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It’s weird I don’t knohat happened between the out almost every day Sahalia watches Alex fix electronics that people bring to hih the charity bins for clothes Her birthday’s coet her a pair of black biker boots she’s coveting

Right now Sahalia’s wearing white painter’s coveralls rolled up to the knee, with the sleeves cut off and a red bandanna tied around her waist

She’s got flair, all right

I feel Astrid go tense

It’s Jake Jake’s coreen hill with his dad

He and his dad found each other the first day we arrived

I’m jealous of him (because of his dad)

But that’s okay, because he’s jealous of ive each other a wide berth

"Hey, y’all," Jake calls out

"Uncle Jake! Uncle Jake!" the kids screech and yell They abandon their ga hi pile

(You’d think Max would be feeling left out, but no, he just buries hi arms and lets himself be mothered and fussed over)

"Nohere’d I put that present?" Jake says to the kids He tickles Henry and then Caroline "Is it under your neck? Maybe it’s here in your are of Gu deal back at the Greenhere we had dozens of bags of them, but now that they’re scarce, the kids covet the better," Astrid says

"Yup," I say

I don’t tell her what Alex tolda counselor

Jake can tell her himself They talk sometimes She tries to explain why she chose ether with hi to happen Our plan is that the baby will call Jake "Daddy" and will call me "Dean" and that’s fine with me I don’t need the title I want the position

"Hey! Hey, everyone," Mrs McKinley sings "Is everyone here?"

"Where’s Niko?" Astrid asks s," I say

Niko’s the one who’s doing the worst out of all of us He wanders around, not really engaging with anyone He’s not been able to find any word of anyone fro Josie

He sketches sos

"Gather around, please," Mrs McKinley calls to us

Mrs McKinley has put two birthday candles in the center of two of the tiny doughnuts They share one thin paper plate

Before she lights the auburn hair out of her eyes She looks just like the twins--wall-to-wall freckles, light blue-green eyes She especially looks like them when she smiles and her eyes crinkle up in the corners