{"id":262530,"date":"2026-07-13T19:05:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T16:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1kitap1.com\/en\/handle-with-care-sarah-peis-1\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T19:05:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T16:05:59","slug":"handle-with-care-sarah-peis-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1kitap1.com\/en\/handle-with-care-sarah-peis-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Handle With Care – Sarah Peis (1)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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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.<\/p>\n

Even I saw the irony in my actions. \u201cThis is it.\u201d I studied the pinched expressions on my daughters\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI even got us a moving-in present.\u201d I forced cheer into my voice, ignoring Vance shooting daggers at the wall. Small apartment forgotten, Elana whirled around. \u201cIs it a toy?\u201d Kneeling down in front of her, I shook my head. \u201cIt\u2019s not, sorry, pumpkin pants. It\u2019s something useful.\u201d Addy took her sister\u2019s hand, a sure sign that she didn\u2019t feel comfortable in our new home. \u201cIs it toilet paper?\u201d \u201cThat would be useful, but that\u2019s not it either.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stood up and pointed at the box sitting on the counter. \u201cWhy don\u2019t you open it?\u201d 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\u2019d bought them. They were identical since I knew they\u2019d fight otherwise. Elana waved her pillowcase around, the plastic that had covered it flying through the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are dogs on them.\u201d She hugged it to her. \u201cI love it. Can we put them on?\u201d \u201cOf course.\u201d 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. \u201cCan Orange sleep with me tonight?\u201d \u201cHe\u2019d love that.\u201d Addy leaned over the side of the top bunk.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I get Winston.\u201d The cat loved my girls, so he wouldn\u2019t protest. \u201cHow 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.\u201d We\u2019d spent the day at the old house, half the time with Vance.<\/p>\n

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\u201cW hat happens if I take out my heart and put it in a robot?\u201d I wound an arm around my six-year-old daughter Adelaine\u2019s shoulders and pulled her close. \u201cIt would still be a robot. And you\u2019d be without a heart.\u201d She pursed her lips, mulling over what I\u2019d said. I opened the car door for her, adjusting Elana, my four-year-old daughter, on my hip.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are you not allowed to look directly into a light?\u201d Adelaine was now in her booster seat, wrangling with her seat belt. I closed her door, walking around to the other side before answering. \u201cIt\u2019s bad for your eyes.\u201d She pushed the belt down with enthusiasm, then turned to where I was buckling Elana in. \u201cWhy?\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s too bright. If you do, you\u2019ll see black spots.\u201d I knew my answer lacked substance, but I\u2019d never figured out why you weren\u2019t supposed to look directly into a light.<\/p>\n

Something I vowed to look up tonight if I didn\u2019t fall asleep before I had a chance to. Chapter One I\u2019d 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\u2019d been feeling for the past few months trumped that by a long shot.<\/p>\n

Guess that happened when your husband\u2014henceforth known as Cockalorum\u2014left 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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do I only have two legs?\u201d Adelaine continued her questions. I pulled out of the driveway of the house I\u2019d lived in for the last six years. Since I couldn\u2019t afford the mortgage payments on my own, I had to sell it. Something that had hurt more than Cockalorum moving out. I\u2019d signed a lease on a one-bedroom apartment in town, and we were moving next month.<\/p>\n

Briefly glancing at my daughter in the rearview mirror, I pushed away the negative thoughts taking over my brain. \u201cBecause you\u2019re a human. And we only have two legs.\u201d Adelaine mulled it over, then nodded. \u201cI guess you\u2019re right. But I wish I had four legs. Then I could run faster and would have won the race last week.\u201d I bit my lip to quell the all-too-familiar sense of failure working its way through my body.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d never been able to protect her from my husband\u2019s cutting words. There was no doubt in my mind that Cockalorum had told her she hadn\u2019t been fast enough. \u201cYou\u2019re a great runner. Even Ms. Pearson said so.\u201d \u201cI still wasn\u2019t the fastest.\u201d And that\u2019s what it all came down to. Cockalorum didn\u2019t care that she was six.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.<\/em><\/p>\n

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