Page 154 of Sexting the Pakhan

My phone buzzes on the counter.

For one awful second, I think it’s Unknown Number.

Then I see the school name.

Little Birch Early Learning: Due to necessary repairs and safety inspection, kindergarten will remain closed for the next two days. Further updates will follow.

I read it twice.

Of course.

Of course the school is closed.

I close my eyes.

Mila appears at my side. “Is school closed?”

I look down. “Yes. For two days.”

Nadia comes closer. “Does that mean we stay home?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have office?” Nadia asks.

I look at my laptop bag near the sofa. “Yes.”

I work remotely three days a week for a cataloguing and digital records company. It’s not glamorous, but it pays regularly, and I can do most of it from home. I help clean up old library and archive databases for schools, small museums, and private collections. I correct metadata, tag scanned documents, check duplicate records, fix search categories, and attend meetings where people use the word “workflow” like it’s a religious belief.

Usually, it suits me.

Today, it feels impossible.

“I have two meetings,” I say. “And a batch of records due by evening.”

Mila raises her hand. “I can attend.”

“No.”

“I can be quiet.”

Nadia says, “You can’t.”

“I can be medium quiet.”

“No meetings,” I say.

Ruslan speaks from the table. “I can watch them.”

I turn slowly.

Then I look down at his leg. The bandage is clean, but his thigh is still stiff and swollen. He hasn’t stood without gripping furniture since morning.

“You?” I ask.

“Yes.”

“You were shot yesterday.”