He does allow me to plant a kiss on his forehead, which he has the good grace not to wipe away until he’s climbing the steps to the bus. Ada, on the other hand, gives me a big hug and clings to me long enough that I wish I were taking her directly to the school.
“You’re going to make a ton of friends,” I murmur in her ear. “Just be yourself.”
Ada gives me a skeptical look. Ugh, I can’t believe I said that. Telling someone to be themselves is like the worst advice ever. I’ve always hated it when people said that to me. But I don’t have any better wisdom than that. If I did, I’d have more friends.
I wish Enzo were here. He would know exactly what to say to get her to smile. But he had a landscaping job he left for early this morning, so it’s just me.
“I’ll be waiting at home this afternoon!” I call after them. I am taking a half day today to make sure I’ll be there when they arrive, although in the future, they will likely beat me home by thirty minutes to an hour.
The doors to the bus slam shut and it drives away, carrying my two children away with it. I get that twinge of anxiety that I always feel when I’m separated from my children. Will that ever go away? It was so much easier when they were growing inside me. Well, except for the life-threatening preeclampsia I got in my third trimester with Nico, which was what prompted my decision to get my tubes tied.
It is only after the bus has disappeared from the cul-de-sac that I notice Janice is staring at me, a horrified expression on her face.
“Is something wrong?” I ask as politely as possible.
“Millie,” she says. “You’re not honestly expecting them to walk home all by themselves, are you?”
“Well, yes.” I point to my house, barely a stone’s throw away. “We live right there.”
“So what?” she shoots back. “We live right there.” She points to her house, which is literally right behind us. “And you don’t see me leaving Spencer alone for even a second. If a predator is after your child, they could snatch him just like that.”
Then she snaps her fingers right in my face to demonstrate the immediacy of the threat.
“It’s a pretty safe town though,” I say tentatively, not wanting to outright tell this woman that she’s ridiculous for keeping her grade-school-aged son on a leash.
“False security,” she sneers. “Do you know that an eight-year-old boy vanished right off the street three years ago?”
“Here?”
“No, a few towns away.”
“Where?”
“I said, a few towns away.” She gives me a look. “His mother let go of his hand for one second, and he was snatched away. Vanished without a trace.”
“Really?”
“Yes. They did everything they could to find him. Called in the police, FBI, CIA, National Guard, and a psychic. Even the psychic couldn’t find him, Millie.”
I don’t know the details of this alleged abduction, but I certainly never heard of anything like that on the news. And it didn’t even happen around here. To Janice, “a few towns away” might very well mean California. I’m not sure it would help to share the statistic that almost all child abductions are committed by family members. Janice seems to have her mind made up. Spencer will probably remain on a leash until he’s thirty.
“Well, they’re going to have to go home themselves eventually,” I say. “My husband and I both work, and we can’t pick them up every day.”
She looks at me in amazement. “You work?”
“Um, yes.”
She clucks her tongue at me. “When my husband passed, he left me enough money so that I wouldn’t have to work anymore.”
“Um, that’s nice.”
“It’s so terribly sad,” she goes on, “that your children don’t get to have a mother at home. They will never know the love they deserve from a mother who won’t leave their side.”
My mouth falls open. “My kids know I love them.”
“But think about how much you’re missing!” she cries. “Doesn’t that make you sad?”
The words “at least my kid isn’t on a leash” are at the tip of my tongue, but by some absolute miracle, I manage to keep my mouth shut. My children know that I love them. Also, I love my job, and I do good things for people at the hospital. And even if I didn’t, we need every penny of both of our incomes right now while Enzo is rebuilding his business out here.
“We make it work” is all I say.
“Well, I’m sure you do your best with the little time you have with them.”
Somehow, I don’t think Janice and I will be great friends. I was so excited to move here, but it’s starting to seem like I’ve chosen the least friendly cul-de-sac in town. One neighbor is hitting on my husband, and the other is judging my dedication as a mother.
Once again, I wonder if moving here has been a terrible mistake.
SIX
School was a success today.
When the kids get off the bus, they are bursting with stories about their first days of school. Nico has already befriended every child in the third-grade class, and he successfully made milk squirt out of his nose during lunch. (This is a skill he’s been cultivating for months.) Ada is less enthusiastic than her brother but assures me she’s made some new friends. Switching schools midway through the year is a hard thing to do, and I’m so proud of both of them.
“And Little League tryouts are at the end of the week,” Nico says. “When is Dad getting home? He promised he would practice with me.”
I check my watch. Suzette told us to show up at her house at six, which is less than an hour from now. Knowing Enzo, he’s going to cut it as close as possible. “Soon. I hope.”
