Annie laughed. “That’s understandable. Still, you should ask her out on a date.”
“I’m not sure I’m that brave,” I said, truthfully.
“You could come to my soccer game tomorrow. Sit by her maybe? Just talk. Soften her little by little. That’s what she needs, you know. A man who shows up.”
“Showing up is the key to success,” I said, circling back to our earlier discussion.
“That’s right. I think she might have been trying to tell you something.”
“What time’s your game?” I asked.
“Five. Morris Park.”
“I’ll think about it. For now, let’s get you on the payroll.”
“I’m going to be gainfully employed,” Annie said. “This is so exciting.”
I smiled, touched by this sweet kid who made her way through the world with such courage. Maybe if she could, I could too.
10
DELPHINE
Iarrived home from work tired, with a slight headache at the back of my eyes. Annie was already home when I got there, cutting up vegetables for our dinner wearing headphones, probably listening to music or a podcast. Whatever it was, she didn’t hear me come in. For a moment, I just stood in the doorway of the kitchen watching my almost grown girl slicing zucchini. She was my whole heart. Despite all the pain he’d caused me, ultimately Jon had left me with a great gift. The best thing in my life without a doubt. For that, I would be forever grateful.
I stepped into the kitchen and she saw me, tugging off her headphones. “Hey, Mom. You’re home early.”
“And you’re making dinner. Thank you.”
“Tyler sent me a recipe for a stir fry sauce I want to try,” Annie said. “He’s so funny. Like an old man with his recipes filled with veggies.”
“He looked after his mom for a long time before she found Hunter,” I said.
“Yeah, Tyler’s the best.”
“He is. So are you.”
“Mom, that’s so sweet.” She set aside the knife and gave me a spontaneous hug, holding tighter than usual.
“How was your first day of work?” I set my bag on the counter and shrugged out of my suit jacket.
“It was totally awesome. I helped, like, six people find books, and it was so much fun. Dorian taught me how to use the register and how to unload boxes of books that come in from publishers. He even suggested I create astaff picks for teensand cleared off part of a table for me. I can’t believe it. He’s super patient too. It took me a minute to figure out the computer system that tracks inventory, but he didn’t seem to mind going over it twice. He’s got this calming presence, you know. He’s great with the customers too. All the locals love him. Seraphina came in so they could talk about her signing at the store next month. She was shocked to see me there, wearing a green staff apron. Did I tell you about the apron?”
I shook my head, chuckling. “That’s great, honey. I’m pleased for you.”
“And think of all the money I can save for my car.”
The car. Great. I hadn’t thought about that. She’d been talking about buying a car for months now, even though she only had her learner’s permit. Annie was always two steps ahead of where I thought she’d be. She’d been like that from the start, hitting milestones before the baby books said she would, excelling at school without much effort at all.
“And he played me this incredible song. I’m dying to play it for you. It was listed as his favorite on his dating profile, and I wanted to hear it, so he pulled it up on his phone and gave me headphones so I could listen to it. I was just … speechless. You know when something’s so beautiful it’s impossible to even talk about it?”
“You saw his dating app?” He had a dating profile?
“Oh, yeah. He had just made it live when I came in, so I saw it up on his computer.”
“Interesting.”
“I know, right? He wants to meet someone. Maybe because all his buddies are married now.”
