Chapter 7 – The Small Bag by the Bed
Nate found Eli packing again.
The boy was kneeling beside Elena’s spare bed, putting socks into the small backpack Maya had brought from the house. The blue box sat open beside him.
“What are you getting ready for?” Nate asked.
“If Grandpa comes back.”
“Grandpa came to visit today.”
Eli pressed a pair of socks down into the bag.
“But if he comes to get me.”
Nate sat on the rug rather than taking the bed. Maya stood in the doorway for a moment, then joined them.
“We aren’t sending you to live at Grandpa’s,” Nate said.
Eli looked at his mother.
“Even when the baby comes?”
“Even then,” Maya answered.
“Grandma said babies need quiet.”
“They do sometimes.”
“I can be quiet.”
Maya felt her throat tighten. She moved the bag aside, leaving Eli free to hold it if he wanted.
“You don’t have to earn your room by being quiet.”
He studied her face, trying to decide whether this was one of the things grown-ups said before changing their minds.
“She said you and Dad needed to be together. And I would make it harder.”
Nate looked down at the little rolled socks.
“Did she tell you we agreed?”
Eli nodded.
“She said not to make Mom worry. Because worrying isn’t good for the baby.”
Maya took his hand.
“You can always ask me a question. You haven’t hurt the baby by telling me something.”
“I didn’t want you to be sad.”
“I want to know when you are.”
Nate waited until Eli looked toward him.
“I should have made it clear sooner that nobody gets to make that decision for our family. I’m sorry you were waiting to find out where you belonged.”
Eli rubbed a loose thread on his hoodie.
“Are you still my dad when she’s born?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t have to pick?”
“There isn’t a choice between you and her.”
Nate stayed beside him and let Eli take his time.
After a while, Eli unzipped the bag all the way. He took out his socks and laid them on the bed.
“Where do I sleep tonight?”
“Here, with Mom,” Nate said. “I’m on the air mattress. Tomorrow you go to the same school. I’ll drive you.”
“And after school?”
“We’ll be here to pick you up.”
The ordinary details seemed to help more than another speech.
That night, Nate read the dinosaur book twice because Eli asked for it twice. Maya sat beside the lamp, listening to the familiar mistakes Nate made with the longest names.
Later, after the boy fell asleep, Nate showed Maya a message from his sister Rachel.
Mom says you cancelled everything because Maya tripped over a box. What actually happened?
Maya looked at the blue box on the floor.
“She still wants the box to be the reason.”