Marcus felt the statement land inside him like a stone dropped into deep water. He leaned against the doorframe to keep his legs steady. He wondered whether the previous nannies had raised their voices too often, or whether the fear had come from the void he himself had created by keeping his distance from the children after their mother died. Grief had locked him inside a room no one could open. Including his sons.
Rosie lifted her head and finally noticed him. Her eyes widened, but she quickly rose to her feet, smoothing her skirt.
“Mr. Ellington. We didn’t expect you back until Friday.”
The boys snapped their eyes toward him. Their small bodies stiffened. They shifted closer to her as though she were a lighthouse and he were the dark sea.
“I came back early,” Marcus said. His voice sounded unused. “Please, continue.”
But the moment was gone. The boys murmured a practiced greeting. He answered politely, because he didn’t know what else to say. Then he turned and left before he could ruin whatever serenity Rosie had created.
The next morning brought an unexpected ripple through the household. Marcus appeared in the kitchen at breakfast time, a place he rarely set foot in. He wore a soft-knit sweater instead of a suit. His presence startled the staff and nearly froze Rosie mid step as she plated scrambled eggs.
“Good morning,” he said, settling at the island.
“Good morning, sir,” she replied, guiding the boys onto their stools.
Marcus watched them quietly as they ate their pancakes shaped like laughing suns. He noticed how Rosie cut Milo’s food into small neat squares because he preferred uniform shapes. How she served Oliver extra fruit because he loved berries. How she kept Jasper’s eggs on a separate plate so they wouldn’t touch anything else.
The boys had developed entire universes of quirks he had never discovered.
Finally he tried to speak. “Your pajamas,” he said to Milo. “They had rockets. Do you like space?”
The boys exchanged glances before Oliver answered softly. “We want to visit the stars.”
“Why?” Marcus asked, careful not to let the question sound skeptical.
Jasper toyed with his fork. “Because Mama is in the stars.”