He'd forgotten to leave lights on again. Inside the silence was oppressive. He walked through rooms that cost more than most people's yearly salary and felt nothing but the absence of what he'd just left. A crowded apartment, terrible coffee, a little girl reorganizing her bookshelf while her aunt translated questions about dinosaurs. That was home.
This was just where he kept his stuff. Ethan's phone buzzed, a text from Clara. Lilly wants to know if Jake can come on Sunday, too. He smiled and typed back. Let me ask him.
She's already planning activities, fair warning. What kind of activities? I honestly have no idea. She's being very secretive about it. Tell her Jake's in.
You haven't asked him yet. He'll say yes, trust me. Another text came through. I'm trusting you with a lot lately. I know, I won't mess it up.
You better not. Lilly really likes you. If you break her heart, I'll have to kill you. Noted. And before you ask, yes, I'll be sad about it, but I'll still do it.
Also noted. A pause, then I really like you, too, by the way. In case the kiss didn't make that clear. Ethan stared at that message for a long moment, something warm spreading through his chest. The kiss made it clear, he typed.
But it's nice to hear anyway. Good night, Ethan. Good night, Clara. He fell asleep on his couch, still in his jeans, his phone clutched in his hand like a teenager. And when he dreamed, it was about Sunday afternoons and terrible coffee and a woman with paint in her hair who looked at him like he was worth seeing.
Saturday morning, Ethan called his ex-wife. "I need to change weekend plans," he said when she picked up. "Ethan, we have a custody agreement." "I know. I'm not asking to skip my weekend.
I'm asking if Jake can meet someone." Silence. "Someone?" "I'm seeing someone. It's new, but it's good.
And she has a niece. I thought maybe the kids could meet." "You're dating?" His ex-wife sounded genuinely surprised. "Since when?"
"A few weeks." "And you're already introducing her to Jake?" "It's not that simple. She brings her niece everywhere. The kid's seven.
If I want to see Clara, Lily comes with the package." "Clara?" His ex repeated. "What does she do?" Here it was.
The test. "Graphic design, freelance." "Oh." The single syllable carried a world of judgment. "Does she know about" "No, and you're not telling her."
"Ethan." "I mean it, Jennifer. Not a word." "She's going to find out eventually." "Let me worry about that."
His ex-wife sighed. "Fine." "Bring Jake back Sunday evening instead of Monday morning. But Ethan, be careful. I don't want him getting attached to someone who's going to disappear."
"She's not going to disappear." "You don't know that." "Yeah," Ethan said quietly. "I do." He picked up Jake Saturday afternoon.
His son bounded out of the house with a backpack full of dinosaur books and endless energy. "Dad, Mom said we're meeting new people tomorrow." "We are." "Who?" "A friend of mine and her niece.
The girl's about your age." Jake's nose wrinkled. "Is she weird?" "Probably, but good weird." "What's her name?"
"Lily." "She's seven, almost eight." "And Jake?" "She's deaf. So she talks with her hands instead of words.
Jake absorbed this information with the seriousness of someone much older. Does she know dinosaurs? I think so. Okay. I'll bring my books to show her.
That night Jake peppered him with questions. What did Clara look like? Where did they live? Did they have any pets? Would there be snacks?
I don't know about snacks, Ethan admitted. That's a critical planning failure, Dad. Since when do you say things like critical planning failure? Mom's boyfriend says it. He works in logistics.
Ethan decided not to touch that comment. We'll bring snacks then. What kind does Lily like? How should I know? I've never met her.
Fair point. Sunday morning they stopped at a grocery store. Jake selected enough snacks to feed a small army, including three different kinds of cookies and something called fruit leather that looked deeply suspicious. This is too much, Ethan said. You can't show up to meet new people without good snacks, Dad.
That's basic social protocol. Where are you learning this stuff? The internet. Great. That's great.
They showed up at Clara's apartment at 11:00, Ethan carrying two grocery bags and Jake carrying his dinosaur encyclopedia like a security blanket. Clara opened the door looking frazzled. Hey, sorry. Lily's having a wardrobe crisis. A what?
She can't decide what to wear. Apparently meeting Jake is a formal occasion that requires careful outfit selection. From the bedroom came the sound of drawers opening and closing. This is Jake, Ethan said, nudging his son forward. Jake waved awkwardly.
Hi, I brought snacks. I can see that, Clara said, eyeing the grocery bags. Did you buy out the whole store? Just the good stuff, Jake said seriously. Lily emerged from his bedroom wearing a bright purple shirt with a a on it and jeans.
She saw Jake and froze, suddenly shy. Jake stared back, equally frozen. "Well," Clara said, "this is going well." Ethan set down the grocery bags. "Jake, this is Lily.
Lily, this is Jake." Jake lifted one hand in a small wave. Lily waved back. Then Jake pulled out his dinosaur book and held it up. Lily's face lit up.
She signed something rapid and excited. "She said she likes your shirt," Clara translated. Jake was wearing a T-shirt with a T-Rex on it. "Thanks. I like your dinosaur, too."
Jake pointed at her shirt. Just like that, the ice broke. Within 5 minutes, they were sitting on the floor with the dinosaur encyclopedia open between them, Lily signing questions and Jake answering with the kind of enthusiastic detail only an 8-year-old could muster. "That went better than expected," Clara murmured, standing beside Ethan. "Kids are easier than adults."
"Truth." They ended up at a park near the apartment, a scrubby piece of grass with broken playground equipment and a basketball court where teenagers were playing a chaotic game of pickup. Jake and Lily claimed the swings immediately, Lily signing and Jake doing his best to understand without knowing sign language. "He's trying so hard," Clara said, watching them. "Jake doesn't do anything halfway.
Lily's the same. When she decides she likes someone, that's it, full commitment." They sat on a bench while the kids played. Clara had brought her laptop and a notebook, clearly planning to work. "You don't have to work right now," Ethan said.
"I have revisions due tomorrow." "Can they wait an hour?" Clara looked at him, then at the kids, then back at her laptop. "Yeah, they can wait." She closed the computer and leaned back, tilting her face toward the sun.
"This is nice." "Yeah?" "Yeah, I don't usually get to just sit. There's always something that needs doing." "Then don't do anything.
Just sit. You make it sound easy. It is easy. You're just bad at it. Clara laughed and shoved his shoulder.
Rude. They sat in comfortable silence, watching Jake push Lily on the swings, both kids laughing. After a while, Lily hopped off and signed something to Jake. He nodded, and they ran toward the basketball court, stopping at a safe distance to watch the teenagers play. Do you think they'll be friends?
Clara asked. Yeah, I think they already are. That was fast. Sometimes things just work. Clara looked at him, something soft in her expression.