ClarenceBN by Sarah M. Anderson Page B

at one point.
    “Me, too, honey. Me, too.”
    She hadn’t expected Clarence to abandon her. And that was what hurt.  
    Eventually—after about an hour—Mikey calmed down enough that she could release him from her python-like full-body hold. He refused to eat any of the dinner that Mom had saved for him. No one tried to push it. No one wanted another round of hysterics. So Tammy helped him get into his jammies and put him back to bed. She didn’t even argue about brushing his teeth. They’d start over—again—tomorrow.
    She was reading Goodnight, Moon to him when she heard it—a knock at the door. She tried not to react—Mikey was calm—but she tensed. The boy shot up in bed. “Who’s here?” he demanded, already fully awake.
    “Honey, I don’t know,” she told him. Ezra? Clarence? Someone else? “But I’ll find out,” she promised. “You stay here. You’re supposed to be going to sleep.”
    She hurried out as calmly as she could. She wouldn’t get her hopes up one way or the other. She would not.
    But then she saw Clarence standing there, his brow furrowed with worry as Mom and Tara stared at him as if he were a buffalo that had wandered into the living room. No, not even a buffalo. Something rarer—like a wooly mammoth.
    He was here. He’d come back. Oh, God. Please don’t let this be a dream, she thought, because if she’d fallen asleep while reading to Mikey and this wasn’t real, she wasn’t sure she could take another loss, even one that only happened in her mind.
    Tammy must have made a noise when she saw him there because he looked up and everything about his face changed into a mix of regret and fear and need. “Clarence!”
    “I missed dinner,” he said in a soft voice, like he was afraid he’d spook her. “Sorry about that. I wasn’t sure if you wanted me here or not.”
    “It’s okay.” Which wasn’t true, of course. “I tried to call you, but you weren’t home.”
    “I know.” He opened his mouth to say something else, but then a small, Spiderman-clad ball of energy came flying out of the bedroom and launched at Clarence.  
    “Where were you? Daddy didn’t come and I was sad,” Mikey said in as scolding a tone as he could pull off while smiling. “And Mommy was sad, too.”
    “Hey, little man,” Clarence said as he swooped Mikey up into his arms and hugged the boy. “I got here as soon as I could. Didn’t want you or your mom to be sad.”
    Even though he didn’t say the words to her, the sentiment still managed to put a small smile on her face. He had been thinking of her.  
    But more than that, he’d come back.  
    Mikey hugged him back. Tears started to prick at Tammy’s eyes. Mom sniffed and even Tara seemed to be touched.
    “I have to talk to your mom some more,” Clarence said, setting Mikey down. “You need to go to sleep, okay?”
    Mikey gave him a stern look even as he was still clinging to Clarence’s hand. “You’re not going to leave us, are you?”
    “No, son, I’m not.”  
    Son . It was the sort of thing a father might say to his child. Her heart tightened. If only . . .
    Then Clarence appeared to realize that this exchange was taking place in front of the entire household. He patted Mikey on the head and said to Tammy, “Can I talk to you?”
    Tammy shot a look to Mom, who got the hint faster than Tara. “Come on, sweetie, I’ll read you another story.” She picked up Mikey and carried him back to the bedroom.
    Tara lingered a moment longer before she headed back to her room with a superior look. Clarence rolled his eyes and then smiled at Tammy. Yeah, they both still had to deal with Tara come tomorrow morning.
    Then they were alone. Tammy wasn’t sure what she wanted to say at this point. Yes, it was wonderful that he’d come back. But he’d left her hanging for a few hours and she was drained from dealing with Mikey and Ezra and the whole stinking mess. She didn’t know if she was mad at him or thankful or what. All of the