"I'm not doing that. Too busy with keeping him .." He couldn't talk about Isaac over his head, that wasn't fair. Bach closed his eyes for a second and regrouped. "Bedtime. You can tell me which one of the happy parents you know another time. Joel for me, by the way. Don't even remember how we got to know each other, but he's a good guy."

"Don't want bed." Isaac let go of his hand to grab Essie's leg. "Puppy time. Please?"

Bach squatted down and slowly peeled the boy's grip on her body, making sure to touch Essie as little as possible. "Puppy time is another time. I really promise, no need for tears. You can say good night to Essie and we're going to go home."