Chapter 36

Gavin suspects she didn’t actually change into her pajamas but just put on different clothes. Now she wears a polka dotted T-shirt with a pair of plaid shorts. Just looking at her hurts his eyes. “Honey, are those pajamas?”

“Mommy lets me sleep in them,” she says, hugging her stuffed horse tight. Then she wriggles on the couch, trying to put more space between her father and Brody, wedging herself right in the middle. She turns her back to Gavin and leans against him, her feet propped up on Brody’s leg. As her attention drifts back to the television, Gavin gives Brody a look over the top of her head that says, What’re you going to do?

Brody stretches an arm out across the back of the couch and rests his hand on the back of Gavin’s neck. It’s a soft touch, gentle, Brody’s fingers toying with the hair on Gavin’s nape. When a commercial comes on, Gavin suggests, “How about you stretch out on the floor, Evie?”