Her words shocked me a little, so I wiped my tears quickly and got out of the car. I realized the boys probably already knew we were in the driveway. If I don't bring Lucretia in soon, Victor will come here himself and do it himself. I opened the passenger side door and helped the girl out. I couldn't help but notice that she was hugging the stuffed animal tighter, but she tried not to show any emotions, she just followed a step behind me, looking uncertainly from side to side. As we approached the door, her head went still and her gaze stared at the ground as if she saw something very interesting there. I didn't know how to cheer her up, so I initially reached out to stroke her head, but then gave it up.
Then the door opened, and Victor had no qualms about throwing himself around Lucretia's neck, decisively pushing the boundaries of her personal space. He started signing to her to say hello, but then he gave up when he saw that she was not looking at him, so he quickly pulled out his phone and started typing "Hello, I'm Victor, your big brother." He put the device under her nose and waited for an answer, finally there was a soft, "Hello, I'm Lucretia."
My younger son did not expect such a reaction, his face clearly expressed dissatisfaction. I chased him back inside and gave the girl the option to come in. I took her to the living room, where Hyacinth was waiting, nervously shuffling his legs, despite all the indifference, he was also nervous about this situation. But he walked over to her and held out his hand.
"Hyacinth," he said with a little shaky voice.
"Lucretia," the girl introduced herself and squeezed his hand, but her eyes were still focused on the floor.
I felt that the situation was going to be very uncomfortable for everyone, so I asked my older son to go to the car to get Lucretia's things, and I told Victor to show her the room that was supposed to be hers. He gestured to her to follow him. I saw that she was not feeling well until now home meant only her father to her, suddenly she was surrounded by more people who she could call her family. In the meantime, I prepared warm cocoa and cookies for the kids. After a while, I called them to the kitchen. I made my coffee, thinking about what will happen next.
"And how do you like your room, Lucretia?" I asked when everyone else had arrived. "If you need anything, tell me right away, okay? We don't have much experience in arranging rooms for girls."
"It's great," she replied. "Bigger than the one in my house."
"You'll get used to it." I smiled. "I hope you will feel comfortable in it. Martha won't be back until after Monday and you'll probably see her only after school ..."
"We'll be in the same class," signed Victor. "I've already told everyone that I will have a sister and that they will see her soon. You know nobody wanted to believe me."
"You must give Lucretia some time, too, Victor," I said. "Remember about it at school."
My younger son said he understood, but I thought Lucretia's first day of school would not be easy, but I was glad someone would be there all the time. She was still holding her teddy turtle next to her, and it was probably the only one who gave her a relative sense of security.
"Do you like turtles?" Victor asked.
"Yes," Lucretia replied. "They have shells in which they can hide. I wish I had one too."
"But they are very slow," my younger son was signing.
"Why should they be quick?" Lucretia replied.
Hyacinth and I watched their exchange for a while, then had to go back to our plans. The teenager had a school project to do, and I wanted to host Lucretia on the first day with a homemade dinner and I needed some time for it. The girl went to her room, wanting to unpack. Victor wanted to help her, but I refused to let him, feeling that she needed a moment of peace now.
Two hours later, at lunch, she was silent, as if the situation had suddenly become too overwhelming, so later I let her disappear into my new room again and kept Victor away from her. But in the evening, when I thought the boys were already asleep, I wanted to see if she was okay. I suspected that she might not be asleep yet or having trouble falling asleep, so I went to her room with a glass of warm milk. I let her out of her cramps when I rushed to help my younger son, who fell to the ground holding his head after looking into her room. I ran to him and pushed the already open door. Lucretia fell to her knees crying.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to," she repeated over and over again.
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