Amara Anatole is
an Adult. Her fiance Knox Nye is a
Young Adult. Their children Arden
Anatole, Elijah Anatole, and Xandra Anatole are Children.
* * *
Amara had never cared that she didn’t have enough money to
buy herself fancy new toys. She had her TV, her computer, her jogging shoes, a
handful of books – that had always been more than enough. But now, with the
triplets, she was coming face to face with the painful realities of her
financial situation. Not having money meant not being able to buy art supplies
for Elijah, or a musical instrument – or even a stereo – for Xandra. It meant
not even being able to buy the most basic toys. The kids seemed to be happy
enough just playing with each other, but it hurt to know that if things were
different she could be giving them so much more.
She tried to bring in a little extra money making plugins,
but it was only enough to keep the family fed, and even then, only just barely.
She was pushing as hard as she could for her next promotion, but in the
meantime, they couldn’t pay the bills.
All this extra work was wearing Amara out. Sometimes she
felt like she was in danger of falling asleep on her feet. Her old carefree
life had never felt so far away – and she had never missed it more.
Knox, on the other hand, was finally starting to get into
the rhythm of his days. He would cook breakfast in the morning, do household
repairs and play games until the kids came home, then help them with their
homework until it was time to cook dinner. But at times, he had the fleeting thought
that it would be nice to have a real job.
Arden saw Dzika Fish less these days – she wasn’t talking to
anyone much after her grandmother’s death – but meanwhile, he and Phoebe Li,
who lived just next door, had become inseparable. He insisted that he was going
to marry her someday.
But the triplets’ closest friends were still each other.
From their perspective, everything was great. They were used to eating
breakfast in the kitchen together, standing up; they didn’t know their parents
kept trying to afford a bigger table and more chairs so they could all actually
eat at the table. They were used to their mom being constantly stressed from
work; they had never known her the way she used to be.
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