“Mr. Reno?”
“Yes?”
“Why does my mommy live by herself?”
The lawyer in him had a precise answer for the question being asked and a precise answer for the question underneath. But the cowboy in him understood the nuance of discussing difficult topics with a child.
He said carefully, “Well, your daddy went to live in Heaven.”
“He died in the fire.”
Okay, then. Grace had been bluntly honest with her daughter. Good to know.
“My friend Malcolm has a daddy and a step daddy.”
This time, it was his lawyer side that spotted the nuance in that comment. Not all parents and stepparents got along well. “Sounds like a full house.”
“They’re both nice.”
“That’s good.”
“Mommy says my daddy was a good one and he loved me very much even though I wasn’t borned yet.”
“I’m sure he did.”
Lily switched from a red crayon to a blue one and drew wings on her hawk family. “Mr. Reno, do you have a wife?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Haven’t met the right woman yet.”
“Mommy says daddies and mommies happen when two people love each other.”
“That’s a fair description.”
“Have you ever loved anybody?”
“Not like that.”
“Why not?”
“That’s a long answer.”
“How long?”
“About thirty-three years long.”
She considered that and declared, “You’re really old.”
“Thanks,” he answered dryly.
She switched to a green crayon. “My mommy loved one person. My daddy.”
“She’s lucky.”
“That’s what she said.”
