238.

Sitting at their window table inside the neighborhood pub on a snowy, blustery day carried with it a unique degree of perfection. The interior's dim ambiance and wooden walls enveloped the Tuckers in a peaceful cocoon. Had they not had three kids in tow, Olivia and Ed probably would have spent the better part of the afternoon there, sipping cocktails and feeling superior to those who trudged through the snow outside. The kids all wore their snow pants but the parkas, hats, and mittens had been removed and were hanging on a hook nearby. Ed jokingly thanked the sole waiter for his patience and for them treating the place like a ski lodge. He grinned and glanced at the sleds parked outside in the space where sidewalk tables were set up during the warmer months. Even though they were cheap drugstore purchases, he was wary of theft. Olivia was wary of nothing. She smiled at her children who, unlike dozens of others she had seen over the years, got busy drawing on their placemats and constructing mini forts with sugar packets and toothpicks rather than beg for their parents' phones. The only reason Olivia kept peeking out of the window was because she secretly knew G and Sarah were joining them and she expected the duo to emerge from the subway stairs at any moment.

"Mom?" Noah asked without looking up from his placemat, "Are we jus' hangin' out?"

"What do you mean, sweetie?" Olivia asked.

Noah cocked his head and twisted his lips. "Well," he replied, "Sometimes we sit down and eat right away and sometimes we don't 'cause we're hangin' out."

"We're hanging out," Olivia replied, "Are you hungry? We can order something."

"Nah," Noah replied, "I have my cherries." Indeed, the bartender had included extra cherries in each of the Shirley Temples.

Next to Olivia, Ed flipped through the photos he'd taken earlier. He chose one of the three kids making snow angels for Instagram and then replaced the lock screen photo on his phone with one of their families selfies. He sensed Olivia smiling at him and raised his eyebrows. She kissed his cheek and said, "I'm always amused at your obsession with social media."

"I am too," he replied wryly.

"How did you start Instagram again?"

Ed lifted his chin and thought for a moment. "I think…yeah, well, on the job we all have to know about social media and I always thought, for adults, Instagram is a really good way of communicating with family and friends across long distances. I like Twitter for the news. But it all gets outta control when you get kids and bad actors involved."

"How many followers do you have?"

"On Instagram? Fifty-two. I know 'em all. Mostly family, a lot of 'em you met at the reunion. See?" Ed offered the phone to Olivia, but she waved it away.

"I trust you," she said. "Which ones did you post today?"

"These," Ed again showed her the screen and paged through four snaps of the kids sledding, chasing each other, baby-piling, and posing together with the west side skyline in the background.

"So cute," Olivia murmured, "I don't think there are better pictures than little kids all bundled up in their winter gear."

"It's hard to beat." Ed turned to her, smiled, and gave her a quick kiss. He saw the waiter wandering over, raised his pint glass, and asked for another round.

"Shirley temples, too?" He asked.

Other than the cherries, the kids' glasses had hardly been touched. Ed shook his head. As the waiter was walking away, the door creaked open and Sarah called out. "Wait! Sir! Two hot toddies for G and I!" She dragged G in by the arm to "show" her to the guy in case he needed proof there was, in fact, another person with her.

Three different versions of "SARE BEAR" and "GEEEEEEE" rang out, momentarily startling the two other customers, both parked at the bar. They smiled and returned to their drinks. G and Sarah hugged the kids, hung their coats, and sat down. "Phew!" Sarah said, "It's nasty out there!" She grinned at Noah and continued, "Good think you parked your sleds outside! I forgot where your mom told me to go and my fingers were frozen so I couldn't check my phone!"

Noah giggled.

"Looks like you had a fun afternoon according to Insta?" Sarah removed her beanie, smoothed her hair, then decided to put the purple hat back on.

"Oh yes!" Noah said, "We were in da park for a long time and, guess what, we had one hill all to ourselves!"

"Good for you!" Sarah replied. "There aren't many people as dedicated to snow play as you are to be out there in the wind."

"And we made snow angels."

"Cool. Twinsies? How are you? Thawing out?"

"Wendown da slide," Wyatt said, "An cashinna snow!"

"CASH!" Maggie exclaimed. She then proceeded to explain how they were racing down the hill and they crashed again at the end.

"Were you hurt?" Sarah asked.

"No hurt," Maggie replied matter-of-factly, "Don't nee'a'band-aid."

"Oh, well, that's good." Sarah smiled at the waiter who brought over the beers and apologized for the hot toddies.

"No cinnamon," he said with a shrug.

"No problem," Sarah said. "The whiskey's in there, right?"

"Yes ma'am."

After a toast, Sarah asked how their night went.

"It was fun," Olivia said, "It's always nice to see the old crew."

"Is it a little weird?" Sarah asked. "I mean, you were with them twenty-four seven for so long…"

"It's weird in the sense I don't know that we know how to have conversations without reverting to police talk," Olivia said, "Even when we tried, the topic always somehow goes back to an old war story. But we don't tell those very often anymore, so I didn't mind."

Sarah nodded. "Dad? How was it?"

"We were both there."

"Okayyy…"

"When I wasn't with Liv, I was with Sonny. I didn't know many people. Younger crowd. Most of the people I came up with are retired or they didn't work with Rollins. Big department, ya know," he said, smirking at his daughter.

Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Mommy?" Noah asked, "Can I go home real quick?"

Sarah and G laughed.

"It's jus' up there," Noah added, pointing in the direction of their building.

"Sweet boy, why do you need to go home?"

Noah stared at his mother pointedly and then shifted his gaze to G.

"Oh," Olivia smiled and grabbed the backpack they'd taken with them that morning. It contained extra pairs of clothes, band aids, water bottles, and the lollipop. "I think I have what you're looking for."

"Da…" Noah mouthed the word lollipop.

Olivia nodded.

Noah climbed out of the booth and walked around the table. He found the supersized lollipop and handed it to G. "Here ya go," he said, grinning, "S'grape, cause it starts with G! I was gonna give it to you last night, dat's da s'rpise, but I fell asleep!"

"Thank you!" G said. "Wow, that's a huge lollipop. Thanks, Noah!"

"Welcome. I have one, too, but it's strawberry 'cause that's my favorite and also 'cause they didn't have a flavor that starts with N!"

"Yeah, tricky to find that."

"But," Noah grinned, "I have a subway dat starts with N!"

G smiled and replied, "Probably more important than a candy flavor."

"Yeah, for sure." Noah turned to Sarah and explained, "I got G a candy 'cause she was babysitting."

"I understand, Noey," Sarah said and bopped his nose, "But I shall expect something special the next time you stay with me."

"Kay."

G expected the twins to clamor for the lollipop, but they were intently playing with their sets of Squigs, tiny suction cup toys that could be attached to create all different kinds of designs and structures. They also appeared to have eaten their fair share of Shirley Temple garnishes, so perhaps their sweet tooth was satiated for the time being.

"Thanks again for staying so late last night," Ed said, "We haven't been out in a while."

"No problem," G said, "It was an easy night and I had a lot of time to get some work done."

"What projects are you working on now?" Olivia asked.

"A couple of different fundraisers, one for a school in Brooklyn. The other, well, I was asked to join a team working with the 9/11 Memorial. That one started a couple of weeks ago, so it's taking up most of my time. Definitely want to get this right."

"Sounds heavy," Olivia said.

"It is…but, in a, I don't know, necessary way? There's a sense of obligation in it all, like, it's the least we can do."

Olivia and Ed nodded knowingly. Under the table, Olivia patted Ed's thigh. He rarely spoke about it or let on that it bothered him, but she knew he had been haunted by the post-9/11 work he'd done sifting through the belongings and remains of those who perished in the attacks.

"Try not to work too hard," Olivia said with a smile, lightening the mood, "We all need room for some fun and relaxation in our lives. Find that balance."

"It's hard," G sighed then grinned. "I'm trying. Hey, I'm here!"

"I HERE TOO!" Maggie shouted through giggles.

"Maggie," Olivia warned, "We have to be quiet. We're inside."

Maggie looked up at her mother with a confused expression. Their table hadn't exactly been subdued. "I whisper?" She asked in a hushed voice.

"No, you don't have to whisper. But no yelling."

"Don't get hyper, small sister," Noah clarified.

Maggie appeared to understand Noah's directions more than her mother's. She nodded and went back to work, but she handed a few Squig pieces to G and asked, "C'you help?"

"Um, sure," G said smiling at Maggie. Who could have said no to those blue eyes and the sweet, slightly mischievous face? "What should I do?"

"Buil'somethin," Maggie said, "Wiff me. Gotta c'nect." Maggie held up her contraption which looked like an unfinished Venn Diagram. G took a sip of her hot toddy and got to work.

"So, I don't know," Sarah said, "If this weather keeps up we might not have school Monday!"

Noah's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Annoyed with Sarah filling his head with improbable ideas, Ed gently explained to Noah that the forecast called for much warmer temperatures by Sunday night. "It's gonna melt, bud. Sorry. That's what this time of year is all about. Some winter and then we get a little hint of spring."

Noah wasn't terribly disappointed. After all, he loved school. "And then it's summer!" He said cheerfully. "And we get to go to da beach! And, Sare Bear, we didn't go to Coney Island last year to ride da rollercoaster like you said we would."

"We must have."

"No, we didn't."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"We shall go the second the park opens. I cannot believe I made such a mistake."

"S'okay. You took me to da park in Del'ware when nobody else wanted to go."

"That I did."

Noah looked around the table at each person and smiled. Olivia could tell he didn't quite have the words to describe how he was feeling, but she knew his sentiments exactly. He had a person for everything. When he needed something, someone was always there to step in and help. It was a security Olivia had not known as a child, and she was thrilled, grateful, and relieved it was there for her son.

….

Hungover and annoyed, Sonny Carisi sped down Belt Parkway toward the Verrazano Narrows Bridge headed for his mother's house in Staten Island. There were at least ten other people who could have helped her with the generator when the Carisi home lost power, but they were all mysteriously otherwise occupied on a day when the streets were more or less deserted. He left home in a hurry and managed to shove a bacon-pancake sandwich in his mouth on his way out. Nevertheless, he felt shaky and thirsty, but he had to concentrate so much on his driving that he couldn't scope out a bodega for a quick stop.

"I shouldn't be driving," he muttered to himself over and over as he eased on to the ramp leading to the bridge. Halfway there. He took a deep breath. He could do this; though, he wished he would've taken the hundred dollar Uber.

On the bridge, Sonny took the lower level, figuring it was better to be shielded from the elements, but cars whizzed by, forcing him into the right lane. His fingers dug into the steering wheel and he concentrated on breathing. Maybe too much, for the next car passing him on the left startled him so much he swerved left, scraping the guard rail. The brief, ear-piercing screech both scared him and mentally sobered him up. Luckily, he had been traveling at such a slow speed, he hadn't lost control. Managing to cross the rest of the bridge without incident, he took the first exit and pulled over, concentrating on his breathing. There was a tiny corner store ahead which, thankfully, was open.

Sonny parked and examined the damage to the car. A set of deep scrapes began near the front fender and ran to the middle of the back seat door. He shook his head, unable to process the repercussions of the accident, and dragged himself into the store.

The rotund, red-faced clerk was surprisingly friendly. "Howareya?" He asked. Smoking had been banned indoors for years, but the guy puffed away on a Marlboro and didn't make any moves to set it aside or hide it.

"Terrible," Sonny grumbled. He stood in front of the cooler and assessed his drink options. He took a bottle of water, a ginger ale, and a single can of Coors. He added a small bottle of Tylenol. Outside, he washed the pills down with the Coors and, as he finished off the can, noticed an NYPD squad car rounding the corner. It was impossible to know whether or not the cop saw him drink the beer, but, even in his rickety state, Sonny knew he couldn't get behind the wheel. The car slowed to a creep as it passed the store and the cop rolled down his window.

"Starting early?" He muttered.

Sonny tossed the can in a nearby receptacle. "Hair of the dog," he answered honestly.

"Go home and get some sleep," the officer replied. Then, he rolled up the window and sped off.

Sonny took a deep breath of the icy air and pulled out his phone. "Guess I'm Ubering after all," he mumbled. As he waited for the car, he felt like the last man on Earth. The wind swirled. The dust-like snow accumulated in drifts on curbs and stoops. Sonny suddenly felt overwhelmed with loneliness and self-loathing. He felt guilty for the night before, for staying out late with Rollins, for drinking so much when he was an admitted lightweight, and for causing Brooke to worry and be frustrated with him which she didn't show which made him feel even worse. He felt guilty for what he didn't tell Brooke-that the hug goodbye he gave Rollins very nearly turned into something else. They had always been flirty, but in an innocent, improbable way, but, last night, with liquid courage, flirtation very nearly became infidelity.

And Sonny hated himself.

So, in a way, being summoned to Staten Island came at a good time. But now he had a dinged up car to explain to his wife and an Uber to explain to his mother. He shook his head, kicked the snow, and looked longingly up and down the street.

Where the hell was that car?

….

Unless a game was on television, the screen mostly made Ed grumble and roll his eyes. Gradually, Olivia learned he was open to older reruns, but recent shows, especially those of the reality variety, made his stomach turn. He was a fan of the news, though, and when they were out, if a bar had a screen, he would request CNN or MSNBC if there were no sports available. When Olivia met him at one of their usual haunts on a steamy summer evening, she found him in a surprisingly sour mood.

"What's going on?" She asked, looking up at the television for clues, but the broadcast had gone to commercial. The past week had been unrelenting at Manhattan SVU, and she had barely had time to tuck Noah in most nights let alone stay up to date on current events.

"Politicians," Ed muttered, "Playing games with the compensation fund."

"I can't believe it's even a topic anyone's debating," Olivia replied.

Ed shook his head and his face softened after Olivia settled in on her stool and put a hand on his leg, above his knee, which had become a very welcome habit. It was a major reason why he preferred to sit at the bar wherever they went as opposed to a table.

"I don't get it," he said, "If there's anything that shouldn't be political, this is it. That's the problem with these people. They don't know shit. They're making rules, passing laws, authorizing spending and they…don't know. They weren't there. They saw it all on TV. They didn't deal with it like we did."

"No they didn't," Olivia replied in the soft, tender voice she typically reserved for victims. "You hit the nail on the head. That's the problem with most people who get elected, at least for national office, they haven't had boots on the ground."

"And people who do have boots on the ground rarely have the money to get any further than the state house. If that," Ed sighed and took a sip of his bourbon, "And all this bullshit, this debate, it distracts everyone from the families, the survivors, the people who are sick and need that help. It's another fucking tragedy."

Olivia took one of his hands and intertwined her fingers with his. The pain in his face broke her heart; she knew his post-September 11 work had almost broken him. "Hey," she said, "Do you want to get out of here?"

"Nah." Ed forced a smile. "It's alright. Let's change the subject. How was your day?"

Olivia grinned sardonically. "Sure you want to ask that question?"

"Good point," Ed smirked. This time, it was his genuine, amused, eye-sparkling smirk that Olivia craved. "Got any gossip for me?"

"Not really," Olivia said, "Oh, wait, here's one. Carisi's been in my office more than usual, paying careful attention to the pictures on my desk."

"Yeah?"

"He seems to be fascinated with the idea we're together."

"How many have me in them?"

"You were in my office two days ago."

"I was lookin' at you."

Olivia grinned and leaned in for a kiss before answering. "Three," she said.

"Three, huh?"

"Yes."

"Out of how many?"

"I don't know…eight?"

"Not a bad percentage."

"Second only to Noah."

Ed initiated another kiss and stared into her eyes. "I wouldn't expect otherwise."

"So," Olivia put her hand back on Ed's thigh, "What else? We must have something more fun to talk about than pictures in offices and Carisi."

"Oh, here's something," Ed offered, "You know what I started doing? Listening to podcasts. Heard of em?"

"Of course," Olivia said with a smile, "Which ones are you listening to? And when?"

"In the office-"

"-must be nice to not be interrupted every fifteen minutes."

Ed blushed and ducked his head. "Well, uh…and also in the car. Started with Serial-"

"-really? I don't know if I could listen to those without overanalyzing everything."

"Yeah, that's a problem. But there are some other good ones. Stuff You Should Know. Bill Simmons…"

"Bill Simmons?"

"Sports."

"Ah…"

"One of the episodes…the guys explore the possibility of an Irish Monk being the first European to sail to the Americas. Before anyone else. Around 500 A.D."

"I'm sure your mom loved that."

"There's no real evidence though…and it seems impossible to have done the Atlantic crossing, in something not much sturdier than a canoe. But," Ed grinned, "My mother picks and chooses what she wants to believe."

"Ah yes," Olivia murmured. "We should see her again soon."

"Sure. You still have this weekend off?"

"Ugh. I hope so." Olivia paused, then slapped the bar with her palm then continued in a more authoritative one. "You know what? Yes. Yes I do. And Saturday we should go up and visit your mother."

"Okay," Ed replied. "Done."

"You haven't checked with her."

"No need," Ed replied matter-of-factly. "She'll drop everything to see Noah."

Like so many aspects of their relationship, this revelation both frightened and thrilled Olivia, but she held the fear at bay, gave Ed a sweet smile, and said, "I'm glad we have our weekend plans set."

"Well, not the whole weekend," Ed replied, smirking even harder.

"I think we can find some other ways to fill the time."

"Yeah," he said, "I don't think that'll be a problem."

.

The children of the New York Metro Area did not get a snow day the following Monday. As Ed predicted, the beautiful blanket of snow started melting into slush Sunday afternoon and commuters trudged and drove through the muck on their way to and from work and school. Even though the snow was gone, Noah's teacher, Mrs. Kramer, took advantage of the weekend weather and used it as a topic for a writing assignment Monday morning. She assigned a storyboard so each student could both draw and write about their weekends.

Noah got right to work. He always did. As soon as she was finished with the instructions, he took out his overstuffed pencil pouch, and began drawing. Most students were not even half finished when he asked for another template.

"You only need one, Noah," Mrs. Kramer said, "If you're finished-"

"-No! I'm not finished," Noah replied with a slight air of indignance.

"Oh, okay," Mrs. Kramer said in her best elementary school teacher voice, "Go ahead and take another one."

"Thank you," Noah said, returning to his cheerful self.

Thirty minutes later, Mrs. Kramer announced the work session was over and the students could present their storyboards if they wished. A few second graders complained they didn't have enough time, and Mrs. Kramer allowed another couple of minutes for them to finish the panel they were working on. When it was time to present, Noah was the first to volunteer. He carefully placed the first page under the document camera and read.

"We stayed with our friends G on Friday night because Mom and Dad went to a party."

"I fell asleep."

"When we woke up it was snowy everywhere!"

"We went out to play. We went sledding."

"Then we went to the pub. And Sare Bear and G came!" After he read these details, he turned to Mrs. Kramer and explained, "Da pub is for kids not jus' adults."

Mrs. Kramer nodded and Noah continued.

"Then we left the pub. We took a nap."

"On Sunday Daddy made a HUGE breakfast."

"Then we had quiet time and then we went to Grandma's for dinner."

"When we got home we got ready for bed. Mommy read us stories."

"When we woke up, it was Monday!"

Noah grinned and proclaimed, "And dat's what we did over da weekend!"

The other students clapped. Noah collected his work and went back to his seat. Mia was next. She placed her page under the document camera. She completed exactly two panels, but the drawings were very colorful.

"I went to the stables." She read.

"And I was bored."

To Mrs. Kramer's surprise, Mia had not misspelled a word, including bored.

The students clapped. Mia went back to her seat.

Noah whispered to her. "Why was it boring?"

Mia shrugged and replied, "Nothin' to do. Nobody to play with."

"What did you do?"

"Played piano," Mia answered.

Noah looked intrigued, but the next student began his presentation and silence was mandatory. At the next break he asked Mia if she knew how to play the piano. He knew she could sing, but he had never known her to play.

"I jus' figure it out," Mia said, "And I make music."

Noah smiled at her admiringly and murmured, "Wow."

After another presentation, he continued the conversation, "You 'member Gramma has a piano. You think you can play it?"

"Yeah!" Mia said, "I gotta get there and sing with Gramma."

Noah twisted his lips. "I'll ask when I get picked up."

"Are those babies comin too?" Mia asked.

Noah grinned, "Prolly."

"I hope my nanny's late again so I can see them."

"Yeah," Noah said, "Me too."

….

The Tucker family holiday season continued the day after Noah announced their parents had no friends with Maggie and Olivia meeting Sarah and Brooke for lunch and for shopping. It was the annual girls' holiday meet-up which involved more hanging out in the lunch spot of their choice rather than purchasing gifts. Since the first time they did this, it had always been one of Olivia's favorite days, and sharing it with her own daughter made it even more precious.

Olivia and Maggie took the subway downtown to the Soho spot where they were meeting. They emerged from the station and strolled down bustling West Broadway toward Broome Street. On the way, both Sarah and Brooke texted to say they would be a few minutes late, so mother and daughter claimed a table for four, ordered drinks, and waited.

Maggie flipped through the pictures on her phone and showed several to Olivia. Her mother loved these little glimpses into her college life, but Maggie was using the production as a segue to another topic. "Show me some of yours," she said after a while.

Thinking nothing of the request, Olivia readily unlocked her phone. As Maggie suspected, the only people featured in the photos were her mother and father and sometimes her brothers, who were in school much closer to the city. They had had an eventful winter-Maggie saw photographic evidence of theater trips, Christmas markets, and snowy walks-but she wasn't worried about her parents finding things to do, especially in the city. She was worried about Noah's comment from the night before.

"So…do you…remember that lady you used to work with I met one time? Alex? Do you ever see her?"

The question obviously surprised Olivia. "No…not lately. Why?"

"Wondering."

Unfooled, Olivia asked, "Maggie, tell me why."

Thinking quickly, Maggie offered an explanation less morbid than the one she'd previously offered. "It's just…don't you get bored with Dad? Don't you ever want to hang out with anyone else?"

"No."

Maggie expected more information, but Olivia seemed to believe the single word was answer enough.

"Why not?"

Olivia swirled her wine in the glass. "For one, Alex doesn't live here. But, for the most part, other than Sarah and Brooke and their families. And you and your brothers…I haven't needed anyone else."

"Who do you talk to?"

"Your Dad."

Maggie laughed, realizing her interrogation was going nowhere.

"And Sarah. And Brooke. And Justin, actually, I talk to Justin a lot. Honey," Olivia sighed and regarded her daughter with a compassionate smile, "You have a lot of friends, so it's probably hard for you to understand. But, me, well, when I was your age it was hard for me to trust people. It was hard for me to have close friends, mostly…"

"Because of Grandma Benson," Maggie murmured.

"Right. So, when I became a police officer, it was busy and intense, but those people became my friends."

"But not Dad." Maggie giggled. She and her brothers were very well-versed in the story of Benson and Tucker.

"No," Olivia smiled, "Not Dad. Not for a long time. But now, he's my best friend."

"You never get sick of him?"

"No, not really."

Maggie shook her head and mumbled, "So weird…"

A forgotten-about dentist appointment caused Olivia to miss preschool pick-up, and, once inside, Ed immediately realized this was a good thing. When he saw one of the teachers make a beeline for him, he muttered "what now" under his breath. Olivia worried about the twins' behavior, but Ed stood by his original theory that they simply had the advantage of each other. They were far more comfortable in school than the other kids and felt less pressure to conform. The teacher approached with a smile, but her words were less friendly.

"Hi Mr. Tucker," she said hurriedly.

"Hello."

"We have the password problem again."

Ed had trouble stifling a chuckle, and he was sure the teacher knew it. "Uh oh," he said, trying to commiserate. "Where are they?"

"They're at the cubbies." She stepped aside to let Ed pass into the classroom. It was a large space, probably close to a thousand square feet, and was sectioned off into four distinct areas. There was a reading corner, a STEM corner, a space for art, a space Ed remembered from orientation was for dramatic play, and, in the middle, what looked to be a space to practice fine motor skills. The twins were dutifully in the cubby area carefully zipping their backpacks.

"Hey you two," Ed said.

"DADDY!"

"Hi DADDY!" Maggie said.

She rushed to him and hugged his legs. Wyatt followed. Ed picked them up, gave them a bear hug, and grumbled that he heard they were using passwords again.

"Passwords ovah dere," Wyatt pointed to the dramatic play area which was the more secluded of all the sections, and, by design, the easiest for password protection.

"Show me what you do with the passwords."

Wyatt and Maggie each took one of Ed's hands and led him over to the area. They overturned a few chairs, moved a table, placed some blocks in a zigzag pattern and stood in front of the entrance to the space, arms akimbo. Maggie said, "Obs'cle course! Whassa password?"

"You have to have a password to do the obstacle course?"

Wyatt nodded. "An' you getta pize!" He ran to one of the containers and grabbed some fake cookies and flowers."

Ed marveled at their brains. How did they come up with this? An obstacle course? The area had what looked to be a pretend airplane console, grocery store, hospital…but the twins flipped all the prefabricated activities on their heads and created their own production. If only they could forget about the passwords.

"So, what's the password?" Ed asked.

Maggie and Wyatt glanced at each other. Ed swore Wyatt shrugged, silently prompting his sister to let Ed in on their secret.

"Hoddog!" Maggie exclaimed.

"Hot dog?"

The twins nodded.

Ed shook his head and laughed. The whole thing was nonsensical and adorable, yet he had to make this right. Maggie and Wyatt could not continue to commandeer parts of the preschool room.

"What happens if you don't know the password?" Ed asked.

"You gotta go to timeout!" Wyatt said.

Ah, Ed thought, there's the problem. "Where's timeout?"

Wyatt glanced behind him. "Unner da table."

"Hey," he knelt to their level, "It's okay if you build obstacle courses. But you have to let the other kids play in it. You have to be nice and share. Remember what we said? We only use passwords at home, when you play with Noah."

"And pay w'you!" Maggie said.

"Right, and with me," Ed replied. Olivia shied away from password play after the twins' first run-in with preschool law.

"Okay, so you weren't supposed to use passwords anymore and you did," Ed looked at the twins as sternly as he possibly could. They were too cute to admonish, in his opinion. "So, we have to apologize to your teachers." And, he thought, probably to the other kids, but they were all gone.

Maggie and Wyatt ran over to the teacher's station and peppered them with sorries. They ran back to Ed with expectant eyes as if to say "is that good enough, Dad?" Ed smiled and told them to get their coats on. It was good enough for him. Olivia, however, would probably want to send gifts the next day. He ushered them out of the building and felt himself let his guard down once they were outside.

"Mommy's at the dentist," he said, "So it's us three for lunch. You hungry?"

"Verry hungy, Daddy!" Maggie said.

But Wyatt had other things on his mind. "Ah'we'i'trouble?"

Ed pulled him close. "No, bud, you're not in trouble. But, remember, no more passwords at school, okay?"

"Okay." Wyatt turned to his sister and said, "Say okay, Magg."

Maggie looked up at Ed from under her pink beanie and dutifully but maybe not sincerely offered her okay.

"So, pizza for lunch?"

The twins eagerly said yes.

Ed took their mittened hands and led them down the street toward their neighborhood pizza joint. The twins half skipped like Noah and their backpacks bounced against their backs. Ed smirked to himself. What a softie he had become. Maggie and Wyatt were technically in trouble, and he handled it with apologies followed by pizza. But they were three. Happy. Healthy. Smart. Maybe a little too smart. And he could live with a little preschool mischief.

Olivia, though, would take some convincing.

…..

#Tuckson