Page 86 of The Widower
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not sure. He seems… happy. No one around here knows how to deal with that. Hanna’s loving it, though.”
“Of course she is.” I smiled.
Then, all of a sudden, I heard two kids screaming from one of the rooms down the hall. I looked at Helen, puzzled. It didn’t sound like fear—it sounded like pure joy.
“Where’s that noise coming from?” Helen asked, and we both left the kitchen to follow the laughter that got louder with every step.
When we finally found the source and cracked the door open just enough to peek inside, we nearly stumbled backward in shock.
Joshua and Hanna were running around the room, trying to escape someone—someone blindfolded—who was chasing them.
“Doesn’t matter where you hide, I’m gonna win this game!”
Colin was blindfolded, reaching out and laughing as he tried to catch them. Helen and I stood there for a moment, watching the three of them through the narrow gap in the door.
He could have caught them at any second, even blindfolded—but he didn’t. If anything, he made sure they stayed ahead, just to keep them laughing.
After a few seconds, Helen quietly closed the door again. I looked at her, searching her face.
“Let’s just leave them be,” she said softly. “I can’t even explain how happy it makes me to see them like that.”
Back in the kitchen, I couldn’t stop thinking about that brief moment—Colin, smiling, playing with the kids.
Could it be that he’d finally found a way to start winning Joshua back?
It was almost time to leave, though it seemed a certain someone was doing everything she could to stay a little longer.
“I don’t wanna go home, Mommy!” she said, pouting, her little voice full of drama and determination.
“Sweetheart, don’t be stubborn. You come here every day.”
“Yeah, but today we were playing with Joshua, and it was the first time all three of us had sooo much fun together!”
“Hmm. Maybe that can happen again another day.”
“Okay.”
“Come on now. Go say goodbye to Helen—I’ll be waiting for you.”
“Fine.” She gave me a sad little face and trotted off.
That girl…
Colin waited until our conversation ended, then joined me a moment later.
“Hanna ratted you out,” I said first.
“About what?”
“I think you know. What were you doing with those kids?” I asked, even though I already knew—I just wanted to hear him say it.
“Taking the first step,” he said simply. “Trying to make up for lost time with my son. And Hanna’s… pretty persuasive.”
“How shameful,” I teased, grinning. “Using my daughter to get closer to Joshua?”
“That’s not how I’d put it. Seems like she’s the one most invested—more people to play with. Your daughter hates the word ‘no,’ and from what I can tell, she’s gonna be even more stubborn and outspoken than you.”
