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28 days later…
The house, which was once filled with the sounds of screaming matches and desperate crying, now echoed with the patter of small feet and the occasional bickering like siblings. They’d argue and fight over who got the red truck or who ate the last cookie, but they couldn’t stay apart for more than half an hour. Lyla and Leo had become magnets; they were repelling one moment, clicking together the next.
One afternoon, Elena walked into her daughter’s room. The floor was covered in a chaotic arrangement of dollhouse furniture. The two children were sitting in the centre of it all, moving tiny plastic figures around with intense concentration.
“Leo, I have some good news for you,” she announced, leaning against the doorframe.
The boy looked up, his eyes bright. “What is it, Auntie?”
“Mommy is coming back.”
He dropped his plastic dog. “Mother is?”
“Yeah. She just texted me. She’s on her way to pick you up.”
“Why is Auntie coming back?” Lyla pouted, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. “I was having so much fun with Leo. Now he’ll be gone.”
“I’ll come to visit a lot, Lyla,” he smiled, trying to be reassuring. “I’m only going to be next door. I’m your neighbour.”
“Still,” The girl huffed, turning her nose up. “It’s not the same. You belong here now.”
“Come on, Lyla,” he blew a raspberry. “Look at who’s acting like the baby now.”
“Am not,” she snapped.
“Are too,” the boy giggled, nudging her with his elbow.
“Am not.”
“Are too.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Kids, stop fighting,” Elena demanded, though she was laughing. The sound was light, a stark contrast to the tension of the first few days.
“Okay,” they both mumbled in unison.
“Leo is calling names,” the girl tattled, pointing a finger at him.
“It’s alright, Lyla, you do that too,” Elena said with a wink.
She huffed again, but then her eyes lit up. “Let’s wait near the window for Auntie! We can be the first ones to see her car.”
“Okay!” Leo agreed.
The two scrambled to their feet and rushed to the living room’s large bay window, pressing their faces against the glass.
“I’ll bring us a packet of chips,” she chirped, already bolting toward the kitchen. “And drinks!”
“Okay, come back fast,” the boy called after her.
“And I’ll also bring us dinosaurs!” she shouted from the hallway.
“A dinosaur?” he yelled back, confused.
Lyla skidded back into the room a moment later, breathless. “No, I mean the thing you use to see far away! The binoglasses!”
“Binoculars?” he corrected, tilting his head.
“Yes! Bino- bingo!” The girl waved her hands dismissively.
“It’s binoculars, Lyla.”
“Does it really matter? You understood it anyway. I’ll be back in a minute!” As the words left her mouth, she skedaddled away again, her footsteps thumping heavily on the stairs.
Leo waited by the window, tracing patterns in the condensation on the glass. True to her word, she came running back within a minute, clutching a bag of chips and two pairs of plastic binoculars.
“Take this one of dino-bino-whatever it is,” she said, shoving the bright yellow plastic toy into his hands.
“Okay.”
They both sat on the wide windowsill, crunching on chips and scanning the street. It was a peaceful afternoon, the sun beginning to dip, casting long shadows across the pavement.
“Lyla, isn’t that like a moving truck?” he asked, raising an eyebrow as a large van rumbled past.
“Yeah,” she replied, adjusting her binoculars. “I wonder if they have kids.”
“Who cares? You have me,” he scoffed, taking a handful of chips.
“I want more friends,” the girl sighed. “You have more friends too. You have school friends.”
“I’m a different case because I am handsome and cute,” he bragged, flipping his hair dramatically.
“So am I,” Lyla retorted, posing.
“Whatever.”
Suddenly, she sat up straight, pointing. “Ohh look, Leo! Auntie is here! That’s her car!”
“Yayyy!”
They both jumped off the sill and rushed to the front door, bouncing on their heels with excitement.
Ding. Dong.
Elena walked to the door and pulled it open. Diana stood on the porch, looking chic in a trench coat and oversized sunglasses.
“Diana, you won’t believe how much Leo missed you,” she told her, stepping aside.
“Was he hard to handle?” her friend asked, lowering her sunglasses. She looked tired, but there was a frantic energy buzzing around her.
“He’s a sweet boy,” she responded. “He was no trouble at all.”
Diana’s gaze drifted down to the two children standing by Elena’s legs. Lyla and Leo were holding hands, their fingers interlaced tightly.
“Wait, am I hallucinating, or are they holding hands?” she asked, rubbing her eyes as if she couldn’t believe the sight.
“We are best friends now, right, Leo?” Lyla asserted, hitting Leo playfully, beaming up at her mother.
“Yeah, we are,” he confirmed with a nod.
“I brought gifts for you two!” The lady chirped, reaching into her bag.
“WHAT IS IT?”
“WHAAATTTTT?”
“A Barbie for Leo, and a car for Lyla,” she announced proudly, pulling the toys out.
“Huh?” he stared at the box.
“What-” the girl tilted her head.
“Are you two not happy?” Diana asked, her smiling secretly.
“Thanks,” said the boy, his words slurring.
“Noooo,” Lyla whined.
“Why?”
“Because girls like Barbies and boys like cars,” Lyla said with a shrug.
“Do you want to change?” Diana asked, laughing.
“Yes,” Leo nodded.
“Yes, please,” she agreed.
“Then... Barbie for Lyla, and a car for Leo,” the lady swapped the gifts.
“Thank you!”
“Good job, Auntie,” the girl approved, hugging the box. “You are getting good at this. You might as well be my favourite auntie.”
“Aww, thanks,” Diana chuckled.
“Mumma, I won’t break the hands and legs of this Barbie. I promise.” Lyla said, looking towards Elena.
“That’s... good, sweetie,” Elena commented, exchanging a look with the other adult in the room.
“Anyways, El, how could you not tell me these two are friends now?” she asked, looking at her friend accusingly.
“Best ones,” Leo corrected.
“You didn’t pick up my calls,” Elena said calmly. “You’ve been busy.”
“I was busy. You could’ve texted!” she huffed. Then, a giddy smile broke across her face. She held up her left hand, shoving it in Elena’s face. “But never mind that! Look at who got engaged!”
“YOU GOT ENGAGED?!” she shrieked, grabbing Diana’s hand. A massive diamond sat on her ring finger.
“Yeah! It was love at first sight,” she sighed dreamily.
“You said that in high school, too,” Elena reminded her, eyebrows raised. “And you got divorced in, like, what? A month?”
“It was three months,” Diana corrected defensively.
“Same thing.”
“When will you stop rushing things, Diana?” she asked, concern lacing her voice.
“I mean it this time, El. He’s the one.”
“You meant it every time.”
“Come on, don’t be a downer,” she pouted.
“Does he know about Leo?” Elena asked, her voice dropping to a whisper.
“Well… not yet,” she admitted, avoiding eye contact. “I forgot to tell him.”
“YOU FORGOT TO TELL HIM THAT YOU HAVE A SON?” Elena hissed, incredulous.
“Yeah… it slipped my mind,” her friend whispered back. “We were just so caught up in the romance.”
“Great. How did you two even meet? How long did you date?”
“We met on the first day of my business trip. He was a client, but we fell in love instantly. He proposed to me within two weeks of us dating. We both just felt that we were the one.”
“Ohh wow,” she said dryly. “Someone might make a drama about your life. Don’t let the writers hear this, or they’ll use it.”
“Ohh shut up, Elena, you’re just jealous,” Diana teased.
“I don’t want a father.” The sharp voice cut through the adult conversation. Leo had stepped forward, his face pale and set. “I only want my old daddy,” the boy quivered, his voice trembling. “No one can replace him.”
Before anyone could react, Leo dropped to the floor. He lay flat on his stomach and began to kick his legs, pounding his fists against the hardwood. “I don’t want a new daddy! I want Daddy!”
Lyla watched him for a second, fascinated. Then, with a squeal of delight, she dropped to the floor next to him. She lay on her back and started kicking her legs in the air, mimicking his movements.
“Lyla, get up, this isn’t appropriate,” her mother scolded, horrified.
“NO, Mumma!” she shouted, giggling. “Leo is also doing this! It’s fun! Leo is turning into me!”
“LYLA!” Elena snapped.
The girl immediately stopped kicking and stood up, dusting off her dress. She looked down at Leo, who was still crying on the floor. "You let Leo do it but not me. This isn't fair."
“Leo, calm down,” Diana said, looking flustered. She clearly didn’t know how to handle a tantrum when she had ‘engagement’ news to share. “He won’t replace your father. He’s just… an addition to the family.”
“I don’t want an addition!” the boy sobbed, turning his face away from her. “I want Daddy!”
“Leo…” his mother started.
“Go away, Mother!” he shouted, his voice muffled by the rug.
Diana looked at Elena, panic in her eyes. “I… I don’t know what to do.”
“Diana, just leave him with us for a while,” she said gently, guiding her friend toward the door. “He’ll understand soon. He just needs time to process. Go home, unpack, enjoy your ring.”
“Are you sure, Elena?” her friend asked, lingering in the doorway.
“Yeah. I’ll try to talk to him. I’ll drop him off later, when he’s ready.”
“Okay. Thank you.” Diana blew a kiss to her son, who ignored her, and walked down the path to her house.
Elena closed the door, the silence of the house rushing back in. She looked down at the two children, Leo, heartbroken on the floor, and Lyla, who was now sitting cross-legged beside him like a guard dog.
The adult knelt down beside the boy. “Leo, sweetheart. Your mom loves you very much. She’s just… caught up in the excitement. She wants you to be happy.”
“She forgot about Daddy,” he mumbled into his arms, his body shaking with small hiccups. “She forgot about me. She wants a new family.”
Lyla reached out and placed a small hand on Leo’s back. Her face was devoid of the playful giggles from before; it was serious and dark.
“She forgot you, Leo,” she reiterated, her voice low and firm. “Big people can be really bad at times. Let’s do something to make her regret that.” She whispered into his ear.
Leo sat up, wiping his nose on his sleeve. “I don’t want a new dad. I want the one who used to tickle me.”
“Then don’t get a new one,” the girl stated simply. She looked Elena dead in the eye. “Mumma, go make hot chocolate. Leo is sad. I will fix him.”
Elena hesitated. The old fear flickered in her chest. But looking at the gentle way Lyla was patting Leo’s shoulder, she decided to trust the moment. She nodded and stood up.
“Okay,” she said quietly. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”
She left the room, but she kept hovering nearby to listen.
In the living room, Lyla shifted closer to the boy. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled, slightly lint-covered tissue she had apparently been saving.
“Here,” she said, handing it to him.
Leo took it and blew his nose loudly. “Thanks, Lyla.”
“Listen to me, Leo,” Lyla whispered, leaning in close so only he could hear. Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial hush. “If this new dad is mean… or if he tries to make you go away… we can just break him.”
He looked at her, his eyes wide and teary. “Break him?”
“Like the dolls,” Lyla said softly. “Or like the butterfly. If he’s bad, he doesn’t deserve to stay. You and me? We own this house. We own your house. We own the park. We can own him, too. You said the butterfly was hurt, and that was bad, but hurting someone who is bad isn’t a bad thing. We can do that to him, Leo. It just means that we are fixing him.”
The boy sniffled, a small, watery smile touching his lips. The idea gave him control back. It made him feel powerful, not powerless. “Really?”
“Really,” she promised, nodding solemnly. “I’m the doctor, remember? I know how to fix people and make sure they stay fixed.”
He wiped his eyes one last time. “Okay.”
“Good,” the girl chirped, her dark mood vanishing instantly. She jumped up and grabbed Leo’s hand, pulling him to his feet. “Now, let’s go find my Mumma. I think she burnt the milk.”
“I heard that!” Elena called from the kitchen, causing both children to giggle.
The woman stood by the stove, watching the milk heat up. She let out a shaky breath. The storm had passed for now, but the weather forecast for this family was looking grimmer by the day. An engagement after only a month? A stepfather Leo didn't want?
She stirred the chocolate into the mugs. As the children ran into the kitchen, hand in hand, Elena forced a smile. For now, they were happy. For now, they were together.
But she couldn't shake the feeling that Diana’s recklessness had just set a timer on a bomb, and Lyla was the one holding the matches.
---
After finishing their hot chocolate, Lyla hopped off her stool. “Leo, let’s go to the park now.”
“Okay,” he answered, his spirit lifting.
The two ran out the back door and toward the swing set. As they pumped their legs, flying high, the boy looked over at Lyla.
“Do you think we should break the new dad’s legs and hands? Or just scare him so he leaves?” he asked casually, as if discussing a homework assignment.
The girl dragged her feet in the dirt to slow down. “Let’s just scare him so that he leaves. If he doesn't, then we can do more."
“Okay,” Leo nodded. “How will you do it?”
“Leave it to me,” she assured with a grin, jumping off the swing. “Let’s go see if our neighbours are here yet.”
“Right now?” he asked, following her toward the fence.
“Yeah, right now.” Saying that, Lyla ran outside the park gate and toward the neighbour’s driveway.
The boy chased after her. “You’re so bossy, Lyla.”
“No, I’m not,” she huffed, stopping to peek over the hedge. “Do you see anyone?”
“Nope,” Leo stood on his tiptoes.
“Neither do I,” she sighed. “I hope they have kids our age.”
“It doesn’t matter to me,” he shrugged. “I have you.”
“It does to me,” Lyla insisted, looking back at the empty house. “Whatever. It’s getting late. Let’s go back home.”
“Okayyyyyyyyyy,” he groaned, dragging his feet as they turned back.
They walked back to the house in the dimming light, a plan forming in their minds
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