over Mark’s shoulders. “Oh no.”
Mark spun around and saw the twins huddled in the kitchen doorway. He felt his heart skip a beat. “How long have you two been standing there?”
They both shrugged. Mark realized their eyes were on him. They were studying him. Had they overheard his true feelings?
An awkward silence in the room. Then Lea stood up and flashed them a broad smile. “Good news, boys. We had a vote here. And we voted two to one. Roz and Axl are going to move to the attic-and you two get to stay in the guesthouse.”
She turned to Mark as if challenging him. But he knew when he was defeated.
The twins cheered and did a funny, awkward tap dance of celebration. But their smiles faded quickly. “Only one thing,” Daniel said softly. “Samuel and I will take the guesthouse only if you promise us one thing.”
Mark narrowed his eyes at them.
“Only if Ira will come have sleepovers with us,” Daniel said.
He saw Lea’s chin quiver. The tears were about to flow again.
“Are they angels?” she whispered. “Is that the sweetest thing?”
23
Lea grabbed the car keys and stuffed them in her jacket pocket. She herded the twins toward the back door. “Where’s Ira? Ira’s coming with us? Did you see him?”
Before they could answer, Elena burst into the kitchen. “Have you seen my necklace? Did you see it anywhere?”
Lea blinked. “Necklace?”
“The one with the amethyst. You know. Grandma’s necklace? It was on my dresser. I know I left it on top of my dresser. Now I can’t find it anywhere.”
“Maybe it fell off, sweetie,” Lea suggested. “Did you look underneath?”
“Duh. Like of course. Like I’m not stupid.” Elena turned to the twins. “Did you see a necklace anywhere?”
They both shook their heads. “Not me,” Daniel said.
“We’ll all search for it when we get back,” Lea said. “It didn’t fly away. We’ll find it. Get Ira for me, will you? I’m taking the twins shopping.”
Lea drove the twins to the mall at Bridgehampton to buy them clothes. Ira had protested vehemently, but she forced him to accompany them and help select what kids at his school were wearing. The twins had been with them for two days, and he hadn’t made a single attempt to be friendly. Now he sat glumly in the front seat beside her, his arms crossed, staring straight ahead through the windshield.
In the Camry’s backseat, the twins strained at their seat belts, leaning out the windows to see the passing scenery.
“I don’t think they’ve ever been in a car before,” she told Ira.
No response.
“Come on, Ira. Shape up.”
“Look at that truck!” Daniel exclaimed. “Couldn’t you fit a whole house in that truck!”
Lea found it so touching. These twelve-year-old boys seeing the world for the first time.
She turned into a long parking aisle and stopped while a blue pickup backed out of a spot. “Be nice to them,” she whispered to Ira. “Be a help, okay? I’ll buy you something special right now. To cheer you up. What would you like? What can I buy you?”
“A candy bar?”
Lea bought all three of them big Milky Way bars. The twins ate them slowly, taking small bites, savoring them, dopey smiles on their faces as if they were drunk from the chocolate.
“You had candy bars on the island, didn’t you?” Lea asked.
They both nodded. “I got a Snickers bar for my tenth birthday,” Samuel said.
“It was my birthday, too,” Daniel said. “We had to share it, don’t you know.”
Ira stared at them. Lea thought she caught a moment of empathy on his face. Having to share a candy bar was something Ira could feel strongly about.
Still chewing on their giant candy bars, they followed Lea into T.J.Maxx.
“We need to get you boys at least three or four pairs of jeans to wear to school,” Lea said. “Ira, what kind of jeans are the kids wearing these days?”
Ira licked caramel off his lips. “I don’t know.”
“Come on, Ira,” Lea snapped. “Help out here. What kind of jeans?”
He shrugged. “I’ll know it when I see it.”
“Okay. Follow me. Boys’ jeans are over there.”
She led them to the tables stacked high with jeans. Only a few brands but several styles and colors of denim. Did kids still wear cargo jeans? Most of the jeans in Ira’s closet had a dozen pockets up and down the legs.
She picked up a pair of straight-legged, faded denims and held it against Samuel. “This looks about your size. Ira, do kids wear these?”
Ira shrugged. “Maybe.”
Lea searched through the pile and pulled out the same size. “You boys will have to go try these on. But wait. Let’s find a few more.”
Daniel had a smear of chocolate on his chin. “Only one of us has to try them on,” he said. “We’re the same size.”
“But don’t you want to pick the ones you like?” Lea asked.
Samuel gazed up at her. “Do we really get more than one? We don’t have to share?”
“Yes. You can each pick two or three.”
The twins clapped their hands, careful not to drop their candy bars. They let out squeaks of joy.
She had a sudden memory flash: the twins stepping out of the red rain, looking so lost and forlorn. All around them, the devastation, everything down and destroyed. The mournful wails. The heavy, sour smell of death with each breath she took.
She forced the images from her mind. “Here. Go try this smaller size. Take these and try them all on.” She watched them race to the dressing room against the back wall. They were so small for their age. Ira towered over them.
Ira hunched beside her, doing his best to look bored and unhappy. “What am I supposed to do?”
“Help me pick out some shorts for Axl.”
“Big whoop.”
A short while later, success. Jeans were selected. T-shirts added to the pile. A couple of sweaters and long- sleeved shirts. It was April and the weather was still cool and damp.
“Thank you, Mum. Thank you.” From Daniel.
Then Samuel: “Thank you, Mum. I’m so happy. I never had new clothes, don’t you know.”
“Do we love our new mum? Yes!” Daniel exclaimed.
They both hugged her so tight she could barely breathe. Lea was almost overcome by their innocent, joyful gratitude. She carried the pile of clothing to the registers up front.
She dumped everything on the counter. The three boys had wandered off. Where were they? She spotted them near the back wall. They were talking to another boy. A big hulk of a boy with a hard, bulldog face. Lea recognized him from Ira’s class.
And there was his mother. Elaine Saltzman. Ahead of Lea in the line. Elaine turned as if she knew Lea was thinking about her. “Lea?”
“Hi, Elaine. How are you?”
