Both looked pale, their lips drawn into tight lines. Abby sat next to the boys. She placed her hand on the forehead of the little boy. “What’s your name?” He sniffed, and then popped his thumb in his mouth. She’d never been around children before. She had no younger brothers or sisters. Joanne, though she was three years younger, was twelve when Abby had moved in. Of course, she’d seen children of all shapes and sizes in the park with their mothers or nannies, but she’d never actually had to deal with one. “How does your stomach feel now?” She glanced down at her damp skirt. “Better, I hope.” The little boys stared at her, silent. She waited an extra beat, expecting them to say something. Nothing. She glanced down at the mirror Tommy held tightly in his dirty hands. “Want to make another rainbow?” Again, nothing. Hoping for a better response from the older one she smiled at him. His face was covered in dirt and he looked on the verge of tears. She remembered one of the mothers in a San Francisco park.
