“Well.” Sebastian squinted at the clock on the wall. “I think I’ve given Matty enough time to scream his brains out on the playground. I should probably get going.”

“He’s in the after-school program?”

“Only when we have a staff meeting. I swear it’s his favorite day of the week, though. A real hit to the ego that he’d rather play on the same jungle gym he did at recess than go to the library with his old dad.”

She laughed again. “Well, you gotta keep it fresh. It’s like a long-term relationship. You can’t just go to dinner and a movie on every date.”

He blinked at her, scraping that same paw over that stubble again. “Yeah. I guess you’re right.”

“See you tomorrow?”

“You got it.”

And then he was gone and Via walked home on her own.

HER FIRST WEEK of school passed in a blur of new students and names and more paperwork than Via had thought humanly possible. When the dismissal bell rang on Friday, she flopped gratefully back into her swivel chair and eyed the ceiling of her office.

She felt like she’d just run a marathon. Three marathons. Back to back.

“Hey,” a voice spoke from the doorway of the office and Via looked up to see one of the first-grade teachers. Sadie Carroll. Young and pretty, she always looked very stylish. They’d sat next to each other at the staff meeting but hadn’t crossed paths the rest of the week. “You survive your first week?”

Via sat up. “Define survive.”

Sadie laughed. “Sounds about right. First year’s the hardest. Although, this is my third, and I’m still waiting for the easy part.”

Via nodded and started packing up her bag.

“So listen, some of us do this happy hour thing on Friday afternoons. Any chance you’d wanna join?”

Via’s heart leaped and she couldn’t help but feel like that middle school foster kid again. Equal parts eager and terrified at any invitation. She swallowed, keeping her seesaw of emotions off her face. “That sounds great.”

“Oh good!” Sadie clapped her ringed fingers together and shook back her chin-length red hair. “We just walk to that bar one avenue over, Cider. You know it?”

“Sure, it’s got the steel pumpkin on the sign.”

“Right. They keep a table for us on Fridays.”

“Do they have food? I was just considering gnawing off the corner of my desk.”

Sadie laughed, although Via had barely been making a joke. Former foster kids took snacks very seriously. “They’ve got a turkey sandwich that’ll get you face-to-face with your maker.”

“Is that a good or bad thing?”

Sadie laughed again. “Come and find out.”

“Can significant others join?” Via asked as she slung her bag over her shoulder and followed Sadie out of the office.

“Oh, you’ve got a person?”

Via nodded. “Evan.”

“Man Evan or woman Evan? If I can ask.”

“He’s a man.” Via cocked her head to one side, intrigued by the question.

“I thought I’d check because my girlfriend’s name is Rae, and everybody gets confused. Well, anyways, Evan is definitely invited. Everybody’s been so curious about you, I’m sure they’d love to meet your SO.”