Page 29 of Child of Mine

“Girls especially,” he adds with a mournful smile.

“Well, since I have a girl…”

“Yeah. Best keep her away from me.”

Right there,Quinn crows.He just gave you permission to not tell him.

He doesn’t know she’s his,Izzy argues.

“Unless you want to see her cry,” he adds with a sigh. “I’m very good at that.”

Oh dear. Maybe you shouldn’t tell him about Lilah, Izzy whispers.

I can’t believe I agree with you,Quinn says.I mean, if he doesn’t like kids,what’s the point?

He does seem kind of sad that he makes them cry,Izzy protests weakly.

“And yet you’ve chosen to work with them?” I ask, hoping there’s at least a part of him that wants to be around children. “Why?”

“Well, it kind of chose me. Like I said, this was the best job I could get when I decided to leave Raleigh. And I am committed to doing a good job.” He straightens. “Which I suppose I should get back to. Can I do anything before I leave?” Henry asks. “Get you some juice or soda or… crackers?”

See! He can’t be all bad,Izzy says triumphantly.

“Oh, that’s nice of you to offer, but I think we’re good.”

Jingling change in his pockets, he scans the interior of the shop instead of moving toward the door. “So, is it always this…”

“Dead?” I finish when he doesn’t.

“Yeah. I mean, it’s a weekday, but I’d think you’d havesometraffic.”

Straightening the order forms on the counter, I realize that this might be an opening to telling him about Lilah. I hate to be dependent on others, but maybe he’d be willing to pay child support and leave us in peace. “Unfortunately, things have been slow lately, even on the weekends, which is why I took the job at WGBH.”

His grin is devilish. “You mean you don’t have a burning desire to create a TV show for kids either?”

“Well, now that I’m doing it, I have a burning desire to make it a good one. But more importantly, we need the income. Three people can’t live on what this place brings in anymore. I don’t even know how long we’ll be able to keep it open. My mom has been operating at a loss for some time. Without telling me.”

Before I can shift gears to suggesting that he could be a part of the solution, he asks, “But what about your husband?”

“Husband?”

“Doesn’t he work?”

“Uh, I don’t have a husband.”

“Oh. I just assumed.”

“Maybe they don’t have them down in the South, but there is a thing called a single mom up here,” I snap.

Harsh, dude,Quinn says.No need to bite his head off.

Hands up again, he takes a step back. “Don’t get all Yankee superior on me, now. I think it’s a pretty typical assumption.”

“I’m sorry.” I mirror his gesture. “You’re right. Anyway, it’s just me and my daughter. And my mom. She gave up a lot for me, so…”

Stop! You can’t tell him about being an addict,Izzy warns.

She’s right, so I backtrack. “Listen. I don’t want to keep you. I’m sure there’s plenty to do back at the station. I will go through these and, hopefully, see you tomorrow.”

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