Page 91 of Broken
Thursday morning,Prescott was going to try something new. The past few days had been critical in helping him and Ethan develop a routine, giving Ethan a glimpse into what his new life would be like. While Ethan had cried every night at bedtime, he had done a remarkable job of adapting to all the changes.
Last night, Prescott’s mom and dad had stopped by with dinner, and Ethan was excited to show them his new bedroom and his ever-growing toy collection.
What wasn’t working was Jacqueline’s decision to work from home. Since they couldn’t discuss the case in front of Ethan, that left them limited time to talk. Beyond the slow progress they’d been making, Prescott missed her.
After breakfast, Prescott asked Ethan if he’d liked the daycare he’d been going to.
“Uh-huh,” Ethan replied.
Prescott pulled a piece of printer paper off the stack and drew a series of squares that represented buildings. “Check this out,” he said sliding the piece of paper in front of him.
Ethan stared at it. “Good job!”
Prescott chuckled. “Thanks, buddy. These are supposed to be buildings.” He drew some smaller squares inside the big ones to represent windows. As he stared at the picture, he acknowledged his complete lack of artistic talent.
“This is where I work.” Prescott drew an arrow at his building. “We have daycare in this building. Isn’t that cool. You’ll be right next door.”
“I go tomydaycare.”
Ignoring that, “Prescott said, “Let’s go to my office so you can see where I work.”
“No, fank you. I want to play.”
Opting for a different tactic, Prescott explained that he’d gottenspecialpermission for Ethan to come to his work. “There’s a lady in my office who has a bowl of candy on her desk. Maybe we should see what kind of candy she has today.”
Ethan’s face lit up. “I like candy.”
Prescott hated himself for being a hypocrite. He was bribing Ethan with the very ingredient he’d been trying to ween him off of.
Fifteen minutes later, he buckled Ethan into his car seat, jumped behind the wheel of the ALPHA SUV, and took off for Armstrong Enterprises. On the drive over, he pulled up the playlist, and Ethan started singing along.
Another small win.
With the diaper and computer bags slung over his shoulder, he held Ethan in his arms. First stop, his office. The receptionists in the lobby did double takes as he made his way to the elevator.
“You wanna push the button?” he asked Ethan.
Ethan pushed the up button. Inside the cab, he instructed Ethan to push the sixth floor.
“I can’t know.”
Prescott pointed. “That’s a six.”
Ethan tapped the button.
“Nice job,” he said.
Up they went, then down the hall he strode. After unlocking his office, he dropped the bags on the sofa, and set Ethan down.
“Where’s the candy?” Ethan asked.
“This way.” Prescott exited his office, Ethan close on his heels. He stopped at Francis’s doorway. She was typing away, glanced up, and smiled. “Good to see you.” Her gaze slid to Ethan’s as he walked up to her desk and shoved his face against the glass container filled with individually wrapped chocolates.
“Hi,” Ethan said.
“You must be Ethan. I’m Miss Francis.”
“Are these your candy?”
