Handle With Care – Sarah Peis (1)

In order for her to see the pages, we had to get close. And that was how I found myself cuddled up on the couch with Vance and my girls. OceanofPDF.com I made an elaborate hand gesture as we walked into the apartment, as if I was revealing a circus trick.

Even I saw the irony in my actions. “This is it.” I studied the pinched expressions on my daughters’ faces. They looked at the apartment with as much enthusiasm as Keely had. Vance was standing behind them, looking grumpy again. Ignoring his glower, I pasted a smile on my face and turned to the girls.

“I even got us a moving-in present.” I forced cheer into my voice, ignoring Vance shooting daggers at the wall. Small apartment forgotten, Elana whirled around. “Is it a toy?” Kneeling down in front of her, I shook my head. “It’s not, sorry, pumpkin pants. It’s something useful.” Addy took her sister’s hand, a sure sign that she didn’t feel comfortable in our new home. “Is it toilet paper?” “That would be useful, but that’s not it either.”

I stood up and pointed at the box sitting on the counter. “Why don’t you open it?” Chapter Thirteen They scrambled to be the first one there, then pulled the box down. It landed with a loud thump on the floor. Luckily there was nothing breakable in it. Ripping open the top, they pulled out the new bedsheets I’d bought them. They were identical since I knew they’d fight otherwise. Elana waved her pillowcase around, the plastic that had covered it flying through the room.

“There are dogs on them.” She hugged it to her. “I love it. Can we put them on?” “Of course.” I showed them their room and helped them change the sheets. Orange jumped up on the bottom bunk, and Elana, who would be sleeping there, covered him with the blanket. “Can Orange sleep with me tonight?” “He’d love that.” Addy leaned over the side of the top bunk.

“Then I get Winston.” The cat loved my girls, so he wouldn’t protest. “How about I make us spaghetti bolognese for dinner and we watch a movie? I think I spotted a packet of microwave popcorn when I packed the food.” We’d spent the day at the old house, half the time with Vance.

“W hat happens if I take out my heart and put it in a robot?” I wound an arm around my six-year-old daughter Adelaine’s shoulders and pulled her close. “It would still be a robot. And you’d be without a heart.” She pursed her lips, mulling over what I’d said. I opened the car door for her, adjusting Elana, my four-year-old daughter, on my hip.

“Why are you not allowed to look directly into a light?” Adelaine was now in her booster seat, wrangling with her seat belt. I closed her door, walking around to the other side before answering. “It’s bad for your eyes.” She pushed the belt down with enthusiasm, then turned to where I was buckling Elana in. “Why?” “It’s too bright. If you do, you’ll see black spots.” I knew my answer lacked substance, but I’d never figured out why you weren’t supposed to look directly into a light.

Something I vowed to look up tonight if I didn’t fall asleep before I had a chance to. Chapter One I’d thought I knew what exhaustion was when my daughters were babies and refused to sleep for more than an hour at a time. But the bone-deep exhaustion I’d been feeling for the past few months trumped that by a long shot.

Guess that happened when your husband—henceforth known as Cockalorum—left you for someone fifteen years younger. Technically, I was the one asking for a divorce, but so far, it had only been a formality. I hadn’t actually had a chance to get the legal ball rolling yet. After I made sure my girls were safely inside the car, I settled into my own seat.

“Why do I only have two legs?” Adelaine continued her questions. I pulled out of the driveway of the house I’d lived in for the last six years. Since I couldn’t afford the mortgage payments on my own, I had to sell it. Something that had hurt more than Cockalorum moving out. I’d signed a lease on a one-bedroom apartment in town, and we were moving next month.

Briefly glancing at my daughter in the rearview mirror, I pushed away the negative thoughts taking over my brain. “Because you’re a human. And we only have two legs.” Adelaine mulled it over, then nodded. “I guess you’re right. But I wish I had four legs. Then I could run faster and would have won the race last week.” I bit my lip to quell the all-too-familiar sense of failure working its way through my body.

I’d never been able to protect her from my husband’s cutting words. There was no doubt in my mind that Cockalorum had told her she hadn’t been fast enough. “You’re a great runner. Even Ms. Pearson said so.” “I still wasn’t the fastest.” And that’s what it all came down to. Cockalorum didn’t care that she was six.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 5c8b4497eb282495
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 1,380,325 bytes (1.316 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9781763525184, 9781763525191
• Pages: 295
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 375.38 minutes
• Total Words: 75,075
• Total Characters: 398,492
• Average Words per Page: 254.49
• Average Characters per Page: 1350.82

Most Frequent Words

vance (425), back (322), i’d (309), didn’t (297), girls (247), get (245), one (234), since (197), want (195), i’m (193), time (191), don’t (179), hand (168), now (166), elana (159), addy (154), know (145), door (143), even (143), way (142), malena (142), much (138), still (133), eyes (130), around (128), head (126), i’ll (123), keely (123), made (122), face (122), anything (121), it’s (118), next (116), took (114), take (113), put (113), like (112), something (107), kids (106), turned (105), hands (104), need (103), wasn’t (101), little (101), room (100), never (99), going (98), house (97), front (97), looked (95), knew (94), sure (94), first (94), make (94), you’re (91), right (91), he’d (91), think (90), two (88), side (86), couldn’t (84), good (84), help (84), car (83), that’s (83), apartment (81), okay (81), look (80), always (77), mae (77), left (76), already (74), everything (74), nodded (73), inside (72), went (72), wouldn’t (72), see (71), love (71), said (70), wanted (69), come (69), work (68), pulled (68), let (68), against (68), vance’s (67), last (65), away (64), call (64), well (64), couch (64), without (61), cockalorum (60), hadn’t (60), body (60), say (59), office (59), getting (59), enough (58).

PDF Download