They Were About to Split Up Five Kids Under Seven. The One Man Willing to Take All Five Knew Exactly What That Does to a Child

Owen — eleven now — was down on the floor helping his eight-year-old brother wrestle his cleats on for soccer.

The middle girls were locked in negotiations over the television remote.

The youngest had fallen asleep across my lap the way she still did on weekend afternoons, heavy and warm and utterly unconcerned with the world.

I eased her down onto the sofa cushion, straightened my shirt with hands that had started shaking again, and walked out onto the front porch as the car rolled to a stop.

The doors opened.