"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.
Yeah, sometimes they do. Ethan's phone buzzed, a text from his VP. Board meeting moved to Tuesday. We need you there. He turned the phone off without responding.
Work? Clara asked. Nothing that can't wait. You sure? You can take it if you need to.
I'm sure. They stayed at the park until the kids got hungry, then walked to a taco truck parked on the corner. Jake and Lily sat on the curb eating their food while Ethan and Clara stood nearby, close enough that their shoulders touched. Thank you for this, Clara said quietly. For what?
Bringing Jake. Making this feel normal. My life's been so chaotic for so long, I forgot what normal felt like. This is normal for me, too, Ethan said. The good kind of normal.
Clara leaned into him slightly, and Ethan wrapped an arm around her shoulders without thinking about it. She fit there perfectly, her head just under his chin. My sister texted again, she said after a moment. She's pissed I won't let her see Lily. What did you say?
That she can see her when she's ready to actually commit to being a parent, instead of just visiting when it's convenient. How'd she take it? About as well as you'd expect. Lots of guilt tripping and blame shifting. Clara sighed.
I know I'm doing the right thing, but it doesn't feel good. The right thing usually doesn't. They stayed like that for a while, watching the kids and the traffic and the city moving around them. Eventually, Jake and Lily finished eating and came over, both talking excitedly. Jake in words, Lily in signs that Clara translated.