I stepped toward the hallway. “I’ll see about new casters for your chair.”
“Thank you.” She looked back down at the papers on the desk, mumbling under her breath, “You may turn out to be an okay husband after all.”
I hurried out the door. Not thinking too hard about the way her words made my breath catch.
Chuck’s project list kept me busyinto the afternoon. Most things would need to wait until I had a chance to visit the hardware store, but I spent a productive morning outside, tightening up loose elements on the play structures and replacing missing steps on the bleachers. After lunch, I got the heat in the dryer working and patched a few holes in the drywall. Some larger repairs would require multiple days of work. Of those, I decided to start with the broken toilets, which had been leaking so long I needed to replace a section of the subfloor underneath before installing new ones. During our walk-through, I also discovered multiple issues Chuck hadn’t noticed until I pointed them out.
Marisol found me spackling drywall cracks in the music room.
“Thanks so much,hermano. The kids will be here soon. I didn’t know if you’d want to stay or come back another day.”
My cheeks grew hot. “Am I…allowed to stay? You know, with the kids here?”
It took Marisol a moment to understand. “Oh, Deck.” Her face softened. “We have your background check because you’re in the building. But since you’re not a direct service volunteer and won’t be alone with youth, your record doesn’t matter. You would need a Class A felony to get booted entirely.”
I didn’t want to feel ashamed. I’d done my time and gotten out early, taking every opportunity to get an education while I was in to ensure I wouldn’t be back. I also had no regrets about putting Chi-chi in the hospital for a month. That motherfucker deserved everything he got. Although I was a little sorry for breaking Aaron’s wrist.
“I’ll stay if you’re sure it won’t be a problem. I kind of want to get an idea of how the kids use the space. It might help me identify other potential issues.”
“Yeah, Chuck mentioned you found a few things he hadn’t caught.”
“My eyes went straight to the baseboards. I need to replace all that old wood with rubber. I remember getting mad and kicking the baseboards at school when I was a kid. Apparently, nothing has changed.”
Marisol grinned. “They do love to destroy shit—excuse me,stuff. I need to put myafter two o’clocklanguage hat on. We go through a lot of Ping-Pong balls. Occasionally even a snapped pool stick. Good thing we love them anyway.”
I watched my sister in her element, trailing her around the atrium as she unlocked doors and put out equipment. My parents had mentioned how much Marisol enjoyed her job. She’d worked for Rosa since graduating from college a year ago.
As the teens poured in through the front doors, Marisol checked them in and asked about their days. They answered easily and asked their own questions about the upcoming teen late night. Some of the older kids came in hot, apologizing when she reminded them to watch their language.
“She’s so good with them.” My skin prickled with awareness at Cori’s voice. I hadn’t seen her since this morning when I’d held her against me.
“Yeah.” I kept my gaze glued to Marisol.
One strutting loudmouth, who looked about fourteen, reminded me of myself at that age. Tussling with his friends, he accidentally knocked the tablet out of Marisol’s hands. I lurched forward instinctively until I felt Cori’s grip on my wrist. “Watch,” she whispered.
Marisol didn’t even have to speak. She simply raised an eyebrow at the kid. He leaned down to pick up the device and handed it to her with a contrite, “Sorry, Miss Mari,” before bouncing off.
“I forget she’s grown up sometimes,” I admitted softly. “Even though she’s pretty fucking awesome at being an adult.”
“At least you’ve had a chance to get used to it. When I first saw her, I almost didn’t recognize her.” Cori laughed. Leaning into my ear, she whispered, “Also, don’t say fucking.”
Dios, Cori, how about you don’t lean into my ear and say fucking.
I turned, giving her a sheepish look before realizing our faces were inches apart. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. Must be a Decker trait because I’ve noticed Marisol drop a few choice words herself this week.” Breaking our eye contact, Cori made her way to sit behind the front counter.
Not knowing what else to do, I followed. “Where is Rosa?” I asked.
“Home with Lupe. I told her I could fill in during program time however much she wanted me to. I’ve been here every day for over a week now, so I feel pretty comfortable with the kids and the routine. It’s like muscle memory, too, from when I volunteered back in the day.”
“Marisol said it’s okay that I’m around when the kids are here.”
“Of course,” she replied quickly, confused. Then she caught on to why I’d mentioned it. “Deck, be real. If we said that people who’d spent time on the inside couldn’t come into the building, half these kids’ parents wouldn’t be able to pick them up. No one’s gonna look sideways at you here.”
She appeared thoughtful for a moment before her mouth turned down.
“What?” I asked.
