I Fall Apart

Lin

The next day, we headed back to New York City. There was a weight that had been lifted between me and Nora. She seemed to finally accept that I was trying to help her. That she didn't have to face her grief alone. I decided we needed a fresh start back home, so I gave her back her phone and ungrounded her. She needed time with her friends.

Everyone should experience being welcomed home by their little kids. As soon as I walked in the door, I was bombarded by Sebby and Cisco. I hugged them tight and played with them down on the floor. Vanessa was glad to see me as well, having been taking care of the kids by herself for several days. When the boys calmed down and had a snack, V and I relaxed on the couch together for a few minutes.

"How was it?" She asked. We hadn't had much chance to talk, besides a few text messages back and forth.

"Great," I said. "We got our two guys. They're amazing."

She smiled at me. "How was Nora?"

"She did well," I told her. "I think we had a bit of a break through. She talked to Jonathan Kirkland a lot. Turns out he lost his dad as a kid, so they talked about that a lot. She apologized for pushing me."

"That's good," she said, encouraged by the progress. "Maybe she'll start putting more effort into therapy."

"Yeah," I said, nodding. "I talked to Jonathan earlier and he said he encouraged her to do it. It means more coming from him, I guess, rather than your parents nagging you about it."

V rested her head on my shoulder as the boys chatted away about little boy stuff. My thoughts wandered and V, being the wife she was, noticed.

"What are you thinking about?"

I smirked, rubbing her upper arm. "I was just thinking about asking Nora something," I began. "She's been a Thomas all her life. I wonder if I should ask her if she wants to change it to Miranda. Maybe it's too soon, though."

"Yeah, probably," she told me. "I'd give it some more time. But she might like the idea. Then again, she might want to hold on to her mother's name."

I nodded, thinking about it. She was still very much in the grieving phase, so it wasn't a good time to bring it up. Maybe she'd even bring it up herself. It would just be a formality, obviously. It wasn't like I'd be adopting her; she was already my kid.

Over the next few days, Nora seemed to be on top of things. She had gotten all her work done that her teachers had sent. Her grades were still terrible - C's and D's - but at least she'd made a change and was doing her work. She had a good attitude, and she was playing with her little brothers a lot.

Last week, she'd had a kid named Justin in her bedroom. I had never seen Justin before, and was surprised because I thought she was steadily dating Aaron. She invited him over one day after school and they hung out on the couch. They seemed really happy together. I didn't mention Justin.

"Are you staying for dinner, Aaron?" I asked him as I began getting out the pots and pans needed.

"Uh, sure!" he said. "My parents are hardly ever home anyway."

"What do they do?"

"They're both doctors," he told me. "They work crazy hours."

I made a mental note that they were hardly ever home. That made me a little nervous. I'd rather have them hang out here if they were going to be together. Nora knew she wasn't allowed to be alone with boys.

Over dinner, we got to know Aaron a little more. He was on the swim team and the debate team. He seemed pretty with-it, and most importantly, he treated Nora with respect. When it was time to leave, he gave Nora a quick kiss before disappearing through the front door.