Page 64 of Child of Mine

“He really is a book person,” she says, her face so full of awe and joy and love that it makes my heart break a little.

* * *

HENRY

It’s the big night. I’m actually taking Lilah away from the bookstore and the supervision of Bella or Doris. Per my mom’s advice, I’m keeping it simple. We’re going to walk the dog, then go to the grocery store, cook dinner, and eat it. I’m a bit nervous to spend this much time with Lilah on my own, but hopefully Ribsy will be a good distraction. She seemed excited to meet him, anyway.

I’m really glad my daughter’s not just a cat person.

My daughter. I just can’t seem to get used to it. It isn’t something I ever factored into my plans and I really don’t know what I’m doing, but I look forward to spending time with this kid more than I have any woman I’ve dated. It’s just so mind-blowing that I helped make her, and I feel the weight of responsibility for her now. Not like it’s a burden. Like I want to be a part of teaching her about life.

It doesn’t hurt that she’s the coolest kid ever. She doesn’t whine, she’s curious about everything, and she’s smart as hell. If every kid was like her, I’d love them all.

When I pull up in front of the bookstore and see her face in the window, it makes me ridiculously happy. But when she and Bella approach my truck, the frown on Bella’s face puts me on the defensive. Like it always does.

“Don’t worry. We’re not doing anything dangerous, and I won’t keep her up too late,” I say as I round the front of the car. After I open the passenger side door, I gesture inside. “She’s a bit of an antique, but there are seatbelts and everything.”

Bella pastes on a smile, probably for Lilah’s sake. “Do you have everything you need, sweetie?”

“Yep.”

As she climbs up into the truck, Bella asks, “So what are you guys going to do?”

“Just take my dog for a walk, then make dinner. Chinese food.”

“My favorite!” Lilah says.

“I heard.”

“That a thing down in North Carolina?” Bella asks.

I laugh. “Nah, I learned from one of my roommates in New Jersey.”

“Was he Chinese?” Lilah asks.

“No, he was Jewish. He just loved Chinese food. All Asian food. Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese. All I really do is stir fry. Not fancy. Not too spicy,” I add for Bella’s sake.

“I like spicy,” Lilah says.

When Bella frowns again, I say, “Well, that’s the good thing about making it yourself. You can try it and add more spicy stuff if you want.” Before closing the door, I ask, “You all set?”

After pointing to the seat belt she fastened on her own, Lilah blows a kiss to Bella. “Bye, Mommy.”

Bella shoves her hands in her pockets like she really wants to grab Lilah out of my car and drag her back into the store, but she smiles and says, “Have a good time, sweetie. Be good.”

Before I get in myself, I give Bella’s shoulder a squeeze. “I promise that I’ll take care of her.”

Lips pressed together, she nods. “See you later, then.”

Before I can say anything else, she disappears inside.

* * *

Everything goesto plan until it doesn’t.

Ribsy politely gives Lilah his paw to shake when they meet, charming her instantly. Then we go to the dog park. Lilah wants to know the names of all the dogs and we meet a few people in the process—all female people. Weirdly, a little girl is even more of a chick magnet than a dog. More than one woman practically has hearts floating out of her eyes when we introduce ourselves. One even asks if I’m a widower. My relationship, or lack thereof, with Bella is way too complicated to explain to a stranger, so I just shake my head and announce that we have to get to the grocery store.

There, Lilah doesn’t pester me for junk food, not even in the checkout line where the candy begs to be tossed onto the conveyor belt.

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