right. I studied him a second, doubt creeping into me. “Brody… are you sure you’re all right? We can go do something a little more low key.”
“I’m okay,” he said. “I can handle a little crowd.”
“This isn’t a little crowd.”
“I’m fine.” The reply came through clenched teeth. He started toward the right. Apparently, the conversation was over.
Reluctantly, I followed after him. We walked along the path, through Bieler Plaza and into the Urban Jungle. Brody managed to keep his calm, pointing out the animals as we passed it. But once we left the front, the crowd wasn’t as bad, and slowly, he began to relax.
Riley jumped in my arms and pointed, yelling “Nino!” as we passed the rhinos. Jackie was overjoyed when we saw the giraffes, babbling on about who knew what in an excited mumble of words she hadn’t quite learned to say. Brody did his best and tried to follow along, but even I couldn’t figure out what she was saying. We settled on her saying “Giraffes are awesome!” and she seemed okay with that.
We walked around aimlessly after that, but we had to go see the pandas, of course. Only one was out, sleeping on the branches. The twins pointed, and made happy gurgling sounds and tried to reach for the panda. Brody was good about not letting them touch the fencing or letting them stick their hands through any of the animals’ confinements.
We stopped at the Hua Mei Cafe for lunch. The twins were starting to get tired after a couple hours of walking around the park, plus it was getting close to their nap time.
Jackie curled into Brody’s lap while he ate and laid her head down on his chest. She didn’t close her eyes, but it was obvious she decided it was time for a rest.
It was the strangest thing.
Neither girl was prone to voluntarily going down for a nap. Usually I had to fight with them, and especially after a day like this, often they would be on sensory overload and be cranky and fighting sleep.
I wondered if it had something to do with Brody. If she sensed that our family was back together. Jackie was always the more observant twin. Riley liked to jump around and play much more, as she was now. She showed no signs of slowing down like her sister. But this action, Jackie crawling into Brody’s lap and just sitting there, like she was going to take a nap right then… Two year olds just didn’t stop like that.
Brody soaked it up, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before resuming his watchful gaze around us. His eyes shifted and met mine. For a second, it was almost as if he’d never left. His eyes were bright, the amber warm and fiery, but they still had that haunted look to them. A ghost of a smile remained on his face, like he was afraid if he enjoyed the moment it might end up a dream. That wasn’t going to happen, but he seemed still unsure of that.
A soft, easy smile lifted my lips. Brody easily returned it. In that moment, I believed that he was where he needed to be. With me. With the girls. As a family. I almost let go of the fear that he was just here because he had no where else right now. But it was too soon. He’d been home less than twenty-four hours. I’d hold tight to the fear, keep it close to me. Maybe in a few months, I’d feel it was unwarranted. I hoped so. Because in that moment, the four of us there, were happy.
~*~*~
The best thing about days out was the way the kids passed out on the ride home. The girls slept most of the way home, and didn’t even stir when we carried them upstairs to their room. Brody took great care with Jackie, setting her down in the crib like he might break her if he did it too hard.
I waited in the doorway while he brushed a wayward curl from Jackie’s face, and then turned around to make sure Riley was settled in. He pulled her blankets up and came toward me.
There was a half-smile of almost contentment on his face. I moved to get out of his way as he approached the doorway, but his arm hooked around my waist
“I’m okay,” he said. “I can handle a little crowd.”
“This isn’t a little crowd.”
“I’m fine.” The reply came through clenched teeth. He started toward the right. Apparently, the conversation was over.
Reluctantly, I followed after him. We walked along the path, through Bieler Plaza and into the Urban Jungle. Brody managed to keep his calm, pointing out the animals as we passed it. But once we left the front, the crowd wasn’t as bad, and slowly, he began to relax.
Riley jumped in my arms and pointed, yelling “Nino!” as we passed the rhinos. Jackie was overjoyed when we saw the giraffes, babbling on about who knew what in an excited mumble of words she hadn’t quite learned to say. Brody did his best and tried to follow along, but even I couldn’t figure out what she was saying. We settled on her saying “Giraffes are awesome!” and she seemed okay with that.
We walked around aimlessly after that, but we had to go see the pandas, of course. Only one was out, sleeping on the branches. The twins pointed, and made happy gurgling sounds and tried to reach for the panda. Brody was good about not letting them touch the fencing or letting them stick their hands through any of the animals’ confinements.
We stopped at the Hua Mei Cafe for lunch. The twins were starting to get tired after a couple hours of walking around the park, plus it was getting close to their nap time.
Jackie curled into Brody’s lap while he ate and laid her head down on his chest. She didn’t close her eyes, but it was obvious she decided it was time for a rest.
It was the strangest thing.
Neither girl was prone to voluntarily going down for a nap. Usually I had to fight with them, and especially after a day like this, often they would be on sensory overload and be cranky and fighting sleep.
I wondered if it had something to do with Brody. If she sensed that our family was back together. Jackie was always the more observant twin. Riley liked to jump around and play much more, as she was now. She showed no signs of slowing down like her sister. But this action, Jackie crawling into Brody’s lap and just sitting there, like she was going to take a nap right then… Two year olds just didn’t stop like that.
Brody soaked it up, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before resuming his watchful gaze around us. His eyes shifted and met mine. For a second, it was almost as if he’d never left. His eyes were bright, the amber warm and fiery, but they still had that haunted look to them. A ghost of a smile remained on his face, like he was afraid if he enjoyed the moment it might end up a dream. That wasn’t going to happen, but he seemed still unsure of that.
A soft, easy smile lifted my lips. Brody easily returned it. In that moment, I believed that he was where he needed to be. With me. With the girls. As a family. I almost let go of the fear that he was just here because he had no where else right now. But it was too soon. He’d been home less than twenty-four hours. I’d hold tight to the fear, keep it close to me. Maybe in a few months, I’d feel it was unwarranted. I hoped so. Because in that moment, the four of us there, were happy.
~*~*~
The best thing about days out was the way the kids passed out on the ride home. The girls slept most of the way home, and didn’t even stir when we carried them upstairs to their room. Brody took great care with Jackie, setting her down in the crib like he might break her if he did it too hard.
I waited in the doorway while he brushed a wayward curl from Jackie’s face, and then turned around to make sure Riley was settled in. He pulled her blankets up and came toward me.
There was a half-smile of almost contentment on his face. I moved to get out of his way as he approached the doorway, but his arm hooked around my waist
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