Page 3 of Bishop's Flight
“Okay, baby, let’s go get you some breakfast from Mrs. Scott.”
“Okay.”
Rebecca was exhausted.It was almost nine by the time she loaded Lucas and Anna in the minivan. The cleaners had finished at six, Agnes and Rose had woken a little after, and they’d had dinner together that Mrs. Scott prepared.
Agnes and Rebecca had made a schedule for the move, and then Rebecca had finally announced it to the kids, who were both ecstatic when they found out they were getting their own rooms.
Then it was movies and ice cream. Rebecca was desperate to go home, but she didn’t want to spoil the kids’ time with their favorite aunts or their excitement exploring the rooms that Agnes and Rose had set aside for them.
It wasn’t just three bedrooms—it was three bedrooms with a small kitchenette, two bathrooms, and a living room that was private. It was like a small apartment within the house, and Rebecca knew she and the kids would be comfortable.
It was just a big change.
She was yawning and Anna was asleep in her car seat by the time they pulled onto Flamingo Drive and headed back to Henderson.
“Mom, are we going to learn how to swim when we live in Agnes and Rose’s house?”
“That will be one of the first things we do because you and your sister both need to be pool safe even though there’s a lock on the pool-house door.”
“Will I have chores like I do at home?”
“Of course.”
“What?” He sounded shocked. “I can’t empty all those trash cans!”
Rebecca laughed. “You won’t have to empty all the trash cans in the whole house, baby. Just the ones in our little house.”
“Oh. Okay.” Lucas yawned too. “Are Agnes and Rose our real aunts?”
“They’re real aunts because they care about you and love you,” Rebecca said. “But your daddy and I didn’t have any brothers or sisters, so you don’t have any aunts or uncles like that.”
“Why didn’t you and dad have any brothers or sisters?”
Because my mother was a drug addict and killed my baby brother and I couldn’t save him.
The blackness threatened to leap into her mind. She focused on the road. Lucas was too young to understand anything about that. If she could help it, he would never know about her mother in prison. She had no idea who her father was.
“We just didn’t, honey. We weren’t lucky like you and Anna.”
“I’m not lucky because she takes my toys and doesn’t put them back.”
Lucas was naturally tidy like Rebecca, but she could already tell that Anna took after Jason and his chaotic love of clutter.
She turned onto the highway and merged into southbound traffic, which was scattered.
“Anna is little, so she doesn’t really understand the difference between your things and her things, baby. She just thinks you share everything.”
“But I’m going to have my own room soon.”
She saw him smile in the rearview mirror. “Are you excited?”
“Yes. Agnes and I can play chess every night.”
Rebecca laughed. “So you’re most excited about the chess?”
“Yes, I think—”
The sound of Lucas’s voice was cut off by the screech of tires and a rush of air. The road in front of her didn’t make sense. There were headlights coming right at her, blinding her from seeing what was happening.
