Stolen

by James Hunt

“You were so excited,” Lena said. “You went down that slide at least a thousand times.” She looked over to Gwen. “And you got stuck, remember?”

  Gwen laughed. “I did?”

  It was the first time Lena had heard any sounds of joy in the house since all three of them slept under the same roof four weeks ago when Lena was released from the hospital. “Dad had to take it apart to get you out.” Laughter rolled off her own tongue, and Kaley giggled as well.

  Lena flipped through the pages, smiling at the memories, and Gwen positioned her chair closer to her. Before any of them realized, hours had passed, and they reached the end of the albums. Both girls rested their heads on Lena’s shoulders, and Lena gently stroked their hair. “You guys getting hungry at all?”

  “Not really,” Gwen said.

  “No,” Kaley answered.

  “Me either.” Lena gave them both a squeeze. The trip down memory lane was nice, but despite the pleasantries she couldn’t rid herself of the uneasy swirl in the pit of her stomach.

  “Mom?” Kaley asked, lifting her head, her eyes wide. “What’s going to happen to Uncle Jake?”

  “He has to stay away for a while, but I’m going to do everything I can to get him back to us quickly.” The answer seemed to satisfy Kaley, but when Gwen started to cry she knew that her oldest daughter understood the underlying consequences of what happened.

  Lena pulled them both close, clutching her family tighter than she ever had before. This was her life now. This was all that mattered.