These boys couldn’t just be willed into enjoying being a baby again. Conditioning was required, and that’s why Ellen always hired Mayra for cases like James, because she knew like no other how to get the most stubborn boys to come out of their shell.

James stared into Mayra’s olive complexion and subtle wrinkled features as she drank her coffee peacefully, reading through the list Ellen handed her outside. It wasn’t until she glanced over at him that he almost fell onto his butt out of shock. S- she knew I was here this whole time? I thought in misery. James looked away and tried to crawl behind the couch, but couldn’t manage to fit between the space. Ignoring her words of welcome, James frantically knew he had to get away from her, lest she pick him up, so that the same torture would ensure again and again.