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“My mom and dad, too,” Miranda said. “They’re both gone.”
“Ugh, I’m so sorry,” Diana replied. “I’ll be nicer to my mom and dad after this.”
“Wow, that’s crazy that we don’t have dads,” Brent added, swirling his finger around the fatherless kids at the table.
“It depends on what time of the day it is whether I have a dad,” Marcus said, snickering.
“Dan’s always close by,” Lisa said, wanting to validate Marcus but also let him know Dan would be there if needed.
“I’m glad I have this mom,” Dan Junior said, pointing to Lisa.
She came around the table and hugged him. “You’re my little boy from another mother,” she said, making the kids laugh.
A knock on the door got Lisa’s attention, but the kids didn’t even seem to notice. She went to answer, and there was Dan.
“Honest to God, I thought you’d get the hint last night,” she said.
“I got vibes this morning,” Dan confessed anxiously.
“Well, I’ll confirm that. The kids are talking about their dead parents,” she whispered. “I just reminded the boys that you are always close by if needed.”
“I’m glad I listened to my intuition this time. Are you going to let me in?”
“Sorry,” she said, snickering, stepping aside. “You can join in for breakfast.”
“Where is everyone?” he asked, looking around at the sea of children.
“Who? Ryan’s history, as you know, and the nannies have been here around the clock for a week, so it was time for them to have a weekend off.”
“How are you doing on your own?”
“I’m good. I’m glad a father dropped in. You can supervise while I tend to the toddlers.”
Dan took his coat off and hung it on the rack. “Go for it. I’ll stay the day if you need me.”
“Is my mother going to mind?” She dished up food for Dan and handed him the plate.
“It was her idea. I told her I felt guilty, and she said to knock it off and go see my kids, then.” He pulled up a chair between his sons, balancing a plate with a cup of coffee.
“What about Margaret?” Lisa asked.
“Julie’s bringing her at ten,” he mumbled absently, his attention on his boys.
“Look, Dad!” Dan Junior cried, scrolling on his iPad. “This is from school during the week.”
While Dan caught up with the boys, the other children gathered around him. An interested father would get a lot of mileage that morning.
Lisa cleaned up the girls and took them back to the nursery, enjoying the joyful sounds of her children's interactions.
For the next hour, she played with the girls, her mind occupied. Then she noticed how quiet the house had become. When she returned to the kitchen, she saw that Dan had motivated the children to clean up the breakfast mess and then taken them outside. They were bundled up, running after a football on the beach.
Sitting on the sun porch to watch, Lisa took in every second of pleasure, Sierra and Madelyn busy with their kitchen playset, screams of delight coming from the beach. Soon, Andy and Max joined the group. Contentment washed over her.
Her phone beeped. It was Alison.
“I’m sitting here with my girls. What are you doing?” Alison asked.
“Same. Dan came over at breakfast and took the kids out on the sand. Max is there, and Andy just arrived. I had an interesting conversation with the kids.”
