"He did, but he didn't know how to be a father," Julian told him.
"Sorry," Rob said as he wondered if Julian might think of him as the same type of guy. While Julian was so serious and focused, Rob had been going through life rudderless all this time. Maybe Julian would never think of him as anything more than a hook-up.
Hearing the work start up in the next office, Rob reminded himself about the guys making all that noise. Rob wasn't going to make it easy for Julian to dismiss him. For now he just went with him to look for Danny.
They found him sitting on the stairs, stacking colorful, wooden letters to build a tower. As they sat on either side of him, Julian showed him the photo.
"That guy standing next to the red car is our dad," Julian told him.
"Our dad," Danny whispered like those words were magic. "He has a red car, but he doesn't live anywhere." Danny now turned sad and Rob looked over at Julian.
They both put their arms around Danny, and Julian told his little brother, "You can keep this picture if you want."
Danny nodded then started to look around and call for Lenny. Getting up, Julian stayed close to Rob and explained in a low voice. "When I told Danny that we had the same dad, he asked me where he lived. I told him he didn't live anywhere. Then I tried to explain death to him, that it means someone is gone and never coming back." Julian exhaled a shaky breath, and Rob could tell what a difficult conversation that must have been.
"There isn't a good way to explain it," Rob told him then they heard Danny's calls for Lenny growing more frantic.
"I lost Lenny," Danny hiccupped as he ran over to them.
"He isn't lost," Rob reassured him. "He's around here somewhere."
Danny called for Lenny tearfully as they took him into the living room then the library and the smaller office. When Lenny didn't show himself, Danny looked up at Julian and blinked back tears. "I don't know where he is."
"We'll find him," Julian promised.
"We'll ask if Mitch and Rico have seen him," Rob said.
Going into the big office, they heard a lot of banging and drilling, and Rob had to yell over the noise to get their attention.
"I lost Lenny. I called him and he didn't come," Danny said to them, sounding heartbroken.
"He probably couldn't hear you," Julian told him and smoothed back his hair.
"That's because of all the noise we were making," Rico said. "We won't make any more noise until you find him."
Danny called again, but his voice wasn't very loud now that he was so upset.
"You want us to help you look?" Mitch asked.
Danny nodded. Mitch and Rico went to search the dining room, and Julian and Rob took Danny into the kitchen. As he called plaintively for Lenny, Danny's voice still didn't carry far, so Rob and Julian called for him too.
Back in the front hall, Danny called Lenny's name and this time they heard the jingle of his dog tags. Then there was a sharp yip just before Lenny ran over on his tiny feet. The little guy was under the stairs the whole time.
"Lenny, you're here," Danny said and got down to hug his precious dog. Danny gathered the little doggy to him and called his name more happily now. He then picked up Lenny and carried him over to Mitch and Rico to show them that he was found.
"Thanks guys," Rob said to Rico and Mitch while they both petted Lenny.
"This guy would never go anywhere without you," Mitch reassured Danny before he and Rico went back to work.
Danny gave Lenny a stern look as he held him in his arms. "Don't ever go anywhere, Lenny. And you don't go anywhere too, Rob," he said and fixed Rob with a very serious look.
"Me? I'm right here," Rob assured him.
Then Danny assured him right back. "Don't worry, Rob. I'm not gonna take away your shoes."
"My shoes?" Rob looked at Julian, but he only shook his head.
Danny was ready to explain. "Ry said to take your shoes, but the other kids said, 'Nooo!'"
