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“Meat and vegetables,” she replied. “Same as us. Do you eat vegetables?”
“I like sugar.”
She smiled. “Me, too, but you need less sugar and more meat and vegetables. That’s what helps you grow strong.”
Big brown eyes peered up at her. “Can I eat the dog food?”
“If you eat Loki’s food, what will he eat?” she asked.
He started to reach toward Loki’s bowl, but she pulled his hand away. “Since Loki is a baby, let’s not put our fingers by his food when he’s eating. I don’t want him to get confused or angry and bite you, okay?”
She pretended to munch on his fingers and he giggled. “I’m being silly, but if he bit you, it would hurt, just like last night.” She led him toward the table. “What are you having for breakfast?”
He climbed into his booster seat as Prescott set down a bowl of oatmeal along with a plate of scrambled eggs.
“Yucky.” Ethan pushed the bowl away. “I wantmycereal.”
“Sorry, bud,” Prescott said.
Ethan pursed his lips, narrowed his gaze, and sat there, his hands in two small fists.
“Do you like eggs?” Jack asked.
Ethan refused to answer.
She pulled Prescott aside. “I should probably mind my business—”
“And I should give him whatever the hell he wants, but he was eating junk.”
“Do you have any brown sugar?” she murmured.
“No.”
“Regular sugar?”
He shook his head.
“If you’re okay with it, I’ll pick up brown sugar on my way home—I mean—back here.”
“I liked your first answer better,” he said. “I get that there’s a lot going on, but if you’re here, we’ll get a lot more work done.”
“Yeah, that’s what we’re gonna do with our extra time.”
He chuckled.
They returned to find Ethan had eaten the eggs, but not the oatmeal.
“You did a good job with your eggs, Ethan,” Prescott said. “Let’s get you dressed for school.”
“I want to stay and play with Loki.”
“Loki will be here when we come home, and you can play with him then.”
Prescott waited while Ethan’s expression morphed from frustration to acceptance. For someone who had little exposure to children, he was fascinated by the range of emotions that Ethan wrestled with on a second-by-second basis.
“Okay.” He climbed down from the booster and headed toward the staircase. “Can Loki come upstairs with me?”
Prescott regarded Jack.
