decision.
“You can be Mommy Dinosaur. Daddy Dinosaur needs somebody.”
For a second, I forgot how to breathe.
Julian squeezed my hand.
“Okay,” I whispered. “Mommy Dinosaur it is.”
Theo nodded, satisfied.
“Good. We need a nest.”
He pointed across the room.
“Charlie’s the turtle. He doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
Charlie sat surrounded by cardboard boxes.
He waved.
“I really don’t.”
At 4:34, Theo’s father came through the front door.
Four minutes late.
Out of breath.
Still wearing his car wash uniform.
“Sorry. The bus was late.”
Theo looked up.
Then dropped everything.
Crayons.
Cardboard.
Even the dinosaur.
“DADDY!”
He ran across the room.
His father dropped to his knees and caught him.
Held him tightly.
His shoulders shook.
Julian and I watched quietly.
After a while, Julian picked up the green dinosaur and placed it carefully on Theo’s chair beside the window.
Where he would find it
