Page 16 of The Single Dad's Guide to Recreation

“No, it feels like I’ve been doing that all day. I’ll just stay and talk to you if that’s okay.”

“Of course it is.” As I take out the trash and get organized, figuring I’ll just throw together a pasta dish with the vegetables my mother has half-prepped, I tell her silly stories from the day and ask her advice about a child in Playgroup.

I donottalk about the potential changes on the horizon.

No need to have her worrying. I can do that perfectly well on my own.

In the end, my parents end up having a decent night, both pain- and energy-wise. After dinner, we rewatch episodes of one of our favorite shows,Parks & Recreation. It almost feels like old times, though now it’s my parents asking for “just one more” episode. Best of all, I fall asleep the minute my head hits the pillow and wake up feeling more refreshed than I have for a long time.

Before getting out of bed, I jot down additional ideas my sleeping brain came up with for programming at the center. On the short drive to CPR, I think of a few more and have to pull over twice to write them down. By the time I get to the center, I can’t wait to talk to Josh Harmon.

As if the universe heard me, Wanda yells, “That Josh Harmon called for you again,” as I walk past her office door.

Assuring her that I’ll call him back—which I actually mean to do this time—I poke my head in Leia’s office. Before I can repeat the promise to my boss, she flashes me a rare smile. “Mr. Harmon promised we will no longer be plagued by his boss’s interference.” The corners of her lips turn down again as she mutters, “He’s just moved on to the next shiny toy, like he always did.”

“Well, good.” When she doesn’t look up, I add, “That is good, right?”

She just shakes her head dismissively. “Josh also asked if it was okay for the grandmother to bring his son to Playgroup today. I told him it was fine.”

“Of course.”Of course he wouldn’t show just when I get my act togetheris what I want to say, but I keep that to myself. Leia may be my bestie, but she’s also my boss.

When it’s time for class, the woman who enters with Percy on her hip looks less grandma, more outdoor fitness model. Her hiking shorts and boots are worn in, her face is only lightly lined, and her firm grip has me wondering if she climbs mountains as well as hikes up them. “So nice to meet you, Avery. I’m Frieda Harmon, Josh's mom. Percy just loves this playgroup, and I’m excited to try it myself.”

“I’m so glad to hear that.”

Her words echo in my head as I drift from child to child, helping Theo move a bin of manipulatives, saying hello to Samar’s new imaginary friend. I may not be as qualified as my mother to run the program, and it may not be the most efficient use of resources, but if Percy really loves Playgroup, maybe Josh will be open to keeping it around.

Later, as I’m pulling some books on toilet training from our little library for Theo’s dad, I can’t help but overhear Mrs. Harmon’s conversation with our two nosiest moms.

“He’s so sweet with Percy,” Inaya says, sipping her latte.

“He had a meeting this morning he couldn’t miss,” Frieda explains. “But this group has been so good for him. I worry sometimes that he’s not doing enough to take care of his own happiness.”

“I understand he has a daughter too?” Brenda asks.

“That’s right. Mabel will be in first grade this fall.”

While Inaya and Brenda dish the dirt on the teachers at Climax Elementary, I intervene in a conflict between Amelia and Liam. By the time I circle back, Frieda and Percy have moved across the room, leaving Inaya and Brenda to themselves.

“Can you imagineyourhusband doing what he’s doing?” Inaya says in a murmur just loud enough for me to hear as I stack cups for snack time. “With my husband, the house would be a wreck, and they’d live on junk food.”

“And it’s so cute that the grandmother is trying to set him up with someone.” Brenda sighs dramatically.

Set him up with someone? What in the actual fudge?

My thoughts are a jumble as I collect the pretzels and juice from the kitchen. Could this be true? Josh is raising his kids by himself?

Every time he’s talked about Percy’s mother, he’s saidmy wife, notmy ex.

Before I can even try to figure out what could be going on, a wail from the other room brings me back to the present. Shoving my thoughts to the side along with a toy bin in my way, I return to the main room and focus on the children and parents whoarepresent.

After Playgroup, I have what feels like an endless to-do list to get through at my desk, so it’s four o’clock by the time I grab my purse and head for my car. If I’ve lost my opportunity with Josh—my chance to make a case for Playgroup, not my chance to swoon over him—then I need to do everything in my power to get a second chance. I’ve blown off his request for a meeting so many times, I figure I need to make the effort and go to him.

As I cross the bridge over one of the rivers that flank Climax before spilling into the Hudson, I try to remember the last time I visited the southside, which has always been the industrial part of our town. Back in the eighteenth century, the area had old fashioned operations like an ice harvester and foundry. They were replaced with a shipyard and brickworks and a clock factory in the nineteenth century, but they closed one after another over the course of the twentieth century. Most of the places south of the historic district lay empty and abandoned until about thirty years ago.

An artist co-op took over one building in the nineteen nineties. A brewery, a coffee roaster, and a few restaurants came next. When the icehouse was turned into a beautiful hotel, a caterer and all kinds of wedding-related small businesses followed. I moved back in with my parents right about the time that Trede’s construction signs went up, but I haven’t been paying much attention to the latest change to my hometown.

When I see the complex for the first time, I get why people can’t stop talking about it. Instead of razing the old brickworks and starting over, Trede transformed the factory. They even preserved some of the graffiti painted onto its sides over the years. After parking in the guest lot, I follow a walkway winding through a beautiful greenspace. It’s not until I come upon a map that I realize they must’ve filled in the quarry—the focus of complaints for years, since it was basically a dangerous hole in the ground. The leveled area now includes a dog park, water features, and native gardens.

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