7:12 p.m.
The sun was just going down as Alex turned the corner onto his block. By the time he reached his front door, his legs were quivering and his arms were about to fall off. Nunu had completely run out of steam a half block from the bus stop, so Alex carried her the rest of the way home. With his backpack on his back and Nunu in his arms in front like a papoose, he looked like an apple with legs.
Radar trotted beside them carrying Nunu’s backpack, the handle clenched in his teeth, always careful to keep his head up so it wouldn’t scrape the ground.
As Alex fished in his pocket for his key, he noticed little details around the porch: the broken front step where he’d fallen and knocked out his first baby tooth; the loose rail Nunu loved to climb on to jump into her daddy’s arms; the bushes in front where he and Dougie and Kwan had piled up used Christmas trees last winter to make a fort. He noticed the peeling paint on the shutters that his dad had repainted just last year, and the brown stain on the driveway where his mom had tried to refinish an old table. He took it all in, the big elm tree and the dying rosebush, the freshly mowed lawn and the missing shingle by the chimney, the darkened windows and the warm glow of the porch light.
It felt good to be home.
Nunu roused as he lowered her to the ground. She rubbed her eyes with one hand and her nose with the other.
Alex eased the front door open. Inside, the house was dark.
“Anybody home?” he called out.
Silence answered back.
Nunu took her backpack from Radar and dropped it in the front hall. “Where’s Mommy and Daddy?” she asked.
“Not home yet.”
Alex was halfway to the bathroom when he realized that Radar hadn’t followed them inside. The dog hung back on the porch, skittish and unsure of himself. He kept approaching the doorway and then jumping back. Alex waved him in.
“C’mon, boy. That’s it.”
Radar whimpered and paced back and forth but wouldn’t come in.
Nunu reappeared. “What’s the matter with him?”
Alex thought about the house that Radar came from, or what was left of it. No wonder the dog didn’t trust houses.
“He’s just a little scared,” said Alex.
“There’s nothing to be scared of, Radar,” Nunu said. Then she walked onto the porch, put her hands on his butt, and gave him a great big push.
Radar shot through the door and skidded across the floor. While he scrambled to get his footing, Alex quickly shut the door behind Nunu so he couldn’t run away. Radar stood stock still, nose twitching as he sniffed the air.
“What do you think?” asked Alex.
Radar gave one loud bark of approval, whacked the wall three times with his tail, then bolted straight for the living room, sniffing everything he passed on the way.
“I think he likes it,” Nunu smiled.
Alex made a beeline for the bathroom because, well, they’d been gone a really long time. When he came back out, Radar had made himself right at home and was stretched out across the big lounge chair in the living room.
“Hey, that’s my dad’s chair. Out.”
Alex motioned for Radar to move. The dog climbed up over the arm and dropped onto the couch.
Nunu flopped down next to him and reached for the remote. Alex realized what would be on every channel that night. He stepped quickly in front of the TV.
“Chores, Nunes.”
“I’m tired.”
“You know the rule. Chores before dinner.”
Nunu moaned and slid off the front of the sofa.
“Who’s gonna cook dinner?” she asked, shuffling off to the kitchen.
Alex hadn’t thought of that. He headed to the kitchen after her.
Behind him, Radar sat up, waited till the coast was clear, then climbed across the arms of the sofa and straight back into the big, comfy chair.
Alex’s mom kept a tiny TV on the kitchen counter next to the stove. Alex waited as Nunu pulled an empty garbage bag from under the sink and headed back to the bedrooms to collect the trash. Then he flicked on the TV to catch the latest news on the disaster, keeping one eye on the hot dogs he was frying and one eye out for Nunu. But the stations didn’t have much new to report, and watching the towers fall again and again wasn’t making him feel any better, so he turned it off.
Suddenly, Alex heard voices in the other room. He dropped the pan with a clang and went sprinting into the living room.
But it was only the TV. Radar had stepped on the remote. Alex flicked off the TV, then motioned for Radar to vacate his dad’s lounge chair.
“Radar, out.”
Radar tucked his tail and slinked off the chair. Alex tugged him by the neck to the other side of the room and settled him in the corner; then he headed back in to finish dinner. Radar followed him with his eyes all the way out the door.
Back in the kitchen, Alex found a box of instant macaroni and cheese and tried to follow the recipe on the back. When everything in the pot turned safety-vest orange, he figured he’d done it right. Satisfied, he licked the extra cheese dust out of the creases in the packet.
While he was cooking, the phone rang. Alex snatched it up quickly.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Alex.”
“Oh. Hey, Dougie.” Alex tried to hide his disappointment. “What’s up?”
“Kwan and me, we, uh….” Doug’s voice trailed off. He got a running start and tried again. “Sorry we ditched you.”
“You had to. It was Jordan. Every man for himself.”
“Nah. That wasn’t cool,” said Dougie, sounding relieved.
“Don’t worry about it. You guys get away okay?”
“Yeah, but what happened?”
“Radar—oh, that’s my dog’s name, by the way.”
“Awesome name.”
“Jordan was about to pulverize me when Radar snuck up behind him and growled.”
“No way.”
“You should’ve seen the look on Jordan’s face.”
“I can’t believe I missed it! I have no life.”
“Radar was like this total hero. He chased them all the way out of the park. They were screaming like babies the whole time.”
“Did he bite him? Please tell me there was blood.”
“Tore his back pocket off.”
“Epic!”
They both laughed until they fell into an awkward silence.
“You see the news?” Dougie asked quietly.
“Yeah,” said Alex. “Your mom and dad home?”
“Yeah. Yours?”
“Not yet.”
Silence crackled on the line. Alex swallowed hard, a sudden lump in his throat.
“Thanks for calling, Dougie. Talk to you tomorrow.”
“Yeah. Later.”
Alex hung up the phone and turned off the burners on the stove.
“Dinner’s ready,” he called, then smiled as Radar came padding in. Alex was about to drop a hot dog on the floor for him, but Radar caught it in mid-air and hoovered it down in one gulp, then looked expectantly at Alex to see what came next.
Radar got four more hot dogs that evening, while Alex and Nunu gobbled down their mac-and-cheese and hot dogs almost as fast as Radar. When they finished dinner, Alex wet the corner of his napkin in his glass and wiped Nunu’s face, just like his mother always did.
After dinner, Alex cleaned the pots and plates (with a little help from Radar’s tongue), while Nunu got her PJs on. Alex figured she’d put up a fight about bedtime, but Nunu was too tired to argue. She could barely stop yawning long enough to brush her teeth.
Alex followed Nunu into the bedroom and over to her pink bed. There were dolls lying over the flight line, but he let it go. It didn’t seem like such a big deal anymore.
Nunu yawned and climbed into bed. Alex shut off the light, then pulled up the covers and tucked her in.
Nunu yawned again. “When’s Mommy coming home?”
“Soon.”
“And Daddy?”
Alex hesitated.
“Soon,” he replied.
“Alex? Are you sad?”
The question took him by surprise. Nunu was watching him with a serious expression.
I guess I’m still no good at keeping my feelings off my face, he thought.
“A little,” he answered.
“I know.”
“You do?” How could she know? He’d tried so hard to protect her from the terrifying news that day.
Nunu nodded gravely. “Mommy and Daddy forgot your birthday.”
Alex exhaled a sigh of relief.
Nunu frowned. “I’m mad at them.”
“Don’t be mad.”
“But I am.”
“Please, Nunu. Please don’t be mad at them. I’m not. See? They didn’t forget. They’re just running late. They’ll be here soon. Okay?” He pulled the covers up. “Now just go to sleep.”
She kicked them off. “No. I’m not sleepy.”
Alex laughed. “Yes, you are.”
“No.”
“You haven’t stopped yawning since we got home.”
She shook her head and rubbed her eyes.
“But it’s bedtime,” he pleaded.
“NO,” she said firmly.
“C’mon, Nunes. Just go to sleep.”
“NO! You can’t tell me what to do! You’re not Daddy!”
Then she burst into tears and buried her head in the pillow.
“I want Daddy…” she wailed.
Alex felt totally overwhelmed. He sat on the edge of the bed, nervously bouncing his leg and holding his ears in frustration. He wanted to run away. He wanted Nunu to stop crying. He wanted his dad to come home. He wanted everything to be back to normal.
Then it hit him: that’s all Nunu wanted, too.
Alex remembered what their father always did at bedtime. He closed his eyes and pictured his dad just home from work, sitting on the edge of Nunu’s bed, the sleeves of his wrinkled white shirt rolled up, his strong hands working their magic as they led Nunu into sleep.
Alex opened his eyes. He reached out, just like his father, and quietly began to stroke Nunu’s head. Nunu shifted on her pillow, unburying her face. Alex continued to brush her hair with his fingers, drawing his hand across her forehead in long, slow strokes, barely touching her, as soft as if he were petting a baby bird. Nunu’s breathing began to slow. Alex leaned down close to her ear.
And then, quiet as a whisper, Alex began to sing.
“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
“You make me happy, when skies are gray.
“You’ll never….”
He paused, waiting for her to chime in. This was always her favorite part. But Nunu had drifted off.
So Alex sang it for her.
“…know, dear, how much I love you.
“Please don’t take my sunshine away.”
Then he bent down and kissed Nunu softly on the head.