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“Are you going to marry my mom?”
“Maybe someday. We’re not talking about that right now, but we are talking about the five of us being a family. What would you say about that?”
He gives it some careful thought, which I can see from his serious expression. “That’d be cool,” he says after a full minute of consideration. “Would you sleep in my mom’s room with her?”
“Yeah, I would.”
“That’s where my dad used to sleep.”
“I know, and it’s important to me that you know I’d never want to take his place with you or your sisters. He’s your dad. But I’d love to be your friend, if you’ll have me.”
“You’re already my friend. You have been for a long time.”
“And you’re my friend, too.” I reach out my hand to him. “You wanna shake on it?”
Smiling, he takes my hand and shakes it.
“Always make eye contact with the person as you shake their hand. That way, they know you really mean it.”
He looks me dead in the eyes, and my heart does a somersault at the love and trust I see in his. “Please don’t ever hurt my mommy. She’s the best mommy ever.”
“I won’t, buddy. I promise I’ll take the best care of her and you guys.”
“Okay, then. I want pancakes.”
He gets up and runs off, leaving me gutted from the sweetness and the sadness and the wonder of it all. His dad and my wife and kids had to die for us to have the relationship we do now. These moments of joy amid the grief are simply astonishing.
I go downstairs to join breakfast already in progress.
Iris glances at me, as if to ask how it went with Tyler.
I give her a thumbs-up.
Her smile is full of relief.
“So, guys,” Iris says, “what would you think if Mr. Gage lived here with us?”
“Yes!” Laney punctuates her reply with a fist in the air.
“That would be nice,” Sophia says with a sweet smile for me.
“I’m cool with it,” Tyler says.
“Thanks, guys,” I say, choked up by how much I care for them. “I really love being here with you.”
“Are you going to be our new daddy?” Sophia asks.
Her shyness slays me. “I can never replace your daddy, sweetheart, but I’m here for you in any way you’d like me to be.”
“Okay.”
I notice Iris wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.
Each of the kids hugs me before they leave with Iris for the ride to school. I’m relieved at how well that went, and I’m sure Iris is, too. I stay back to clean up the kitchen and do the breakfast dishes. When she comes back in, the kitchen is standing tall, and I’ve made another pot of coffee.
“Um, wow,” she says when she takes in the clean, orderly kitchen. “Are you available for hire?”
“I’m jobless at the moment, so make me an offer.”
