Page 55 of The Way We Collide

“Here, have a seat.” Sherri motions to a gliding chair near the playing kids, and I walk over to sit in it with Haddy on my leg. “Place her on the floor and see if she’ll start to play.”

I glance up at Raven, and she nods encouragingly.

I’m not so sure she’s ready for that. I’m having flashbacks of my first time taking swim lessons, and even though I grew up playing all along the bay and ocean, I didn’t want to jump in the pool.

Garrett finally got sick of watching me pace back and forth and threw me in. He was grounded for that stunt, but I’ve never been a fan of swimming pools ever since.

“It’s okay.” Raven’s voice is soft. “See what she does.”

My jaw clenches, and I look down at Hads. She’s still gripping my sleeve in her little fist. She’s holding Axel close to herchest, and a very serious expression is on her baby face. This would be a lot easier if she could tell me what she’s thinking.

Instead of putting her down, I move to sit on the floor with her. The other children aren’t interested in us. One little boy stands beside a round plastic toy that has chutes for colorful balls to roll through.

It makesboing-ey type sounds as the balls pass, and he does Haddy’s little bouncing trick, bending his knees and squealing. Haddy seems interested, so I move closer to him, putting her on her feet beside it.

Raven picks up one of the balls and drops it into the top of the chute. It spins all around, setting off different noises and lights, and Haddy drops Axel in her attempt to catch it.

“Did you see the ball?” Raven uses her high-pitched baby voice. “Here, you try.”

She squats beside Haddy, holding out a small blue ball for her to try. Haddy takes it in her hand, but instead of dropping it in the slot, she puts it in her mouth and starts gnawing on it.

“I think she’s cutting a tooth.” Raven looks up at Sherri.

The woman smiles, shaking her head. “Don’t worry, we wash all the toys every day.”

Haddy moves away from her mother, doing her little wobble-crawl maneuver to get inside the ring. She seems okay with this. The other kid is busy doing his thing, not paying attention to our daughter.

“Now might be the time to slip out.” Sherri nods at the door, and I glance up at the clock on the wall.

I’m late for practice, but I don’t give a shit. I’ll do the extra drills to be sure Haddy isn’t scared or crying or thinking we ditched her with a bunch of strangers.

Raven puts her hand on my arm. “Let’s try.”

My jaw tightens, but I stand slowly, going with her to the door but not taking my eyes off our daughter.

Haddy gives up on the blue ball and grabs a red, diamond-shaped block to chew on instead.

“Send somebody to get me if she cries.” My chest is tight, and it’s a gruff order.

Sherri smiles brightly. “I’m sure she’ll be fine, but if she isn’t, we know where to find you.”

“Here’s my number. Text me. Call if I don’t respond right away.” I make sure she has it programmed into her phone.

Raven gives Martha the big purple bag with all of Haddy’s supplies, and we step out into the hall again. Our daughter is still happily putting every toy in her mouth, not seeming to notice we’re gone.

Knots twist in my stomach as I watch her.

“She looks okay.” Raven’s voice is quiet, and I’m surprised at how calm she is.

“You think we should just leave her here?” I sound astonished.

“You said they’re like nice old grandmas, and they are.” She blinks quickly as if trying to justify her answer. “You’ll be on-site the whole time. You gave them your number…”

Frowning, I look back at Haddy once more. My shoulders are still tight, and I exhale a shallow breath.

“I’ll check on her in an hour or so.” We start to walk in the direction of the weight room.

Raven rubs her hand back and forth over my shoulder blade, I guess trying to ease my tension. “It’s good for her to branch out a little, and this isn’t too far from us.”

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